Scheme to develop girls' personality
SIRSA: Though much is said about and done for promoting women's participation in development, all welfare schemes and programmes remain meaningless unless women are fully equipped to reap the advantage of these schemes.

• CM's stress on girls' education

Inquiry against V-C sought
ROHTAK, Feb 27 — Lt-Gen O.P. Kaushik, Vice-Chancellor of Maharshi Dayanand University today said he would make efforts to establish it as a pioneer university of the nation. He said the university had made progress in the past two years and won laurels in many spheres.

Pro-rich Budget, says Hooda
CHANDIGARH, Feb 27 — Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, President, Haryana Pradesh Congress (I) Committee, has criticised the Central Budget presented in the Lok Sabha today and termed it as "anti-farmer and anti-poor as well as directionless, and pro-rich".

Bhajan Lal's sons acquitted
HISAR, Feb 27 — The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr S.K. Goyal, today acquitted Congress legislators Chander Mohan and Kuldeep Bishnoi.

7 shopkeepers held
HISAR, Feb 27 — Seven shopkeepers were arrested yesterday in Hansi town, about 26 km from here on the charge of selling fireworks in the city without licence.

• Youth clubs to meet blood shortage
• 1 arrested, gold biscuits seized
• Sanskrit scholars get awards

3 wagons derailed at Karnal
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Feb 27 — Rail traffic was disrupted on the Delhi-Karnal and Delhi-Rohtak section due to the derailment of three wagons of a goods train at Karnal and blockage of a rail track by villagers near Rohtak, respectively.

Three wagons of a goods train derailed at Karnal railway station in Haryana this morning, resulting in the diversion of several trains passing through it.

While Malwa Express has been diverted via the Panipat, Jind, Jakhal and Ludhiana section. Paschim Express, Flying Mail, New Delhi-Amritsar Intercity Express and Nanded Express were diverted via Shakur Basti, Jakhal and Ludhiana, a Northern Railway press note said.

New Delhi-Bathinda Express, Amritsar-New Delhi Inter-city, Amritsar-Barauni Express and Chandigarh Shatabdi Express have also been diverted.

A Northern Railway official said that the traffic on this section would be restored by tomorrow morning. An inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

In the second incident, scores of villagers squatted on the rail track at Jasia between Rohtak and Gohana stations blocking it with wooden planks.

The villagers, protesting against poor law and order situation, did not allow any trains to pass through, the release said, adding that the Jind-Panipat-Rohtak passenger train was terminated at Gohana.

Scheme to develop girls' personality
From Bhupinder Dharmani

SIRSA: Though much is said about and done for promoting women's participation in development, all welfare schemes and programmes remain meaningless unless women are fully equipped to reap the advantage of these schemes.

For this to be done they need to be awakened, informed and made self-confident. Keeping this in view, Kishori Pariyojna was launched under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in 1993 in Sirsa, Rania, Dabwali and Ellenabad blocks of Sirsa district. This recognised the significance of the adolescent period in personality-building and emotional development. To ensure proper blooming of their talent they have to be properly educated and guided at a tender stage.

To assess the effect of this programme, this correspondent made a survey of different areas where this scheme was being implemented. He found that from every village of the area chosen for this scheme, three adolescent girls aged between 11 and 18 were selected from the needy section. These girls were given rigorous training for six months at anganwari centres, where they were involved fully in school activities and were provided meals. Three new girls replaced them after six months. After this a radical change could be seen in the personality of these girls.

The purpose of this training is to prepare and activate them into forming "balika mandals". These mandals met regularly. To develop their latent talent, programmes of their interest are organised with the help of other departments. In this way, these girls involve themselves in developmental works with mutual understanding. As more trained girls join these units the mandals become stronger.

Kishori Pariyojna is an educational programme and not a vocational training one. Through it the girls find a guide and anchor in the instructor.

This programme, not only enlightens these girls but also makes them a source of information for others and, thereby, enables them to take active part in the ICDS functioning. The girls are also imparted training in stitching, embroidery, dyeing and candle making. Through informal education and with proper nutrition diet these girls develop very fast.

They are encouraged to understand and participate in programmes relating to personal hygiene, balanced diet, social customs, rituals as well as understand environment. To make them self-reliant they are taken to primary health centres, dawakara camps and various other departments.

Paramjeet of Chak Sahiba village told this correspondent that she felt a great change after undergoing training, which made her conscious of the age of marriage, cleanliness and nutrition. Almost all these trained girls could detect anaemia through physical symptoms.

Manjeet of Maujdeen village also narrated her experiences after marriage which clearly indicated the benefits of the training programme. She fully understood the problems relating to maternity and would plan her family accordingly.

CM's stress on girls' education
Tribune News Service

FARIDABAD, Feb 27 — Mr Bansi Lal, Chief Minister, today stressed on the need for educating girls in order to make the family planning programme a success.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating Maharani Kishori Devi Women's College at Hodal, 65 km from here, Mr Bansi Lal said the education of girls was necessary to make the new generation better citizens of tomorrow.

He announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh to the college. Roads of Brij Parikrana falling in the territory of Haryana, would be constructed, he added.

The Chief Minister said the state government was prepared to supply surplus water from the Agra canal to Uttar Pradesh if its control was handed over to Haryana. He said Haryana had already undertaken the task of cleaning the Agra canal. More than Rs 20 crore had already been spent to provide water from the canals.

Mr Sardar Singh, Mr Shyam Sunder Sharma, Uttar Pradesh ministers, Ms Kamla Beniwal, Rajasthan minister, Mr Shish Ram Ola, MP, and several others also spoke on the occasion.

Later Mr Bansi Lal also inaugurated the new wing of B.K. Civil Hospital here.

Rail, road traffic disrupted
From Jatinder Sharma
Tribune News Service

ROHTAK, Feb 27 — The agitated residents of Jassia today paralysed rail and road traffic between Rohtak and Gohana to demand immediate arrest of the culprits involved in the abduction and murder of two school boys of the village.

The agitators, most of whom armed with lathis, hatchets and jollies, squatted on the Rohtak-Panipat national highway and the r ail track to protest against police inaction in arresting the culprits. The decision to enforce the road and rail traffic was taken yesterday by the Panchayat of Hooda Chaubisi held at Jassia.

The two boys, Ravinder (14) and Rajesh (15) were allegedly kidnapped on February 22 and their bodies were recovered from near Rookhi village on February 23. The residents of Jassia had also blocked vehicular traffic on February 23 to protest the abduction and murders.

The trains running between Panipat and Rohtak were either cancelled or diverted via Delhi. Two morning passenger and mail trains that run in the morning before 7 a.m. however, arrived on time and left as per schedule.

The 2-JPR passenger train that runs between Panipat and Rohtak was terminated at Gohana station. The return journey of the JPR train from Rohtak was cancelled. The district authorities have diverted the buses destined for Chandigarh and Panipat via Lakhan Majra.

The railway police has registered a case against the agitators under Section 174 of Railway Act. No arrest has been made as none has reportedly been named in the FIR.

The 18-km stretch of the national highway between Rohtak and Jassia wore deserted look. The police did not make any effort to open the road and rail traffic. Not a single policeman, including officers, were seen either at the place of the dharna or near the village. The police, headed by a DSP, was reportedly watching the situation from Rookhi village, nearly 8 km from Jassia.

The Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr P.K. Aggarwal, and the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anil Kumar, said that their policy was to avoid a confrontation. "We do not want to use force to open the road".

Mr Aggarwal said that they would persuade the villagers to lift the blockade as the police was conducting investigation vigorously. Efforts were being made to solve the mystery behind the abductions and murders.

The 21-member action committee, constituted by the Hooda Chaubisi Panchayat yesterday, has threatened to intensify the agitation if the culprits were not arrested by 7 a.m. on Sunday. Mr Surat Singh Hooda, president of the Chaubisi Panchayat, told newsmen that the roads leading from Rohtak to Meham, Sonepat, Jind and Panipat would be blocked after 7 a.m. tomorrow if the police failed to arrest the culprits by them.

The panchayat has also demanded suspension and arrest of ASI Ram Parkash of Baroda police station. He was the first to reach the spot, but he had failed to take Rajesh, who was then alive and writhing in pain, to hospital. Ram Parkash was reportedly taken in custody for interrogation by the Rohtak police and was later let off.

The police appears clueless and is groping in the dark. It has so far interrogated many suspects but has failed to find any clue that could solve the blind murders.

The villagers are by and large critical of the police inaction but praise the DIG, at whose intervention a case was registered.

Mr Krishan Murti Hooda, a former minister and member of the action committee, demanded judicial enquiry into the abduction and murder of Ravinder and Rajesh, both cousins. He regretted that even after four days of the incident, the police had failed to identify and arrest the culprits. He advised the agitators to remain peaceful.

Inquiry against V-C sought
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Feb 27 — Lt-Gen O.P. Kaushik, Vice-Chancellor of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) today said he would make efforts to establish it as a pioneer university of the nation. He said the university had made progress in the past two years and won laurels in many spheres. Incidentally Lt-Gen Kaushik completed two years of his tenure as Vice-Chancellor yesterday.

He said the university had achieved the rare distinction of adhering to 180 days academic calendar schedule. The V-C said every process related to exams had been conducted on time.

To make students aware about various career options and to make an effort towards career planning of the students a "university industries liaison cell" had been established by the administration, he said.

The V-C said efforts had been made to establish better infrastructural facilities in the university. Nearly Rs 5.25 crore had been spent on construction work which included the Directorate of Distance Education Building. Meanwhile 15 members of Parliament, including the four Indian National Lok Dal MPs of Haryana, Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra (Akali Dal), Mr P. Shiv Shankar, former Union Minister Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, in a memorandum submitted to the President of India sought an inquiry into the alleged irregularities committed by the V-C.

Pro-rich Budget, says Hooda
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 27 — Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, President, Haryana Pradesh Congress (I) Committee, has criticised the Central Budget presented in the Lok Sabha today and termed it as "anti-farmer and anti-poor as well as directionless, and pro-rich".

Mr Hooda said the Budget proposals put forward by the Finance Minister neither gave any relief to the farmers, nor the beoparis, employees or the poor. On the other hand, the price of diesel had been increased by Re 1 a litre while in the international market the diesel prices had fallen. There was no provision for crop insurance in the Budget proposal. It appeared that the present BJP-led Central Government had presented its last Budget knowing full well that it was going to lose office any moment on account of borrowed support of its allies by doling out all sorts of concessions and promises.

The Haryana Education Minister, Mr Ram Bilas Sharma, described the proposals as "rural-development oriented" Budget presented by the Vajpayee Government.

Bhajan Lal's sons acquitted
From Our Correspondent

HISAR, Feb 27 — The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr S.K. Goyal, today acquitted Congress legislators Chander Mohan and Kuldeep Bishnoi, both sons of Mr Bhajan Lal, former Chief Minister of Haryana, in case pertaining to liquor recovery from their Hisar-based private house.

A case under the Excise Act was registered by the local Civil Lines police station following seizure of two bottles of liquor from the residence of Mr Bhajan Lal by the CBI during a raid conducted in connection with the JMM bribery case here on December 22, 1997.

7 shopkeepers held
From Our Correspondent

HISAR, Feb 27 — Seven shopkeepers were arrested yesterday in Hansi town, about 26 km from here on the charge of selling fireworks in the city without licence.

The arrested shopkeepers Krishan Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Bhim Sain, Rajender, Vijay Kumar, Rajesh, and Surender were produced before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Mr P.C. Sharma, the same day, who released them on bail.

Shopkeepers of Hansi town last evening took out a procession in the town in protest against the administration's step and raised anti-government slogans. They alleged that the administration still had not fixed the place for selling the fireworks on the eve of the Holi festival. They condemned the police action and demanding immediate withdrawal of cases.

1 arrested, gold biscuits seized
From Our Correspondent

JIND, Feb 27 — The Railway police has arrested Surinder, a passenger, at the local railway junction yesterday and recovered 17 gold biscuits and two gold chains from him, without any receipt.

The value of these gold articles is estimated to be about Rs 10 lakh.

A case has been registered under Section 411 of the IPC.

Youth clubs to meet blood shortage
From Our Correspondent

SIRSA, Feb 27 — The Nehru Yuva Kendra will accept the challenge of fulfilling the 40 per cent blood shortage apprehended after the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on blood donation, Mr Prahlad Singh Patel, Director-General, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, said while addressing a function at Durabi village in the district yesterday.

Talking to mediapersons he said the kendra would launch a nationwide campaign in support of voluntary blood-donation, starting from April 1. Through its 1.7 lakh youth clubs, it hopes to meet the shortage of blood.

He said 42 districts all over the country had been selected under the "sabko swasth aur sabko shiksha" scheme, in collaboration with the UNICEF. Another programme for AIDS awareness had also been planned.

Sanskrit scholars get awards
From Our Correspondent

BHIWANI, Feb 27 — Mr B.D. Gupta, MP today presented awards to Sanskrit scholars at a function organised at the Haryana Shekhawati Brahmchari Ashram here today in connection with the birth anniversary of Pandit Sita Ram Shashtri, founder of the institution.

The first prize, carrying a cash component of Rs 11,000 went to Dr Govind Saptrish of Varanasi while second award was won by Sarita Sharma of St. Stephens College Delhi, and carried a cash prize of Rs 31,000. The third prize was won by Dr Sheov Parshad of Dehradun and carried a cash prize of Rs 2100.

Mr Gupta announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh to the ashram for development works.