11 hostels to come up for poor pupils

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, June 16

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday announced that 11 new government hostels would be set up across the state to provide more opportunities for education to those from the deprived sections of society.

Addressing a gathering at a state-level function organised on the occasion of 621st birth anniversary of Sant Kabir at Jind today, the Chief Minister also announced grant in-principle approval for implementing the Scheduled Caste A and B categorisation in educational institutions from the upcoming academic session.

Khattar said about 25,000 government jobs would soon be advertised and every year the backlog of Scheduled Castes will be filled and no posts would be allowed to remain vacant.

Khattar said he had been carrying out equitable development in the state by following Sant Kabir’s philosophy. He said in the last four and a half years, the state government had worked to change the system in Haryana. “We do not evaluate on the basis of class, gender, caste or region. We have changed the system so that people would not have to visit government offices and more than 450 schemes and services have been made available online under one roof through Antyodaya Sewa Kendra, Saral Kendra or Atal Seva Kendra.

Pilgrimages for SCs

He said the state government would organise tours for people belonging to Scheduled Castes to visit the birth place of Sant Kabir and Sant Ravidas at Varanasi and of Maharshi Valmiki at Amritsar from July 1. Interested persons can get registered at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office and they would be provided with second class rail tickets free of cost.

Initially, 100 persons from every Assembly constituency will be accommodated every year. This way, 9,000 pilgrims will visit the selected places in a year. It will be on first come, first serve basis and a family will be given the benefit only once.

Hooda aide Dabra joins BJP

In a setback to the former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, his close aide and former mayor of Rohtak Renu Dabla joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Jind on Sunday. Dabra said that factionalism had weakened the Congress while the BJP had given equal opportunities to all.