Haryana Diary: Stray dog, monkey menace

Faridabad: The state government and the local authorities seem to be helpless in tackling the stray dog and monkey menace in the city. This got reflected at a recent district grievances and redressal committee meeting chaired by the CM Manohar Lal Khattar. While the CM, in response to a complaint on stray animals, announced that the annual budget of the gaushalas had been raised from Rs 40 crore to Rs 400 crore for dealing effectively with the problem of stray cows, no new announcement was made regarding any strategy for tackling the stray dog and monkey menace, despite the issue being an emerging cause for concern, said an official on the condition of anonymity.

Congress factionalism to the fore

Rohtak: Factionalism has come to the fore in the Congress yet again, this time over wooing backward classes. Leaders owing allegiance to the ex-CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda group recently held a conference to announce that a convention of the backward classes would be organised in Rohtak. The next day, some other Congressmen considered close to Kumari Selja held a separate news conference and demanded due representation for the members of the backward classes in the upcoming elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assembly.

MC chief’s surprise move

Panipat: A move by the Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner at the General House meeting has become the centre of discussion here. At the meeting, councillors gheraoed MC officials over non-functional streetlights and the commissioner accepted his failure in not maintaining them. He also requested the councillors to bring a no-confidence motion against him. Shocked at the commissioner’s move, the councillors kept mum over the issue.

Vij last hope of residents

Ambala: Despite grievance redressal committee meetings being held across the state, Home Minister Anil Vij continues to be the last hope of complainants over their grievances. Though the minister has stopped holding his Janta Darbar, complainants from different districts continue to pour in at the minister’s residence to raise their grievances. A large number of people with complaint letters in their hands can be seen waiting in queues outside the minister’s residence, with the hope that their grievances would get redressed there.

Contributed by Sunit Dhawan, Mukesh Tandon, Nitish Sharma and Bijender Ahlawat