Chandigarh : The state government told the Centre that due to delay in the movement of last year’s wheat from its warehouses, the state would have to store almost half of the 80 lakh MT of wheat to be procured this year on open plinths.

Ravi Kant, Secretary, Central Department of Food and Public Distribution, who was in Chandigarh on Thursday to review the wheat procurement activities in Haryana and Punjab, however, told that due to lack of space in the consumption states, movement of the last year’s wheat was not immediately possible.

“We have total storage capacity of 120 lakh MT in the state. Out of this, 89 lakh MT is in warehouses, while the remaining 31 lakh MT is on open plinths. Another 8 lakh MT worth space is occupied by gunny bags and fertilisers belonging to Hafed,” said Ram Niwas, ACS, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, who attended the review meeting held at the Punjab Bhawan.

He said the last year’s wheat should have been moved to the consumption states by now, and that was the reason that he requested Kant to expedite the process.
The state crossed last year’s procurement figures of 74.23 lakh MT on Thursday, and the government is expecting the arrival of wheat to touch 80 lakh MT by the end of the season.

The state also requested the Centre to extend its Private Entrepreneur Guarantee (PEG) Scheme to augment the covered storage capacity through private entrepreneurship for one-year in Haryana. The scheme, otherwise, ended in March. However, sources said that Kant remained non-committal on this issue, but asked the state officials to expedite the construction of Silo warehouses of 6.5 lakh MT already approved by the Centre.

Jhajjar : Private schools affiliated to the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) here have decided to get verified the income certificates submitted by parents to avail Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota under Section 134-A of the Haryana Schools Education Rules.

The schools have also decided to lodge police complaint against ineligible parents for obtaining the certificate.

The Rule 134-A provides free admission to students belonging to the EWS in private schools. A certificate issued by the tehsildar that the income of the parents is less than Rs 2 lakh per annum is a proof of eligibility.

“Nearly 99 per cent children availing the EWS quota are those who have already been studying in private schools, but they became eligible to get the benefit as their parents managed to obtain the income certificate. Hence, verification of the certificate must to be done to ascertain the genuineness,” said Ramesh Rohila, chief of Sahodya, an association of the CBSE affiliated schools here.

Rohila claimed there were many parents who dropped their wards at school by car, but managed to get free enrolment of their children in private schools on the basis of EWS certificate. Hardly 1 per cent children from government schools get admission under Rule 134-A in private schools, he added.

“We want that only genuine children should avail the EWS quota and misuse of Rule 134-A should be curbed,” he said, adding that all eligible children were being given admission.

Rohila rued that the state government had not reimbursed the fee of the EWS students for past two years causing acute resentment among owners of the private schools. “In Jhajjar district, Rs 8 crore is still pending with the state government,” he claimed.

Hisar : Wrestler Babita Phogat, who won silver medal at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, has lashed out at the state government for “failing” to honour sportspersons in a fair manner. She alleged the state government’s sports policy had a demoralising effect on them.

“Sportspersons represent the country and not any state at the international level. If the state government wants players to represent Haryana in national events, it should give befitting posts to them,” she told the media here.

Several medallists, some of them employed with the Railways and the Army, are reportedly upset with the state government’s move to reduce the prize money since they are also to be awarded by their employers.

“Deducting the price money on the pretext that sportspersons are employed with Central Government organisations is unjustified and wrong,” said Babita, who had won gold in the CWG 2014 and silver in the 2010 edition of the games.
“The morale of players is down. The state government seems confused about framing a fair and balanced sports policy,” the wrestler said.

She further said, “I had planned to attend the felicitation function as the policy would not have impacted my prize money because I am employed with the state government. But my cousin sister Vinesh Phogat is upset and rightly so.”

“It’s surprising that the government has one policy when we go to participate in an international event and another when we return. There is total confusion,” Babita said, adding she would also write to the government if the need arose.

Bhubaneswar : A five-year-old girl was raped by two minor boys in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district, police said on Thursday.

The boys have been detained following the incident that took place on Wednesday.

According to the FIR filed by the mother, the accused aged 11 and 14 raped her daughter on the premises of their school.

The victim studying in Class 1 was lured by the accused on the pretext of offering her soft drinks, according to the FIR.

"We have conducted the medical examination of the accused and the victim. Necessary action will be taken after receiving the medical examination report," said Sujogya Mishra, Jagatsinghpur Sub-Divisional Police Officer.

Thane : A couple from Ambernath in the district was killed when a water tanker hit their motorcycle, the police said on Thursday.

The police, however, registered a case under IPC sections for murder and criminal conspiracy against four people, including the tanker driver, as they suspect that the incident was the fallout of a property dispute between the couple and the accused.
The tanker driver was arrested in the wee hours today, Hill Line police station inspector G H Palange said.

The couple - Vasudeo Balue Shendre (50) and his wife Rekha Shendre (40) - was going towards Balegaon on the two-wheeler last evening when a water tanker hit their vehicle from the rear end at Narhen village, killing both of them on the spot, he said.
The police registered a case against the tanker driver and three other people, all residents of Ambernath, and launched a search for them, Palange said.

The police suspect that the couple was killed over a land dispute between them and the accused, he added.