Much more needed for revival of Haryanavi cinema: Film director

Karnal: Sundeep Sharma, Director of Haryanavi Film “Satrangi”, which has won a National Award, said here on Sunday that while artistes were working hard to uplift Haryanavi cinema, theatre and culture, their revival  was not possible till the government extended its full support. “I have raised the issues related to the revival of Haryanavi cinema with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda,” he maintained. The previous government had developed a Film and Television Institute of Performing Arts in Rohtak but much more was needed for the uplift of Haryanavi cinema, he said.  Haryanavi cinema should be exempt from tax, Sharma demanded. He was in the city along with his star cast to promote the film. He said ‘Satrangi’ would be released throughout Haryana on August 26.

Sonepat Municipal Corporation to go in for rainwater harvesting to stem waterlogging

SONEPAT: The Sonepat Municipal Corporation plans to install rainwater harvesting systems at various places in the MC area to get rid of the problem of waterlogging during the monsoon.  The plan was formulated after the inspection of the waterlogged spots during the rainy season by Deputy Commissioner KM Pandurang and officers of the corporation and the departments concerned .  MC Commissioner Ashwani Maingi said seven harvesting systems would be installed to rid five places of chronic waterlogging within the corporation’s revenue limits. These included two systems each at the underbridge near Shani Mandir and Kalupur Chungi and one each at Jatwara, Kumaspur and Khewra villages.  The Commissioner said pipes with a diameter of 12 inches would be installed at the depth of 200 feet and each system would have the harvesting capacity of 600 litres per minute.  The systems, to be installed within two months, would get the identified areas rid of waterlogging on the one hand and recharge the water table there on the other. 

Food fortification plan mooted to cut MMR, IMR 

Ambala: The state government has decided to launch a food fortification programme from the Naraingarh and Barara segments of Ambala district to improve the nutritional level among women and children. The programme, to be launched on a pilot basis, will be replicated across the state if it helps attain the objective. Before fortifying food, a survey would be conducted by the PGI, Chandigarh, to check the status and cause of anaemia. The programme will help in tackling anaemia in expectant women and children, besides bringing the Mother Mortality Rate (MMR) and the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) further down in the district. Dr Vinod Gupta, Chief Medical Officer, Ambala, said: “ A survey is likely to be conducted in September and on the basis of its report, the process of food fortification will start. Food items will be loaded with different vitamins and other nutrients such as iron, folic acid, vitamin A, zinc and vitamin B12. There are set parameters on which the vitamins and nutrients get loaded. For instance, wheat flour is loaded with iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 while rice and maize get loaded with zinc, thiamine, folic acid and B12. In Haryana, wheat flour has been selected for fortification.” “For sampling, an age-group of students and expectant women will be identified. After six months of providing fortified food, re-sampling will be done to see if there is any positive change in that same age- group”, Dr Gupta added. The Health Department, Food and Supplies Department, Education Department and anganwari centres will jointly work in this project.

7 Hisar villages demand exemption from toll 

Hisar: A joint panchayat of seven villages on Sunday adjoining Hansi town demanded exemption from toll  at the toll plaza located near Mayyar village between Hansi and Hisar towns on the NH-10. The meeting held in Kharar village was attended by the sarpanches and prominent villagers from Mayyar, Bhagana, Kharar, Alipur, Ramayan, Dhandheri and Kutubgarh Dhani villages who plan to meet the deputy commissioner on Monday to raise the issue. They said since these villages were located within 10-km  radius of the toll plaza they must be given exemption from toll and provided free passes. Sunil Kumar, sarpanch of Kharar village, said that villagers who had to visit Hansi town often could not afford to pay toll  each time at cross the plaza. A former sarpanch of Mayyar village, Deepa, said they had come to know that the villages adjoining the toll plazas, including the one near Mokhra village in Rohtak district were exempted from paying toll. “If the district administration fails to help us, we would hold a mahapanchayat next week to launch a stir”, said Sunil Kumar. He said the toll plaza authorities maintained that they had no policy for toll exemption to villagers. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) project director Virender Sambyal said the residents of adjoining villages were entitled to concessional passes as per the policy.

Contributed by Parveen Arora, BS Malik, Nitish Sharma and Deepender Deswal