Jhajjar : Farmers had to wait for hours to sell their wheat crop at the local grain market here as the government agency did not start the procurement process by afternoon on Monday. The Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC) began the purchase in the afternoon and bought 8,320 quintals by evening.
“A lot of preparations has to be done before initiating the procurement process. Since today was the first day, hence, the pre-lunch session was used to make arrangements, but we started the procurement of wheat at minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,735 at 2:30 pm,” said Ajay Beniwal, purchase manager of the HSWC.
He said since the moisture level in the wheat was much higher than the permissible limit, many farmers returned after leaving their produce in the market so that they could sell it after it dried.
Beniwal said the procurement would be made six days in a week by the HSWC and HAFED on rotation basis. HAFED would procure the wheat on Tuesday, while all dried produce found in the grain market was bought by the HSWC on Monday.
Suresh Kumar, supervisor of the District Marketing Committee, said the arrival of over 18,000 quintals of wheat had so far been recorded at the local grain market and around 10,000 quintals was still lying unsold due to moisture content.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Naresh Kaushik inspected the arrangements for procurement of wheat at the grain market in Bahadurgarh town.
He also directed the procurement agency to ensure lifting of the procured wheat so that farmers did not face any problem in bringing their produce. The MLA also motivated the farmers to bring dry wheat to the grain market.
Ashok Sharma, District Food and Supply Controller (DFSC), said a total of 500 quintals of wheat had arrived at Bahadurgarh grain market.

Hisar : Violence erupted here despite tight security arrangements in view of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s visit to the town on Monday. Members of the Dalit community resorted to stone pelting at some places.
Protesters gathered at Krantimaan Chowk and marched towards the Mini-secretariat causing traffic jams. They threw stones at a restaurant and smashed the windowpanes of a bus near the Congress Bhawan en route Mini-secretariat. In the afternoon, protesters clashed with the police when the latter blocked their way to the Mini-secretariat.
Protesters pelted stones at cops who used lathicharge and teargas shells to disperse the crowd. Policemen Lalit Kumar and Rakesh were injured. The police may register a case after initial probe.
The CM, who was here to attend three functions, left in the evening.

Jammu :
An Army jawan was killed while four others were injured as Pakistani troops shelled mortars at forward posts along the LoC in Poonch district on Tuesday, officials said.
The cross-border shelling by Pakistan troops started in Krishna Ghati sector in the morning and continued for over two hours, resulting in injuries to five soldiers, including an officer, an Army officer said.
One of the injured soldiers later succumbed to injuries at the military hospital.
A police official said a lieutenant and two junior commissioned officers were among the injured and they were evacuated to command hospital in Udhampur district.
Earlier, defence spokesman Lt Col NN Joshi said Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing from 0700 hours using small arms, automatics and mortars. “Indian Army has retaliated strongly, effectively and proportionately to the unprovoked ceasefire violation,” he said.
This is for the third straight day that Paksitani troops have violated the ceasefire and targeted forward posts and villages in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri.
However, the shelling failed to have any impact on cross-LoC trade which takes place for four days a week from Tuesday to Friday along the Chakan Da Bagh in Poonch district and Salamabad in Uri sector of Baramulla district.
Dozens of trucks from either side crossed the border from the trade facilitation centres, the officials said.
With the latest killing, the death toll in the Pakistani shelling along the LoC this year has gone up to 27.
The dead included 13 security personnel and five members of a family who lost their lives when a shell hit their house in Balakote sector of Poonch district on March 18. Pakistan troops have violated ceasefire along the LoC and IB over 650 times this year.

Chennai : Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK began their statewide hunger strike on Tuesday in protest against the Central government’s failure to set up a Cauvery Management Board (CMB) despite a Supreme Court order.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam participated in the strike here, while in districts, the protest was led by other ministers and party leaders.
The protest that began at 8 am will conclude at 5 pm.
The top court by its February 16 verdict had reduced the Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water from 177.25 thousand million cubic feet (TMC), which was less than 192 TMC allocated by a tribunal in 2007.
On the other hand, Karnataka’s share of water was increased by 14.75 TMC.
The Centre has failed to set up the CMB within six weeks of the apex court’s February 16 order.
The deadline ended on March 29.
Tamil Nadu political leaders say the BJP is acting in favour of Karnataka, which is opposed to the CMB and where Assembly elections are due.

Srinagar : Three counter-insurgency operations left 13 militants, three soldiers and four civilians dead in south Kashmir on Sunday as the Valley witnessed one of its bloodiest days in recent years.
Over 100 civilians were injured in protests near the sites of gunfight and most of them were wounded by pellets fired by security forces to contain the protests.
Of the 13 slain militants, the Army said two were involved in the killing of Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz, who was abducted in May last year when he was attending the wedding of a relative in Shopian.
The Army described “Sunday as a special day for the counter-terrorist operation in the Valley for all our security forces”.
“Most importantly, we have killed two of the terrorists involved in the killing of Lt Ummer Fayaz in May. We have avenged his death,” said GOC, 15 Corps, Lt Gen AK Bhat at a joint press conference at Awantipora in Pulwama district. He identified the two slain militants as Ishfaq Ahmad Malik and Riyaz Thokar.
Security officials said the first anti-militancy operation was launched at Peth Dialgam in Anantnag around 10.30 pm on Saturday.
J&K DGP Shesh Paul Vaid said one militant, Rouf Khanday, was killed and another captured alive in the Anantnag operation.
“The Anantnag SSP made a special effort that is unheard of in any other part of the world. He called the family members of the terrorist and engaged him in talks for about 30 minutes, asking him to give up arms and come out. Unfortunately, he did not heed to his family’s advice and instead opened fire. Police and the forces had no option but to retaliate and he was killed. Another was caught alive. I don’t think in any part of the world forces do operations in this manner,” said Vaid.
The other two operations were launched at midnight at Draggad and Kachdoora villages — around 20 km apart — in Shopian district.
At Draggad, a group of militants hiding in a cluster of houses was asked to surrender, but they refused. In the gunfight that followed, seven militants and the house owner were killed.
The slain militants were identified as Zubair Turray, Ishfaq Malik, Yawar Itoo, Nazim Dar, Adil Thoker, Ubaid Malla and Reyaz Thoker — all residents of the district. The civilian killed was identified as Ahmed Tokar. The gunfight broke out near the ancestral house of an IPS officer, posted outside the state.
The Army said the third operation at Kachdoora was difficult as nearly 13 civilians, including two children, had to be evacuated from the house where another group of militants was hiding.
“We lost three of our jawans in this gunfight,” an Army officer said. “Three militants were killed in the gunfight.” The slain soldiers have been identified as Sepoy Hetram of Dungargarh, Bikaner (Rajasthan); Gunner Nilesh Singh of Khadipur, Sultanpur (UP); and Gunner Arvinder Kumar of Sariana, Mukerian (Punjab). 
Three civilians were killed at Kachdoora after clashes as people tried to march towards the gunfight site. Protests were witnessed  even as separatist leaders called for a two-day shutdown. Mobile Internet services were suspended across the Valley.