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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Wednesday, November 11, 1998 |
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Teacher's suicide puzzles KU KARNAL, Nov 10 — Mystery shrouds the death of Dr Ram Nagina Pandey Reader in Physics in the University College, Kurukshetra. Dr Pandey, who had been teaching at the university college for the past about 22 years, allegedly committed suicide on November 2, by jumping in Brahm Sarovar. EU to fund 126 cr forestry project GURGAON, Nov 10 — The European Union has sanctioned a Rs 126 crore project to bring more Haryana land under green cover, according to the state’s Minister for Forest, Mr Jagdish Yadav. |
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Haryana IAS
officer contests transfer |
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Teacher's suicide puzzles KU KARNAL, Nov 10 — Mystery shrouds the death of Dr Ram Nagina Pandey Reader in Physics in the University College, Kurukshetra. Dr Pandey, who had been teaching at the university college for the past about 22 years, allegedly committed suicide on November 2, by jumping in Brahm Sarovar. His body was fished out on November 3. His belongings, including a briefcase was found lying on the banks of the Sarovar. A letter found in the briefcase and addressed to his wife said "many people including members of the administration were after him." He regretted that he could not "perform his responsibilities with them till the last days." Dr Pandey in his letter stated he was thinking of "ending his life by jumping into the Yamuna river while on his way back from his ancestral place near Varanasi to Kurukshetra University. But he thought that this would put his family members to a lot of inconvenience. Therefore, he had decided to end his life in the "Brahm Sarovar". The letter thrown up a number of questions. Dr Pandey was sober and owned a house in Shanti Nagar, two of his sons are engineers while the third is studying in the Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra. Dr Pandey was non-controversial and devoted to his profession and there was seemingly no family tension. Dr M.L. Ranga, Vice-Chancellor of the university, when asked to comment on the letter of the deceased told this correspondent that the university administration was not in any way "harassing Dr Pandey". There was no complaint against him of any type either at the university or with the university administration." The question in the minds of the university teaching community then is who were the elements after Dr Pandey. Dr Pandey had gone to his village near Varanasi to mourn the death of one of his brothers. While leaving he had received a telephone call from his nephews that there was "no need for uncle to bring aunty along". What happened at Varanasi is shrouded in mystery. His family members believe some gangsters were trailing him and he was probably forced to sign some property documents against his wishes. When he reached Kurukshetra, he is reported to have rung his son from the railway station. His son volunteered to come over to fetch him but Dr Pandey politely refused saying Kurukshetra was "not UP" and he would safely reach home soon. What happened after this conversation and before his suicidal jump in the sarovar is a mystery. The teaching community of the college has demanded the CBI enquiry into the death.
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Haryana IAS officer contests
transfer CHANDIGARH, Nov 10 — Mrs Umesh Nanda, Director, Training Haryana Institute of Public Administration and Indo-Japan Management Society, Haryana, contested the state government's order transferring her to the post of OSD (Rules) and appointing Mr Tarlochan Singh, a former IAS officer, in her place, before the Central Administrative Tribunal today. The tribunal issued notice to the Union Government and the Haryana Government for December 1. Belonging to the 1974 batch of the IAS, the applicant contested the appointment of Mr Tarlochan Singh on the ground that the post of Director, Haryana Institute of Public Administration, had invariably been held by a serving IAS officer since the creation of Haryana. Therefore, it was a cadre post. The appointment of Mr Tarlochan Singh was against the notification issued by the government on September 27, 1996. In her application Mrs Nanda stated that even otherwise Mr Tarlochan Singh was senior to the present Chief Secretary in the IAS cadre. Therefore, it would not be in the interest of administration as also in public interest to appoint a senior IAS officer under a junior officer of the same cadre as the Chief Secretary was the Chairman of the Haryana Institute of Public Administration. The applicant charged the government with putting political pressure on her for the appointment of research officers, clerks, peons and malis in the institute. She claimed that she carried out the process of employment as per rules by constituting committees. This annoyed respondent No 4, Mr L M Jain, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. Moreover, in July her husband, also a Haryana cadre IAS officer of the 1976 batch, filed a suit in the court against Mr Jain. Since then various anonymous complaints "have sprouted up suddenly". She maintained that all appointments of research officers, clerks, peons and malis were made by her strictly according to rules. The government had rejected these appointments even though this institute was an autonomous body and all powers rested with the executive council only and not with the Chief Secretary, who was the chairman of the executive council, or with the state government. She alleged that Mr Jain was also inimical to her husband, who was posted as Special Secretary, Dairy Development and Fisheries. In order to harass him, he had not been given the super time scale from the due date. He filed an application in the tribunal in July, 1998. Moreover, he served two "frivolous charge sheets on her husband on July 14 and July 15, 1998". Her husband had gone in appeal against the decision of the tribunal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. She stated that Mr Tarlochan Singh, a 1963 batch IAS officer, retired on March 31, 1996. As per the notification of the government, the post of Director, Training, was a cadre post and could only be held by an in-service IAS officer.
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EU to fund 126 cr forestry
project GURGAON, Nov 10 — The European Union has sanctioned a Rs 126 crore project to bring more Haryana land under green cover, according to the state’s Minister for Forest, Mr Jagdish Yadav. Mr Yadav said that a high powered committee under the chairmanship of the Vice-Chancellor of the Hisar Agriculture University (HAU), and with representatives from various departments of the government on it would suggest measures against the problem of water-logging in the state. The project will be worth Rs 1,500 crore. The Haryana Government is also lobbying with the EU for an extension of the ongoing Aravali Project. Mr Yadav said that the 78 per cent of the project, named "community forestry" will be financed by the EU and the rest by the Haryana government. The EU approved the project as it was satisfied with work done on the Aravali Project, he added. As against the Aravali Project, which was limited to the Aravali hills of the southern districts of Haryana — Faridabad, Gurgaon, Rewari, Bhiwani and Mahendergarh — the new project is for the plain areas of Ambala, Panchkula, Bhiwani, Rewari, Yamunanagar, Kaithal, Hissar, Fatehabad, Sirsa and Kurukshetra districts. The project has a time-frame of nine years and will be implemented in 300 villages. The funds made available by the Haryana Government for the project will be spent on logistical and infrastructural support for it. Under the project the efforts will be made to plant of those plants and trees which were conducive to the areas. For example, the thrust would be on plantation of eucalyptus and poplar in Kurukshetra and Kaithal as they are water-logged. Both tree varieties absorb a lot of water. In fact, the government will now utilise an improved breed of the plant reared in Andhra Pradesh. The Haryana Government is also conducting research and developing the species. The project was accepted by the EU after international agencies, including the World Bank, rejected the proposal. It may be recalled that the EU is already financing the Aravali Project costing about Rs 112 crores. Haryana was environment conscious and its percentage of green cover had increased from about three to 11 per cent since it was carved out from unified Punjab. The Minister also presided over a meeting which took stock of the plantation drive.
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Thieves silence All India Radio ROHTAK, Nov 10 — Transmission from the local station of All India Radio (AIR) remained suspended for over four hours this morning following a technical snag in the transmission relay centre at Madina village near here. It is reported that theft of some copper wires from the relay centre last night led to the disruption. The station, however, resumed work at about 10 a.m. this morning after the damaged wires were repaired. According to a report some unidentified persons stole the wire from the transmission centre last night. The centre is situated about 15 km from here on Hisar road near Madina villages. Although the security staff, including a guard of the AIR and four policemen are posted there round the clock at the station the theft could only be detected in the morning when the station, which starts transmission at about 5.50 a.m. did not function. It took around three hours for the engineers of the station to replace the wire. When contacted the station director, Mr Shankar Lal said that the financial loss caused by the theft was not much but it took some time for the normal functioning to resume. He said a complaint had been lodged with the police. He said the compound of the transmission centre was large and it was impossible for the security staff to keep a round-the-clock vigil. According to sources a motor was reportedly stolen last year from the transmission centre. But it was recovered later. The director claimed that there was no security problem. It is also reported that the main wall of the radio colony and the station was damaged by outsiders earlier but no action was taken against them.
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Hisar lacks basic amenities HISAR: Hisar is a fast developing city. When there was talk of Chandigarh being included in Punjab in the eighties, Hisar was said to have been chosen as the capital of Haryana. According to Municipal officials here, about 20 new colonies were registered only recently. There is hardly any locality in Hisar which can be described as clean. The roads in lanes and bylanes are broken, for the past one year no repair work has been done. The internal roads leading to different localities present a dismal picture. One senior official of the Hisar Municipality admitted that the civic amenities were at their worst in Hisar. The municipal officials have been claiming that the continuous rains in September and October caused major damage to the roads. However, the residents do not share the view. According to Mr Deepak Bhandari, a resident of the Agrasen Colony, the road leading towards their locality has been in bad shape for the past one year. But nobody has come to repair it. Similarly, there is no arrangement of drainage and sewerage. While most of the new colonies do not have proper drainage system, those with it are not happy either. When ever there is rain, the drains get choked. Even the newly developed localities like Urban Estate, D.C. Colony, Sector 13, Patel Nagar and Defence Colony face similar problems. Whenever there are rains people have to literally walk through water. Most of the areas get submerged. The markets and mandis face the worst problem. Hisar claims to have the biggest auto market in the country. There are about 1000 shops dealing only with automobiles in the market. But again the market is poorly maintained. Because of the central location of the places there is a heavy rush of vehicles, which range from scooters to heavy trucks and load careers. The road leading towards the automarket is completely damaged. For the past one year no repair work has been done. The repairs were started recently only when there was pressure from shopkeepers. While the ditches, holes and speedbreakers pose problems, the cattle on roads also add to the problems. The traffic is most poorly maintained. Traffic signals are mostly out of order. And most of the crossings are unmanned. This is despite the fact that Hisar has thousands of vehicles plying on the roads. Given its location, people from neighbouring states, particularly from Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and Rajgarh in Rajasthan also come to Hisar for different purposes. Hisar has a good number of private nursing homes as well that cater to the needs of the people. According to Dr Rajinder Singh Nain, a social worker, the municipal authorities seem to be least concerned about the maintenance of the city. The roads, lanes and bylanes are very dirty with garbage dumps seen everywhere.
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Rusticated medicos lock college gate AGROHA (Hisar), Nov 10 — The 30 rusticated final year students of the Agroha Medical College today locked out the main entry gate of the college here, preventing the entry of any patient or staff members into the college. The students are demanding withdrawal of the rustication orders and have been accusing the management of the college for playing with their career. The agitating students alleged that 15 girl students were forcibly evicted from the college hostel, in retaliation to their demand regarding the registration of the college with the Medical Council of India. Interestingly the annual examination of the final year medicos begins tomorrow. They said that all the 30 students of the final year have been asked to vacate the hostel. The students have been resisting the move of the college management. They alleged that by trying to force them out of the hostel, the management was shruging off its responsibility. The students claimed that since March last, when a team of officials from the MCI visited the college and recommended several measures to be adopted, the management had not cared to act upon those suggestions. According to the students, the MCI had underlined the need of a thorough revamp of the facilities so that the college could qualify for the MCI recognition. They pointed out that the college did not have good facilities for a hospital which are required for a medical college. They claimed that there was no blood bank or a trauma centre and all the accident cases had to be referred either to Hisar or Rohtak. The students have been demanding that the management of the college own responsibility of their career. "Otherwise how can we explain our five year stay here, without any results", one of them asked, adding that instead of trying to raise resources for the college, the management tried to give political colour to the government decision of stopping all aid to the college. The Director of the college, Dr M.S. Gupta, while refuting the charges of the students, claimed that the entire course had been completed by October 31. Now the students had to appear in the exams only. But one of the students retorted. What is the fun of appearing in the exams when the college is not recognised by the MCI. Who will give us the degrees?" Dr Gupta said, despite the stopping of 99 per cent aid by the government to the college, the management was trying its best to raise resources. He said since March 4 when the MCI team visited the college the management had been trying to complete all the necessary formalities for the recognition. However, the students have
been asking as why they were given admissions, when the
college was not recognised. |
Hayat Ansari gets Hali award CHANDIGARH, Nov 10 — The Haryana Urdu Akademi today announced seven national-level awards and five State-level awards to be conferred upon scholars for their outstanding contribution to promote Urdu for the year 1997-98. This was disclosed by Mr Ram Bilas Sharma, Education Minister, Haryana. He said that Mr Hayat Ullah Ansari had been selected for the prestigious National Hali Award for his rich contribution to the enrichment of Urdu fiction. He said that the Akademi had recently raised the cash prize for this award from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. He said that Mr Ansari had to his credit several books, including a novel on the freedom struggle titled ‘Lahoo Ke Phool’ which was serialised by Doordarshan also. Mr Ansari is an eminent journalist and has also been a member of the Rajya Sabha for a number of years. He has also made a rich contribution to the field of adult education and prepared good reading material for the adult learners of Urdu. Besides Rs 1 lakh, this award also includes a shawl, plaque and a sanad. He said that Mr Asghar Ali Engineer, Chairman, Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai, had been selected for the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Literary Award for his commendable work in the field of social sciences, social work and for the development of scientific temper besides serving the cause of secularism. The award carries Rs 11,000 in cash, along with a shawl, plaque and a sanad. For the Urdu Magazine Award, the Akademi had selected the monthly ‘Biswin Sadi’ published from Delhi and edited by Mr Rehman Nayyar. This magazine is being published regularly for the last more than 60 years. This award consists of Rs 5,000 in cash, a shawl, plaque and a sanad. The Kanwar Mohinder Singh Bedi Award for Humour and Satire has been given to Mr Mujtaba Husain. He is an author of nine books. This award consists of a sum of Rs 5,000 along with a shawl, plaque and a sanad. The award for an outstanding work on projection of socio-cultural identity of Haryana has been given to Dr Ali Javed, Lecturer in Zakir Husain College, Delhi. The award consists of Rs 5,000 in cash along with a shawl, plaque and a sanad. The Akademi has selected Mr Sitwat Rasool, working in Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi for the award for children's literature. The award consists of Rs 10,000 along with a shawl, plaque and a sanad. Prof Abdus Sattar Dalvi of Bombay University has been selected for the award for the translation of books from other languages into Urdu. The award consists of Rs 5,000 in cash along with a shawl, a plaque and a sanad. The SMH Burney Award goes to Mr Amir Chand Bahar, a retired Principal of a college in Haryana for Urdu poetry. He has six books to his credit. This award consists of Rs 10,000 in cash along with a shawl, a plaque and a sanad. The Khawaja Ahmed Abbas Award has been given to Dr Sultan Anjum, Editor of Tameer-e-Haryana, a monthly magazine of the Public Relations Department, Haryana. Mr Anjum is an author of three books in prose. The award consists of Rs 10,000 in cash along with a shawl, a plaque and a sanad. The Urdu instructor award has been given to Mohd Fajruddin of Mewat for teaching Urdu. This award consists of Rs 5,000 in cash along with a shawl, a plaque and a sanad. The adult literacy award has been given to a voluntary organisation working for the preparation of material for learners and neo-literate. The Bharat Gayan Vigayan Samiti, Rohtak, has been selected for this award. The award consists of Rs 10,000 along with a shawl, a plaque and a sanad. For the Punjab Wakf Award, for promotion of education in Mewat, Dr Abdul Aziz from Mewat has been selected. The award consists of Rs 5,000 along with a shawl, a plaque and a sanad.
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Plea on varsity recruitment ban ROHTAK, Nov 10 — The unemployed Postgraduate and Researchers Association has urged the government not to lift the ban on recruitment in universities in the state. In a memorandum to the Chief Secretary, the association said the ban was imposed on the plea that the recruitment's were made in violation of the norms and rules framed by the UGC and the AICTE and by ignoring the meritorious candidates. Nepotism and other extraneous factors were the main criterion in the selections, it alleged. The association said the ban imposed in August should not be lifted at least for another six months so that the posts could be readvertised for fair recruitment. Meanwhile, the Bhiwani District Employees Welfare Association has urged the government to relax the age limit from 40 to 45 years for Haryana Government employees for appearing in the HCS (Executive) and allied services written examinations. The association said that while the age limit for recruitment to the HCS, by way of nomination, had been raised from 45 years to 52 years, it remained unchanged at 40 years for those who wanted to make the grade after taking the examinations conducted by the HPSC. During the past 10 to 15 years, these posts were not advertised regularly as a result of which a person willing to join the HCS could get only one chance in four years. Since the Bansi Lal Government had decided to conduct the HCS examinations every year, there was need to raise the age limit.
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Importance of Lok Adalats stressed GURGAON, Nov 10 — The District and Sessions Judge,Gurgaon, Mr R.C. Kathuria, yesterday expressed the view that the concept of Lok Adalat would go along way in the speedy dispension of justice after it was institutionalised and given a permanent character. Speaking at a seminar in connection with Legal Services Day here, Mr Kathuria said to begin with the Lok Adalats set up at the district headquarters and the two subdivisional headquarters of Nuh and Ferozpur, would be held every Saturday and made a regular feature later. The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Dr Bharat Bhushan Prasoon, said the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987 was a leap forward in making justice accessible to the poor, and the ignorant. He lamented that women, who were an important segment of society were still neglected and the percentage of literacy among the section was much dismally low. He was also of the view that the masses should be educated on all aspects of the Legal Services Authority Act. KAITHAL: The Additional District and Sessions Judge(I)-cum-District Legal Services Authority, Kaithal, Mr C.R. Goyal, on Tuesday called upon lawyers to act as counsel for the poor. Addressing a gathering of
advocates, judicial officers and officials of the
district administration, on the occasion of Legal
Services Day, Mr Goyal said any litigant could seek the
assistance of the Lok Adalat for the speedy disposal of
his case. |
Union asks Centre to dismiss HVP
govt ROHTAK, Nov 10 — Haryana Karamchari Mahasangh has appealed to the union government to dismiss the present Haryana Government as it has allegedly failed on all fronts. Criticising the 'anti-employee' policy of the state government, Mr S.D. Kapoor, state president of the sangh, alleged that the government had taken action against almost all sections of society. He said the government crushed municipal employees when they demanded disbursement of salaries in time and did not implement the accord after withdrawal of the strike. Then the government terminated the services of nearly 40 nurses when it sought pay scales at par with their counterparts in Delhi. Besides, the government forced farmers and traders to resort to agitations and banned elections to student bodies top leaders of Haryana State Electricity Board Workers' Union were suspended and later dismissed under Essential Services Maintenance Act on the charge of taking part in an 'illegal' strike. Mr Kapoor said that the members of HKMS would participate in a rally scheduled for November 15 in Delhi and submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee seeking dismissal of the state government.
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Threat to revoke pact with HUDA FARIDABAD, Nov 10 — The Faridabad Municipal Corporation today threatened to revoke its agreement with the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) on the maintenance of residential and industrial sectors in the city. A resolution to this effect was passed by the general body of the corporation, Subedar Suman, Mayor, presided. It said either HUDA should maintain the sectors or pay arrears amounting to Rs 29 crore to the civic body. Describing the 1993 agreement as faulty the corporation wanted that a new agreement should be entered into between the two. The meeting criticised the district administration for demolishing jhuggis without providing alternative sites to the poor. It wanted the revival of the Bapu Vihar Yojna. The house rejected a resolution to levy tax on nursing homes, medical stores, private hospitals and tent houses. The proposals to levy lighting fee and 10-time increase in house tax were also turned down. Instead, there would be a 25 per cent rise in house tax. It was also decided to allot residential plots by lottery instead of auction in Sector 49. The resolution would go to the government for approval.
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Patwari union holds dharna JIND, Nov 10 — On a call by the Revenue Patwar and Kanungo Association of the district patwaris took out a procession in the town and held a demonstration to press for acceptance of their demands today. They also staged a dharna in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner and raised slogans against the district authorities. They were demanding implementation of revised pay scales. Addressing the patwaris, Mr Vijay Singh said that the district administration had adopted indifferent attitude towards the demands of patwaris. He urged the Haryana
Government to direct the district authorities to give
revised and standard pay scales to all patwaris. He also
urged the district administration to solve the problems
of patwaris through negotiation. Leopard released PANCHKULA, Nov 10 — The leopard which was caged at the Chhat Bir zoo after it strayed into the township on October 28 is free once again. The big cat which had apparently come from the Morni forests has now found a new home in the Kalesar reserved forests in Yamunanagar. The beast was transported from Chhat Bir zoo to Kalesar on Saturday. Sources in the Wildlife Department said the leopard was released at Chikkan firing lines in the Kalesar forests. The cat, tranquillised by the Chhat Bir zoo Director, Dr Vinod Sharma, regained consciousness midway and had to be tranquillised again by Dr M.R. Singla of the Haryana Wildlife Department. The Chief Wildlife Warden,
Mr R.D. Jakati, confirmed the release of the leopard. |
Revenue officials begin strike AMBALA, Nov 11 — Groups B, C and D employees of the Income Tax Department observed a strike on Tuesday. According to Mr Subhash
Sharma, Vice-President of the Income Tax Employees Union,
the strike was in protest against the pay scales given as
per the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission. Teachers not paid salaries HISAR, Nov 10 — Teachers working in non-government colleges have not been paid salaries for the past three months. Mr K L Rinwa, former president of the Haryana College Teachers Union, in a statement here today said the state government had also not released UGC grades to the teachers of privately-managed colleges. Mr Rinwa expressed concern about the deduction in the salaries of the teachers by the state government for the strike period.
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