Crop loss underestimated: Opposition
HISAR, Oct 22 — Leaders of different political parties have sought the creation of a special task force for assessing losses caused by unseasonal rains and for providing immediate relief to affected farmers.
Changes in Gurdwara
Act sought
CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — The Haryana Shiromani Akali Dal has suggested far-reaching amendments in the Gurdwara Act, 1925, particularly regarding the appointment of Jathedars of various Takhts.

• Train passengers robbed
• Student hurt

Crop loss underestimated: Opposition
Tribune News Service

HISAR, Oct 22 — Leaders of different political parties have sought the creation of a special task force for assessing losses caused by unseasonal rains and for providing immediate relief to affected farmers.

Senior leaders of the Indian National Lok Dal Prof Sampat Singh criticised the state government for its failure to come to the rescue of the farmers. He said, the untimely rains, particularly at a time when the cotton and paddy crop was about to be harvested, has created havoc and taken the government by surprise.

Prof Singh demanded creation of a special task force to estimate the losses suffered by farmers. He demanded, immediate relief on a war footing for farmers saying farmers had been doubly hurt. The crops that was to be harvested was damaged and sowing too may get delayed. The INLD leader reiterated the demand of his party that farmers be provided relief at the rate of Rs 10,000 per hectare.

Former minister and state Youth Congress leader, Mr Chhaterpal criticised the state government for, what he called, meagre relief from the Centre.

Addressing a press conference here today, he pointed out that the state government had rushed to the Centre with its demand for relief without estimating the exact extent of losses. Mr Chhaterpal claimed that from his rough estimates the damage caused to crops was much more than the Rs 350 crores demanded by the state government from the Centre.

Mr Chhaterpal is also the chairman of the Kisan Youth Welfare Committee, floated by the Pradesh Congress Committee. The youth leader said, his party will put forth its demand for relief only after making an exact estimate.

He demanded that the government pay compensation at the rate of Rs 15,000 to landless labourers and Rs 10,000 per hectare to the farmers whose crops had been damaged. The Kisan Youth Welfare Committee will soon launch a drive for identifying the farmers who have suffered because of floods.

The Congress leader supported the assertion of Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala that several farmers had committed suicide due to the economic compulsions. He warned that the plight of farmers if continued to be ignored will take alarming proportions for which the state government will be responsible.

Hisar district unit president of the INLD, Mr Puran Singh Dabhra and the party chief from Ghirai, Mr Satbir Sisai and Narnaund Mr Rambagh Kharabh have also blamed the state government for the sorry plight of the farmers. They pointed out that in most of the areas in Hisar district, particularly in Narnaund and Ghirai constituencies, water had accumulated for several months. The state government, they alleged, had not made any arrangements for draining out that water. They claimed that had the water been drained out, the extent of damages would not have been as much.

Changes in Gurdwara Act sought
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — The Haryana Shiromani Akali Dal has suggested far-reaching amendments in the Gurdwara Act, 1925, particularly regarding the appointment of Jathedars of various Takhts.

In a statement issued here today, the General Secretary of the Akali Dal, Mr Surjit Singh Niddar, said these amendments should be approved by the general house of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which will meet tomorrow, and sent to the Union Government.

Mr Niddar said the Act should be amended to provide for the appointment of Jathedars of Takht Shiri Hazoor Sahib and Thakt Shiri Patna Sahib on line with the appointment of the Jathedars of the three Takhts situated in Punjab. The authority to appoint the Jathedars of all the Takhts should be vested in the SGPC.

He said provision should be made to include the Jathedar of Takht Shiri Damdama Sahib as the ex-officio member of the SGPC. Mr Niddar suggested that whenever a post of Jathedar fell vacant, the Secretary of the SGPC should invite recommendations from all Sikh organisations. The general house of the SGPC should make the final selection by a three-fourth majority of the members present. The SGPC choice should be ratified by the remaining Jathedars. In case the Jathedars refused to ratify the SGPC selection, it should be reconsidered by the entire house.

Mr Niddar suggested that to remove any Jathedar from his post, the SGPC president should appoint a high-level committee of representatives of the Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Nanded Sahib Sikh Gurdwara Board, Shri Harmahinder Sahib Patna Sahib, the Dharam Prachar Committee and various other Sikh organisations. The recommendation made by the high-level committee should be put before the general house of the SGPC. The Jathedar should be removed only after a resolution for his removal had been passed by a three-fourth majority of the SGPC members present and with the concurrence of the remaining Jathedars.

Among other amendments suggested in the Gurdwara Act are greater role of the SGPC members in the local gurdwara management committees and the provision for presiding over the first session of the general house by the Jathedar of the Akal Takht instead of the Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, as provided in the Act at present.

"No excess water" from Tajewala
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — The Haryana Minister of State for Irrigation, Mr Harsh Kumar, today termed as baseless the perception that Haryana released excess water into the Yamuna from Tajewala affecting Delhi. He said even certain media reports had wrongly laid the onus on Haryana for flooding of Delhi due to excessive discharge at Tajewala.

He clarified that there was no catchment area of the Yamuna in Haryana upstream of Tajewala, which was simply a barrage and not a dam. The Tajewala barrage was diverting water of the Yamuna in to canals of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh as a barrage did not have any storage like dams and any quantity of water beyond the capacity of the off taking canals had to be released into the river.

He said the length of the Yamuna river in Haryana was 328 km whereas it was running for only 38 km in Delhi. Thus starting from the Tajewala headworks, the Yamuna had a length of 260 km up to the border of Sonepat, from where it was running for 38 km in Delhi before again entering Haryana and passing through the State for 68 more kms from the border of Faridabad district with Delhi to the State's border with Uttar Pradesh. The Yamuna's length in Delhi was very small as compared to that of Haryana.

He said that the guidelines of the Central Water Commission, based on the model studies, prescribed that water must not be diverted into the canals when the water flow in the Yamuna exceeded 70,000 cusecs as there would be a possibility of damage caused to canals by heavy boulders flowing in the river. Consequently, in case of excessive flow in the Yamuna, Haryana had no alternative but to let the excessive water flow downstream uninterrupted, which makes way to Delhi before again passing through a part of Haryana.

However, in case of excessive discharge at Tajewala, the Haryana Irrigation Department authorities always inform their counterpart down stream in Delhi about the quantum of discharge in the river.

Haryana roads await World Bank loans
From U.K. Bhanot
Tribune News Service

KAITHAL: Haryana appears to have no motorable state highways or district roads, thanks to the hope extended a few years ago by the World Bank for the release of loans for their upgradation. The state government stopped repairing roads in the hope that the work would be done with the help of World Bank funds.

A major reason for a state government to depend on the World Bank is that loans taken by one government have to be paid back by the successive government — at least not by the borrowing government.

Even some of the national highways, including National Highway No 65 from Ambala to Hisar, is among the worst roads punctuated with potholes, broken surface and wide depressions all over.

Journeys from Ambala to Kaithal and Kaithal to Kurukshetra, particularly from Pehowa to Kaithal, and from Kaithal to Dhand on the Kaithal- Kurukshetra road give occupants of vehicles a frightening experience of jolts and jumps which have made some people nickname these stretches as "abortion roads". It is certainly not easy for ailing people to drive on the state roads without discomfort.

A more than 200 metres portion of the Kaithal -Dhand road has deep and wide depressions with large metalled portions missing, making it difficult for a vehicle to pass even at a slow speed. Another portion of the road near Khanoda along the damaged paddy fields also bears a testimony to the sad state of affairs. Feeble attempts to repair some of the patches near Khanoda have brought no relief to the road users as loosely pushed in repair material keeps flying on the road itself. Similar broken portion's of the road are in evidence at Pabnaba. At places one comes across unpainted speed breakers posing a serious danger to life and vehicles.

The journey on the road between Ramgarh- Narayangarh - Kala Amb- Bilaspur- Chhachhrauli and Tajewala is equally unpleasant for the road users. Besides potholes and depressions, a long portion of the road between Bilaspur and Chhachhrauli is simply missing with no signs of metalling visible on at least a stretch of more than 300 metres. Elsewhere, the condition of road, particularly between Narayangarh and Kala Amb, is extremely poor.

In fact, the long wait for the World Bank loan of nearly Rs 1,400 crore has gradually paralysed the movement of traffic in the state. It is still not clear when the hurdle in the release of loan will be removed so that the state highways and district roads are properly upgraded/repaired.

For the past several years, no serious efforts have been made to repair the roads. Weather too has been very unkind for the past one year. It is not only because of the funds but the rains also that bitumen works have not progressed.

Another major factor which played havoc with state of the roads in Haryana was the damage caused by the 1995 -96 floods. With water seeping in the soil and, later on, the soil taking its time to settle down, the surface of the roads could not stand the burden of the traffic.

The Government, it is said, has now finally decided to spare a sum of Rs 100 crore for PWD works which include an allocation of Rs 55 crore to be spent on repairs of state highways and district roads. The rest of the money will be spent on other ongoing works and rural roads.

In the normal course, renewal coats on all roads should be effected at least every five years as per specifications. Unfortunately only minor repairs have been carried out and no attention has been paid to the real requirements of the roads during the past several years.

In view of the poor availability of funds to undertake repairs and upgrading of roads, no care has been taken to assess the repair/ maintenance work as per the CBR (California Bearing Ratio ) test to assess the required thickness of crust for the intensity of the traffic. This test is necessary as it helps in designing the road thickness for axle load.

Farmers 'not given timely warning'
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — The President of the Yamunanagar district unit of the Haryana Krishak Samaj, Mr Satpal Kaushik, has accused the district administration of not giving timely warning to farmers about the floods in the Yamuna last week.

In a statement issued here today, Mr Kaushik said the water level in the Yamuna had started rising at noon on Saturday and it had crossed the danger mark during the day itself with the discharge reaching as high as 5.47 lakh cusecs. If the district administration had given timely warning about the impending floods, farmers could have tried to save their harvested crops, cattle and agriculture machinery.

Mr Kaushik said the fields were still under water and there was a severe shortage of fodder. He demanded that dewatering operations should be immediately launched and the farmers whose crops had been damaged should be paid compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre.

Robbers escape despite pursuit
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Oct 22 — Some unidentified jeep-borne men exchanged fire with the police at a naka near Kalanaur town near here last night. While the driver of the jeep was nabbed later, the others managed to escape.

According to police sources the men who had reportedly hired the jeep from Mokhra village for Kalanaur had allegedly robbed a resident of Mokhra village of Rs 2000. When the victim lodged a complaint with the police. The police started checking of jeeps. The men, when signalled to stop did not. The police gave chase and even hit their vehicle near Bond village, but could not nab them.

A wireless message was flashed and the driver of the jeep was arrested. He was identified as Sukhbir of Mokhra. He claimed that he was not an associate of the culprits. No one was injured in the shootout.

Armed men rob train passengers
From Our Correspondent

JIND, Oct 22 — Some armed persons looted cash, jewellery and watches of train passengers between Pillukhera and Siwaha railway stations in the district on the Jind-Panipat section last night.

The train was going from Panipat to Jind.

According to a report received here, the robbers boarded the train at Pillukhera and after committing the crime got down at Siwaha railway station.

The Railway police has registered a case under Section 395 of the IPC and under sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act.

Bansi Lal to meet PM today
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, will meet the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, tomorrow in Delhi to present a memorandum to him apprising him about the loss suffered by the State due to unseasonal rains recently and demand an immediate financial assistance of Rs 350 crore to provide relief to farmers.

According to quick estimates, kharif crops worth Rs 2088 crore have been damaged in the State besides horticulture crops worth Rs 10.45 crore in an area of 9.08 lakh hectares. Meanwhile, the State Government has also ordered special girdawri in the affected areas to assess the loss. Recovery of crop loan in the affected areas has also been deferred.

The Chief Minister had already written a letter to Mr Vajpayee informing him about the loss suffered by the State, demanding immediate financial assistance besides requesting that a central team should be deputed to tour the State to take stock of the situation.

Student run over by bus, hurt
From Our Correspondent

REWARI, Oct 22 — Sushil Adlakha, a student of B.Com Part I, of the local Kishan Lal Public College, was seriously injured when a Haryana Roadways bus ran over him while he was waiting at the college bus stop this afternoon. He has been admitted to the local Civil Hospital in a critical condition. Agitated college students came out on the roads and blocked traffic. They also smashed the panes of a Rajasthan Transport Corporation bus and two Haryana Roadways buses and deflated their tyres.

Vehicular traffic from Rewari to Delhi was diverted via National Highway No. 8 and the Rewari-Garhi-Bolni road.

After about half an hour the police arrived on the scene and prevented further sabotage.