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| Tuesday, September 26, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Fatehabad MC chief in soup Empowering women of Mewat
Holiday mood in Secretariat Kataria : Chautala
ignoring BJP Summons issued to power officials Liveried
rickshaw-pullers only on paper |
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Youths manhandle varsity Reader In-laws booked in
dowry death case Quiz contest results 2 injured in case of mistaken identity
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Fatehabad MC chief in soup FATEHABAD, Sept 25 — The local municipal committee president, Mr S.P. Bansal, finds himself in the soup. Seventeen out of the 19 councillors expressed their lack of confidence in Mr Bansal in a press note issued here today. The members have asked Mr Bansal to prove his majority in the House or else quit his post. Surprisingly, while the dissident members have levelled a number of allegations against the municipal chief, they have preferred not to take recourse to their legitimate right of moving a formal no-confidence motion against him. Mr Bansal has not been enjoying the best of relations with most of the members. Though Mr Bansal was elected to the post unanimously,it was mainly due to the fact that the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had asked the Municipal Commissioner owing allegiance to his party to ensure Mr Bansal’s election. Since Mr Bansal’s election a group of councillors led by the vice-president, Mr Sushil Narang, had been very critical of his style of functioning. Only last week, the dissident members had raised a controversy over an order issued by Mr Bansal in which he had asked the members not to sit in his chair in his absence. After the incident, Mr Bansal had targeted Mr Narang and had alleged in a press statement that the municipal vice-president had been launching a tirade against him at the instance of his political opponents and none of the local councillors supported Mr Narang. In retaliation, Mr Narang today issued a press statement issued by 17 out of the 19 councillors and levelled a plethora of allegations against Mr Bansal. The press note has the signature of all councillors barring Mr Bansal and a woman member, Mrs Meena Bansal. The press note denied the allegation of Mr Bansal that their campaign against him was at the instance of anyone. They said they had been fighting for their prestige only and alleged that Mr Bansal lost no opportunity to humiliate them through his “autocratic” style of functioning. The dissident members said they had elected Mr Bansal unanimously following a directive from Mr Chautala but Mr Bansal had become arrogant. They said the municipal president was disdainful towards them whenever they went to him. They alleged the development activities in the town had come to a standstill since Mr Bansal became president. The councillors have asked Mr Bansal either to prove his majority of quit in the interests of the local people. Mr Bansal could not be contacted for his comments as he was out of station. |
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Empowering women of Mewat KIRORI (Gurgaon), Sept 25 — Sheela Devi, who was till a few months ago caught in the web of exploitative money lenders and sharks, now finds herself free on account of the self-help scheme launched by the Haryana Government with the help of a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the villages of the Mewat area. Raseedan, like Sheela of this village, feels proud that she now holds accounts in a bank like her counterparts in towns. She attributes her new-found sense of security and empowerment to the dedicated work of Deepalaya, a NGO coopted by the Haryana Government for implementation of the self-help scheme. Hundreds of women are feeling the joy of being liberated from the clutches of money lenders and have started seeing visions of a better future. The scheme envisages formation of groups of women in the villages. The social workers of the NGOs roped in by the administration — with the moral support of the government — motivate the women in the areas assigned to them. Groups of unlettered women are informed about the finer points of savings and investments. The women in these groups are first taught the art of making monthly contribution to a corupus fund. Gradually, the group members loan money
interest. The money is loaned out at a nominal interest rate. The accumulated interest money is added to the principal amount, which, in fact, is collectively owned by the entire group. The money is deposited in commercial or nationalised banks. After the members of the groups have learnt about maintaining books of monetary transactions among themselves, they are led to procuring loans from banks. Of course, the NGOs and the government help these women and intervene so that their
bona fides can be established with the banks concerned. The idea is to train the group members and help them procure loans from the banks for lucrative ventures or profitable self-employment projects from the government under suitable scheme. At present, there are more than 553 groups operating in the entire Mewat area of Haryana falling in Gurgaon and Faridabad districts. Each of the groups consists of about a dozen females. However, a large number of groups were reported not to have been successful with the scheme. According to reports, while some of the NGOs were laid back in their approach to the scheme, in a number of villages the group members had pulled out of the scheme. In some villages, the menfolk are reported to have been instrumental in discouraging the women from getting enrolled for the scheme. According to observers, the self-help scheme was helping the women to organise and unite themselves. On an average, the group members meet once in a week. This help them to share their problems. This also facilitates them to share views with members of other groups in different villages and helps them to attain consciousness — social, economic and political. |
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Holiday mood in Secretariat CHANDIGARH, Sept 25 — Lazy afternoon mood had set in the Haryana secretariat today much before the lunch break as all 12 ministers in the state Cabinet, including the Chief Minister, were away to take part in the rally organised by the INLD at Sonepat to celebrate former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal’s 87th birthday. The usual hustle and bustle seen in the Secretariat on Mondays was missing as the people who came to see the ministers with requests of transfers and postings and other sundry works stayed away from the Secretariat. The number of visitors, who had collected entry passes from the reception, up to 12 noon today, was 198 which is about half the number of visitors who come to the secretariat on any of the week days. Last Monday, for instance, 386 entry passes were issued by that time Staff attached to the ministers had a day which was almost as good as Sunday, except that this holiday had to be spent sitting in the office. While clerks attached to the ministers sipped tea leisurely and read newspapers, the orderlies sat on their respective stools outside the ministers’ rooms gossiping and yawning. For the waiters working in the canteen at eighth floor, where as many as seven ministers have their offices, the absence of the ministers was a wonderful surprise as they did not have to rush for the ministers’ orders. “We have got about 75 credit slips today, had the ministers been here the number could have been anything between 150 to 200”, said the canteen managers. Senior state government officers, including the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, however, stayed back at Chandigarh. |
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Kataria : Chautala
ignoring BJP HISAR, Sept 25 — Mr Ratan Lal Kataria, president of the Haryana unit of the BJP, has said the high command would decide whether the party should part ways with the INLD at “an opportune time” or not. While addressing a press conference here today, Mr Kataria said the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, was ignoring the BJP. All important decisions had to be taken by the high command as the BJP was a national party, he added. He said the BJP’s relationship with the INLD had soured after the Assembly poll. It was for Mr Chautala to decide whether he wants a long-term relationship with the party, he added. The BJP chief said though the party did not want to end its alliance with Mr Chautala but the INLD had crossed the limits of decent political behaviour. Mr Kataria said the priority was to strengthen its base in the state. When this goal will be achieved, it will shed, “all political crutches”. |
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Summons issued to power officials PANIPAT, Sept 25 — Summons have been issued to officials of the District Electrical Division by the Consumer Protection Forum to be present on October 3 before the forum in connection with a complaint lodged by the nagar parishad about their “indifferent attitude and non-cooperation.” According to information, during three months in the summer season, due to high consumption of power, the division allegedly disconnected all streetlights, except those on the main road, causing inconvenience to residents. Moreover, the division also issued an average bill to the nagar parishad for two months, even though power had not been supplied during the period. The Executive Engineer of the parishad, Mr Shiv Kumar Vats, had sent letters to the Executive Engineer (HVPN), Mr Charan Singh Ahuja, demanding a clarification, but the latter had reportedly not replied. |
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Liveried
rickshaw-pullers only on paper HISAR Sept 25 — Have you ever boarded a rickshaw in Haryana, which is painted red, carries an official fare list and is driven by a rickshawpuller in navy blue uniform? Probably not. Nevertheless, under municipal byelaws in force in the state, a cycle rickshaw is supposed to be much more passenger friendly than even this. However, none of the byelaws governing plying of rickshaws are being implemented for the past several decades. As a result, the 1 lakh-odd rickshaws in the state have been plying illegally. Even the 20,000 licenced rickshaws do not fulfil all requirements under these byelaws. The rules state that every public rickshaw is supposed to be painted only in red colour. Anyone maintaining a rickshaw for private use has to paint it white. In addition, every rickshaw must have a headlight, a bell, a rearview mirror and reflectors in the rear. The municipal authorities are supposed to fix the fares for all routes and this fare list is supposed to be affixed to the rickshaw at a conspicuous place. It is the driver’s responsibility to keep the list in a legible condition. The rules also say that the drivers’ antecedents must be verified by a police officer of the rank of a Station House Officer and his age and physical fitness determined by a doctor on a yearly basis. All
rickshaw-pullers are supposed to carry a badge issued by the municipal body. They cannot ply the rickshaw beyond the hours prescribed on their licences. However, enquiries by The Tribune from different districts show that none of these byelaws are being enforced. Although the driving licences can only be issued to a person owning the rickshaw, it was found that most of the rickshaws were driven by persons other than their owners. Businessmen illegally own most of the rickshaws. The number of rickshaws they own varies from 10 to 100 per head. They also run their own repair shops to maintain these. The rickshaws are given on hire to poor migrant labourers. It was found that in most cases, the municipal authorities were unaware of all byelaws. For instance, none of the officials approached by The Tribune was aware that they were supposed to fix the fares and that the rickshaw should be painted in red. Likewise, they were unaware that the law provided that drivers wear a uniform. Even the traffic police officials were not aware that all rickshaws are supposed to have fixtures like a headlight and a rearview mirror. Enquiries revealed that hardly any rickshaw has been challaned for violation of these byelaws anywhere in the state for over a decade. It is no surprise, therefore, that the drivers themselves are unaware of the law. None of the drivers interviewed by this correspondent in different towns held a proper licence. They also did not know that a rickshaw is not supposed to carry more than two passengers, 20 kilos of luggage and that two children under 12 years are to be counted as one passenger. Even passengers were found ignorant of the rules. No passenger was aware that the municipal body fixes the fares. When told that the drivers were supposed to wear a navy blue uniform, a passenger said: “You must be talking about a foreign land. In our Haryana, even chauffeurs do not have uniforms”. All municipal bodies are issuing licences for rickshaws and drivers without implementing the relevant byelaws. The municipal bodies have been mechanically providing for issuing 100 licences more than the previous year without making any effort to ascertain the actual number of rickshaws plying in the town which is generally more than four times the number of licenced rickshaws. The annul licence fee for both a rickshaw and its driver is Rs 10 only. Some of the other important byelaws are — every driver is supposed to inform the medical officer if he has carried a person suffering from a contagious disease and he is supposed to deposit any property left unclaimed in a rickshaw by a passenger within two hours at the nearest police station. |
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Youths manhandle varsity Reader HISAR, Sept 25 — Four unidentified youths manhandled Mr Kuldeep Bansal, Reader and Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics, Guru Jambheshwar University, inside a classroom here this evening. The youths came to the classroom after bolting the offices of other teachers in the building and assaulted Mr Bansal. They threatened the students in the class of shooting anybody who intervened. They fled the scene after the assault. The police have registered a case but no arrests have been made so far. Mr Bansal said he did not know the youths. The executive committee of the GJU Teachers Association convened an emergency meeting to discuss the issue. Police parties have been sent to the campus. |
In-laws booked in
dowry death case SONEPAT, Sept 25 — The Sadar police has registered a case of dowry death against the husband and three other family members of Meena on the complaint lodged by her father, Hoshiar Singh of Mahavari village in Panipat district. The complainant has alleged that his daughter was murdered as he failed to give a scooter in the dowry. In another case, the Ganaur police has registered a case against four members of a family on the complaint lodged by Mrs Savitri Devi, mother of Mukesh. She alleged that her daughter was murdered by the brother of her husband at Dubeta village yesterday. |
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Quiz contest results FATEHABAD, Sept 25 — The team of Sonal, Mandeep and Shalu was adjudged the best in the quiz competition at the local Government College for Women today. It was followed by the team of Harsha, Anshu and Pinki. The competition was organised under the talent search competitions. In all, 61 students participated. In the declamation contest, Bimal and Neeraj got the first and second positions, respectively. In poetry recitation, Bhawana and Sheetal fared in that order. Chhavi was adjudged the best in painting. Taruna finished second. Anita and Monica bagged the first two spots, respectively, in singing. |
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2 injured in case of mistaken identity AMBALA, Sept 25 — A long simmering feud between two groups led to two persons being attacked with
sharp edged weapons in Rangiya Mandi, Ambala Sadar. The incident took place when a scooterist hit a child. Apparently, the child was not injured and the scooterist went his way. A few persons thought that the scooterist was trying to escape after injuring the child and they gave a chase. When they reached Rangiya Mandi, they barged into the residence of a Municipal Councillor, Lalita Prasad, in mistaken belief. The group attacked Tirloki, the councillor’s brother and his nephew, Prithvi, with a
sharp edged weapon. Both the injured have been admitted to Civil Hospital, Ambala cantonment. While Tirloki sustained injuries on his head, Prithvi sustained injuries in his hand. |
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