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May 11, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Naik says CNG not enough, IGL begs to differ New Delhi, May 10 While the IGL, the monopoly supplier of CNG in the Capital, has chalked out a blueprint for providing 16.12 lakh kg of gas per day in deference to the court orders by the end of March 2003, the Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik, today categorically stated that it would take at least two more years to meet the Capital’s CNG requirements. Mr Naik said the shortage of CNG in Delhi will continue for about two more years as the fuel was in short supply. The demand-supply gap will be bridged only after completion of Petronet’s CNG project at Dahej by December next year, Mr Naik told reporters on the sidelines of an energy seminar here. The Dahej terminal will handle five million tonnes of CNG. Further, a 25-year contract has been signed with Qatar for supply of CNG from next year. ‘’Till then, we will try to provide as much CNG as possible to Delhi,’’ Mr Naik said. On the other hand, the IGL managing director, Mr A K De, said that the company would be in a position to provide 16.12 lakh kg of gas by March 2003. In this direction, the company recently obtained the sanction for laying a pipeline in the North and Western part of the Capital. The IGL, which was rapped yesterday by the Apex Court on CNG price hike, said that it plans to invest Rs 550 crore this fiscal to meet the demand of 82,561 vehicles. (as against 58127 vehicles at present). Environmentalists alleged that this was yet another attempt to scuttle the CNG drive in the Capital. They said the government had first came out with its auto fuel policy which said that only emission norms should be laid down. As this failed to cut ice, the price of CNG was increased, making it costlier than diesel, and thus unattractive. The company’s policy of supplying gas to the industrial units at a lower rate than the transport sector, even though the court had categorised the transport sector as a priority sector, came in for a sharp criticism from the Bench and the Bhure Lal Committee has been asked to look into the price hike issue. Meanwhile, the NCR Natural Gas Industrial Consumers Association appealed to the IGL not to cut the supply to the industrial units as it would drastically affect the productivity of these units and result in large scale unemployment. Further, the industrial units had invested a huge amount only after securing an assurance from the IGL that the natural gas would be supplied to them without interruption. |
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Govt unit exploited
loopholes, evaded tax on sales Ghaziabad, May 10 Plastic grain sold by the IPCL attracts tax at the rate of 10 per cent, he added. IPCL had entered into such agreements with other traders so that they would have to receive and deposit the tax on the goods supplied to them. The IPCL unit on Delhi-UP border had shown the sales as stock transfer and thus evaded the tax component on it whereas actually it was a straight sale and not the transfer of stock. Hence, 10 per cent tax had to be deposited on it, Mr Gupta added. By not depositing the tax component on sale of plastic grain, IPCL had adopted an illegal procedure, Mr Gupta said. As the special cell had been getting reports for many years, Assistant Commissioner Mahavir Singh was asked to probe the matter. He found that on a sale of Rs 300 crore, only Rs 22.5-crore tax was deposited. During 1999-2000, IPCL had sold goods worth over Rs 15.45 crore. A notice for Rs 15.54 crore trade tax on this only has been sent to the undertaking. An inquiry has also been ordered against the department staff for the dereliction of duty. Mr Singh claimed it to be a biggest case of tax evasion in Ghaziabad district. An analysis is also being done of sales pertaining to other years. On getting some reports of tax evasion, the department had conducted inquiries into the cases of three cold storages as part of a campaign. Goods worth crores of rupees were discovered in the cold storages and the department had collected additional tax of Rs 2.5 crore. In steel market also, the department increased the tax collection by about Rs 3 crore and registration of 18 fake iron and steel firms were cancelled. The dy commissioner said that during the scrutiny of four big cement firms, tax evasion on Rs 26 crore worth of sale of cement came to light. Similarly in sale of vegetable oil, tax evasion on Rs 38 crore worth of sale was detected. All the cases are being investigated and efforts are afoot to plug the loopholes. |
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Weather god still in a
scorching mood New Delhi, May 10 “May is the hottest month. There is nothing unusual about the temperature that we are witnessing. In 1994, the temperature in May had soared to 47.2 degrees Celsius. In the recent past, too, the mercury has touched 47 degrees ”, said Mr. R D Singh, Director, Meteorological Department. While the Meteorological Department reasons that the “normal temperature is 40 degrees Celsius in May,” this is of little comfort to people who are forced to stay indoors and devise ways of keeping cool, unscheduled power cuts notwithstanding. “Thankfully the schools are closing for summer, otherwise it would have been a harrowing experience for both the students and their parents. It is dangerous for kids to stay out in the sun at this time of the year, especially with their heavy bags”, quipped Mr. R S Gupta. With the weather god in a scorching bad mood, doctors have warned against staying out in the sun for too long, especially between 12 in the afternoon and four in the evening. Also fluid intake is a must to replenish the salts lost due to sweating. Water-borne ailments are also on the rise in the city. Owing to increasing incidence of dysentery and gastroenteritis in certain area, doctors have advised people to avoid eating from roadside stalls. Adding to the woes of the masses is the erratic water and electric supply. “There is hardly any water in our locality and whatever little trickles down is dirty. You can see the particles floating in the water. If this continues, we are all bound to fall ill”, complained a resident of Lajpat Nagar. The only people happy with the heat are the traders, selling fans and coolers. The Kamala Market cooler market has done brisk business in the last few days. So did the various area markets. The sale of cold drinks has also gone up, claimed the traders, though they did not have ready statistics to prove this. According to the Met office, the heat wave was likely to continue for a few more days and there may be some drop in the temperature because of the sandstorms that are common at this time of the year. But for more enduring relief, one will have to hope that the monsoon keeps its date with the Capital. |
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Holiday camps to promote
Punjabi New Delhi, May 10 The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee makes its school premises and funds available for the camps. “During summer holidays, the buildings are empty. So, they can be used productively for the benefit of the community,” said Mr Kulmohan Singh, general secretary of the DSGMC. The camp is not aimed at making people understand the rich nuances of the language, rather it is an attempt to preserve the language. The SGPC member, Mr Harinderpal Singh said, “Not only children, but even parents take pride in speaking to their wards in English. Such a trend is dangerous, as it would result in the natural death of the language,” he said. Mr Manjit Singh Greater Kailash feels that many opt for English as it generates better employment opportunities. The government should, therefore, take the initiative to promote Punjabi. “It is sad that people themselves do not take pride in the language and encourage their wards to speak in English. But, the change must be initiated at the individual level,” he added. Mr Viranderjit Singh explained that the language camp is not just restricted to school students, though they are the main target group. The language would be taught in about 60 centres in the Capital. “We enroll students in the 14 to 60 age group. If anyone younger is eager to learn the language, we would welcome that person. The emphasis during the course is to introduce them to the language and inform them about its richness,” he said. While this effort to popularise the language continues, the battle for securing the second language status for Punjabi in the Capital appears to have reached a dead end with the Lt Governor raising some objections to the state government’s proposal. The Lt Governor, Mr Vijai Kapoor, it is learnt, has written to the Delhi Government questioning the proposed second language status move when there are only six lakh Sikhs in a population of over one crore. Sources said Mr Kapoor had raised this issue almost two years after the Delhi Assembly unanimously passed a Bill granting second language status to Punjabi. |
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YOUNG VOICE New Delhi, May 10 This Raj Kanwar’s film is a musical love story and a thriller based on the theme of reincarnation and supernatural elements. Besides debutante Amrita Rao, the film also stars Danny Denzongpa, Shakti Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana and Asish Vidhyarathi. Arya or Gorky as his sister and friends call him, grew up on the stage as both his parents, particularly his mother, Nadira Babbar, were active in theatre. Arya was with his mother’s Theatre Group. He was also in her first children’s play `Aao Picnic Chalen’ when he was minus ten. But his first break had come in school, where he had literally begged for a role and managed to get a two-minute role. He had wanted to do a full course in filmmaking, but ultimately followed his father’s advice that he did not need a foreign course for acting in the Indian films. So, he just completed a two-month course in film appreciation from the American Film Institute. But before stepping into the theatre or cinema full time, Arya decided to get some experience in varied subjects. He dabbled in journalism. He did not join any institute but got training from a film journalist, Khalid Mohammed, who was a friend of his mother. Arya says that journalism turned him from a shy and introverted into a more confident person. Initially, he began working backstage with his mother’s group ‘Ekjut’ but knew that his goal was to be in the theatre and films. He followed a strict regimen of workouts and swimming and learnt dance from Saroj Khan who was also the dance director of his first film. Today Arya has three to four more projects in the pipeline, one being a Ramoji Rao film to be directed by Esmayeel Shroff. Arya enjoys watching films and loves rock climbing and trekking. He is fond of ghazals and likes to diarise his thoughts. His favourite actor is none other than his father. All the same, he thinks highly of Aamir Khan and admires Hrithik Roshan for having proved that it is not enough to be a star son. Perhaps acting runs in the family as Raj Babbar’s daughter, Juhi is soon going to make her debut in Ravinder Peepat’s film ‘Kash Aaap Hamare Hote’ with singer-turned-actor, Sonu Nigam. |
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Ex-serviceman killed, house ransacked New Delhi, May 10 The police said that while the body of the deceased, Ummed Singh, had been sent for post-mortem examination, the injured, including his two sons and the daughter-in-law, had been admitted to a hospital where their condition was described as serious but stable. They were identified as Sudesh, Suberbhan and Mrs Lal Kaur. The police said that a case of dacoity had been registered and efforts were being made to trace the suspects. The police believe that the dacoity was the handiwork of the infamous 'Kaccha Baniyan' gang, which had been lying dormant for the last couple of years. The members of the gang go out on raids clad only in their underclothes and armed with only lathis and other blunt weapons picked up on the way and are known to be extremely vicious. They normally strike in the early hours of the morning. |
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IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, May 10 The Super Bazar had reported that the dues of suppliers as on March 31, 2001 were Rs 32.50 crore (unaudited), Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution V. Sreenivasa Prasad said in a written reply. The Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr T. R. Baalu, informed the Rajya Sabha that the MCD was to build 1,146 toilets in the resettlement colonies, regularised slum areas and at public places to cater to the floating population under the Yamuna Action Plan’s extended phase by March 31, 2002. Against this number, the MCD had taken up the construction of only 954 toilets because of non-availability of land and local disputes at the remaining sites. Originally, Japan Bank of International Corporation (JBIC) had provided financial help for construction of these toilets up to March 31, 2002, but it has now been extended up to February 19, 2003. The work on the Yamuna Action Plan at Delhi is likely to be completed in February 2003. An amount of Rs 151.94 crore has been released by the government for implementation of the plan at Delhi. The remaining works are on setting up community toilet complexes, mini-sewage treatment plants, micro-sewage treatment plants and public participation and public awareness programme. The future plan will depend upon the availability of funds and financial assistance from the JBIC, the minister said. The Yamuna, when passing through Delhi, receives 2,700 MLD of wastewater through 19 drains. The discharge of this heavy load of sewage without adequate dilution renders the river polluted. Mr Baalu informed the Rajya Sabha that the Delhi Government had informed that a proposal had been received from the National Highway Authority of India seeking permission under the Delhi Tree Preservation Act to fell 6,184 trees for widening of NH-8 from 14.200 km (Rao Tula Ram Marg) to 23.965 km point (Delhi-Haryana border). Under the provisions of the Act, the permission was given with a condition to plant saplings 10 times the number of trees to be felled. The Minister of State for Railways informed the Rajya Sabha that there was a proposal to introduce a passenger train between Delhi and Meerut during 2002-03. |
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SAD wants DSGMC polls postponed New Delhi, May 10 The DSGMC president and the SAD (Badal) chief, Mr Avtar Singh Hit, and the party secretary general, Mr Kuldip Singh Bhogal, pointed out that the Directorate of Gurdwara Elections had not published the voters’ list in Hindi and Punjabi. Further, several names in Ward 16 (Ashok Nagar) and Ward 24 (Moti Nagar) had been deleted even though the persons resided in the same ward. In other wards too, the SAD (Badal) leaders said such discrepancies could come to light once the complete list of the voters was published by the directorate. The SAD leader also submitted a memorandum to the Lt Governor, Mr Vijay Kapoor, urging that the elections to the DSGMC should not be held till the discrepancies in the voters’ list were removed. The leaders, earlier in the day, met the officials of the directorate to lodge their protest against the discrepancies in the electoral rolls. The elections to the DSGMC are scheduled to be held next month, as the state government had given an undertaking before the Delhi High Court to hold it before June 15. Observers said this was yet another ploy to delay the polls even though the present committee had completed its four-year term much earlier and the court was unlikely to grant further extension. The court had earlier granted time to the state government on the ground of revision of the electoral rolls, addition of new names following the presidential assent giving voting rights to persons above 18 years and above. |
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Recovery of power dues Faridabad, May 10 The rural defaulters in the district owe the Power Department about Rs 36 crore. As per the scheme, the Power Department was required to recover about Rs 9 crore in the period from May 1 to May 15. However, with the present speed of recovery, it is highly unlikely that the DHBVN would be able to recover more than a crore of rupees in the next one week. In such a situation, the authorities may be forced to extend the time period of the scheme for at least a month, if the target was to be achieved, as per the department sources. Moreover, one major hurdle that was reported to be coming in the way of recovery was that the farmers of the district who were defaulters in the past one year had not been included in the scheme. According to the point number-XI of the direction issued by the GM, Commercial, DHBVN, Hisar, “For consumers who have faulted on making payment of their electricity bills after March 31, 2001 and have continued to do so up to April 30, 2002 will have the option to pay the principal amount of their bills in one go, with the total surcharge written off. This facility will be available to the domestic, non-domestic and agricultural power consumers in rural areas up to May 15”. Here it is pointed out that the nigam has waived of only the surcharge and not the 75 per cent of the total amount pending. Jhajjar: The power dues’ waiver scheme introduced by the state government has not been coming up with satisfactory results so far, if the official figures of recovery is anything to go by. The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) officials with active association of other departments are toiling hard to impress upon the defaulting consumers to gain out of this scheme. According to the official sources, there are 29,149 power bill defaulters in 155 villages of the district who owed over Rs 31.20 crore to the HVPN in Jhajjar division only. This includes Rs 28.19 crore from domestic, Rs 99 lakh from non-domestic and Rs 2 crore from agriculture consumers, while 89 villages of Bahadurgarh subdivision owe Rs 13 crore to the nigam by Thursday. Of the huge arrears in Jhajjar subdivision, the power officials have recovered Rs 36 lakh clearing the power arrears of Rs 1.25 crore, which is much short of the expectations. In Bahadurgarh subdivision, the recovery is even more unimpressive. Giving details of the recovery of amount till date, the SDM at Bahadurgarh said that Rs 54.55 lakh had been paid in cash during the ongoing campaign, settling the total power dues to the tune of Rs 1.14 crore, thus disposing of 1,246 cases of defaulting consumers. The SDM said that the waiver scheme had been attracting the defaulters and they were coming forward to clear the huge arrears. Rewari: As many as 1,063 power bill defaulters of various villages of the district have so far availed of the waiver scheme. These defaulters have earned a waiver of Rs 35.38 lakh by paying only Rs 17.67 lakh, according to Mr Vineet Garg, Deputy Commissioner, Rewari. He said that development works would be expedited as well as special grants would be doled out to all those villages where the farmers would pay their outstanding arrears to the power nigam by May 15 under the above scheme. Simultaneously, he warned that the defaulters, who had failed to do so by May 15, would be severely dealt with later. He further said that the administration was making all-out efforts to get good dividends out of the above scheme. Camps to facilitate the defaulters to pay their outstanding arrears would be organised in various villages. Besides, bill collection centres would remain open on May 11 and 15, which both are otherwise holidays, he added. |
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Power consumers to protest against lathi-charge Sonepat, May 10 According to a report, the action committee also strongly condemned the police action and alleged that the policemen had entered several houses and beaten up the inmates, particularly women and children. The action committee urged the Superintendent of Police to take stern action against the policemen found guilty of the lathi-charge. The members of the action committee will tour the urban and rural areas to make the May 16 demonstration a success. The 31-member action was formed at a meeting of the consumers held here today. The venue of the meeting was heavily guarded by the police as a precautionary measure.
Policemen transferred The Inspector General of Police, Rohtak Range, Mr Resham Singh, has ordered the transfer of Mr Chater Singh, a Sub-Inspector of police from Gohana to Jhajjar with immediate effect. According to a report, this action followed the public complaints about the delay in taking action against the assailants involved in a case of assault on Mr Inder Singh Sehrawat, president, Bar Association, Gohana, in the district. Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Police, Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat, has sent Mr Satvir, Station House Officer, Gohana, to the Police Lines, Sonepat on similar ground. He also directed Mr Amar Dass, SHO, Sadar Police Station to take charge in his place. Similarly, Mr Vijender Kumar has been directed to assume charge in place of Mr Amar Dass, SHO, Sadar police station. |
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‘Follow SC guidelines on poll candidates’ Sonepat, May 10 In a signed press statement issued here, he said it would go a long way to clean politics and eliminate the chances of its criminalisation. Much damage had already been caused to the democratic set-up of the country due to the criminalisation of politics, he said and advised the political parties to incorporate a special clause in their constitutions to ban giving tickets to persons involved in criminal activities. Mr Vidrohi criticised the appointment of the favourites of the political leaders to higher posts and expressed concern over the favouritism and malpractice in the selection of candidates by the Haryana Public Service Commission and the Haryana State Services Selection Board. He wondered how the kith and kin of high-ranking police officers and politicians were the only candidates who had been selected in the Haryana Civil Services (HCS) Executive Branch recently. He said that it had created a sense of doubt in the minds of the people as well as the rejected candidates about the fairness in the selection process. The Janata Dal leader demanded a high-level probe on the pattern of Punjab to expose the misdeeds of the functionaries of the Haryana Public Service Commission and other selection bodies. |
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60 jhuggis gutted in Koshambi Ghaziabad, May 10 The fire broke out about 4 pm and it took six fire-tenders about two hours to control the blaze. One Jabar Singh was cooking food and his jhuggi caught fire due to sparks and flames. Since the walls of the jhuggis are common, the blaze spread to other huts in no time. Six fire-tenders, including three from the head quarters in Kotwali and two from Sahibabad, managed to control the fire after two hours. But by that time, over 60 jhudgis had been gutted. But for the help and presence of mind displayed by 40 PAC jawans, the blaze would have destroyed about 500 jhuggis. Most of the women and men had gone out to earn their livelihood. Many people were held back by the fire brigade and police personnel from going inside the burning area to salvage their belongings. The jhuggi dwellers were ruing their fate as on an average, Rs 10,000 worth of belongings had been destroyed in each slum, including household goods, clothes, utensils, beds etc. The City Magistrate, Mr R. K. Pandey, said that the Tehsildar had been asked to prepare the estimate of loss and a list of jhuggis destroyed. The district administration has announced Rs 500 as relief to members of each jhuggi that had been destroyed. With the mercury soaring to 44 degree Celsius in the region in the last two days, the incidents of fire have been reported from various parts. |
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Often, there are easy solutions available for very complicated problems. But we simply tend to ignore them? It can be said that a similar scenario prevails about the grossly under-utilisation of the Badli railway station by the residents of Rohini. Now that the national Capital is faced with a severe transport crisis, the residents of Rohini can utilise the EMU train services from Badli railway station to travel to their places of work, particularly in Connaught Place, ITO and nearby areas. However, in order to encourage the residents to use the Badli railway station, it needs to be redesigned and new infrastructures need to be installed. More importantly, an easy approach road through Sectors 18 and 19 for reaching Badli railway station has to be urgently constructed. A better parking facilities for two-wheeler and cycles, towards the Rohini side, needs to be constructed. Also, special permits to RTVs, ‘Hari Bharis’, Phatphat seva, electric autos should be allotted to ply between Rohini and Badli railway station during peak hours. Added to all the above said measures, is the need for the railway authorities to augment the existing EMU services by running one or two additional services. These special services can commence from Nerala in the morning and terminate there in the evening during the peak hours. This will help in reducing the pressure on already overburdened existing EMU services originating from Haryana towns in the morning and terminating there in the evening. These steps will bring about the much- needed transformation in the chaotic and crisis-ridden public transport scenario in the national Capital. It will help in solving public transport problems not only in Rohini but possibly in the nearby areas like Pitampura, Shalimar Bagh, etc. Hopefully, it will help in reducing, to a very great extent, the dependence and pressure on DTC/STA/chartered buses. It will induce the owners of the private vehicles to use the train services, which will lead to a reduction in the number of vehicles on the road. Obviously, this will reduce both air and noise pollution in the national Capital. A win-win-win situation for all concerned. The Delhi Government should prevail upon the Central Government and the Indian Railways to contribute their respective share to do the needful to put the above said suggestions into concrete action. TISH MALHOTRA, Rohini, Delhi.
Human misery It is a shame for our country and the humanity at large, that people are compelled, by their adverse circumstances, to sell their body organs. It is indeed heartrending when one learns that someone, out of sheer helplessness, sold his or her body organs, to provide the minimum basic facilities to the family. Pick up any magazine or newspaper and you will find the unnerving cases of body organs being sold to earn a living. Of late, many cases of kidney’s being sold have come to limelight. Though the Central Act 1994, has declared it a criminal offence to trade in human organs, this illegal trade is thriving. According to Karnataka Authorisation Committee, 1012 cases of kidney transplant were registered between January 1996 and March 2002. Nine persons have been arrested for working as agents in the kidney transplant racket in January 2002 in the Mandya district. Facts ascertained from the arrested agents, clearly show that it is a nationwide network. These unscrupulous agent even fix the price of the kidney, keeping in view the desperation and the purchasing power of the patients and the intensity of the adversity of the donor. Many social institutions are trying to end the illegal transplantation of body organs, but no tangible success has emerged. All the efforts seem to be going in vain. The government should take exemplary actions against all the agents, hospitals, doctors, recipients who are playing this diabolic game of thriving on human misery. In this scenario, apart from implementing the law of land at the local, state and central levels vigorously, there is an urgent need to change the pathetic economic conditions of the poor people, who are forced to sell their organ. We must strive to create such a healthy socio-economic atmosphere where all Indian citizens are able to afford basic human needs in a dignified manner. It is really a shame that economic conditions have forced people to sell their body organs. As per the present legal requirements, recipients and the donors have to undergo half an hour interrogation by the authorisation committee before going for the transplantation. But the recipients and the donors are well “trained” to hoodwink the committee members. But the whole racket is run in such a professional manner that the committee can do nothing but to accept the false testimony at its face value. But the time has come when the committee should order thorough investigation into the matter. It should mobilise its own machinery, and should take appropriate actions against all those who are found guilty of this inhuman act. SHWETA KOHLI,
Two-party system We seem to be unfair in blaming the BJP for all the secular problems in our country. Who can deny that all the pseudo-secularists, who make tall claims of being the custodian of secularism, are equally to be blamed for their hypocrisy and sinister motives. Actually the whole country has been saffronised. In my opinion, the coalition era has ruined the country. It is time the people reverted back to the concept of two party system in order to save the country from further destruction. Each party will do well to narrow down their ideological disparities to fit in the mould of the two main parties. This alone will wriggle us out of the rapidly deepening malaise. R.L. PATHAK,
Basic amenities Indeed, it was shocking to learn that Faridabad town, which has the highest population in Haryana and well-known as the Manchester of North India, is in a pitiable condition. First of all, it lacks the basic amenities, particularly the transportation facilities. There are frequent traffic jams, causing unnecessary delay. Unless a bypass highway, connecting Kalindhi in Delhi to Jhasentli village in the district is not made, the position will not improve. The situation at the Badarpur border which connects Delhi to Haryana is alarming. Hence, it is the need of the hour that basic infrastructures are developed if we want to put Faridabad on the industrial map of India. SUBHASH C
TANEJA,
Birth registration Apropos ‘Juvenile Justice Act...’ NCR Tribune, 6th May. The problem of the age of the accused and also of the victims arises in the courts very frequently, and because of the uncertainty prevailing in the matter, sometimes great injustice takes place. For example, in a case of rape, the victim may be below 16, which, if proved, will make her consent (even where it is there) wholly irrelevant and the punishment for the accused rather sure. But in border line cases, benefit of difference of opinion to the extent of a year or two, goes to the accused and he gets acquitted. One unfailing remedy is that every birth should be registered. Law in this behalf is there, but virtually it is a dead letter. This law should be revamped and strictly enforced. No doubt, that remedy is a long- distance one, but don’t we do long-distance planning in other field? Had we done this about 20 years ago, the problem which we are facing now, would simply not be there. RAM SARAN BHATIA,
Vacation A brief news “summer vacation” (NCR Tribune 1st May, 2002) stated that teachers of “undergraduate and postgraduate classes of affiliated colleges and university as well as P.G., Regional Centre (Rewari) of Maharshi Dayanand University” (MDU) would be on summer vacation” from May 1 to June 20”. True. It requires mention here that while the summer vacations have commenced, the university’s invigilation and evaluation jobs are in progress. Several lecturers working in the affiliated colleges appointed as invigilators by MDU for the conduct of examination in the month of April, shall also perform their invigilation duty in the first half of May, 2002. Hence, much of the summer vacation of these teachers would be spent doing university work. Therefore, it is submitted that MDU should circulate a letter to all the principals of colleges to grant earned leave to those lecturers who have worked/performed the university’s duties during the summer vacation. OM PARKASH
WADHWA,
Potholed city Rohtak has virtually become a city of potholes. You come across potholes every where in this city. When you enter the municipal limits, not even a single road is free from them. Sadly, no one from municipality tries to level them. When they do level them once in a while, soon there is depression causing a deep pothole. Will the authorities be kind enough to reduce the suffering of the people of Rohtak. Dr
G.B. SINGH,
TA payment I retired as superintendent RIDC, Kurukshetra with the Industries Department and submitted a TA bill of Rs 1800 to G.M, DIC, Khurkshetra in May 1993. However, I have not received any payment even though many reminders have been sent to the department. I would request the authorities to send the payment with
interest. I served this department for more than 32 years. At this stage of my life and health, this is the least I can expect from them. GURBAKSH SINGH,
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, May 10 Bus No 408 that was running up to Lajpat Nagar will now originate at N Block of Raghubir Nagar and terminate at Sarai Kale Khan (ISBT). The DTC buses plying on these new routes were flagged off by Transport Minister Ajay Maken. CM
condoles Poet’s death:
BJP corporators call on CM:
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NCR BRIEFS Faridabad, May 10 237 Sodium
lights As many as 237 new sodium bulbs have been put on the National Highway No 2 (Mathura Road) between the Badarpur Border and Ballabgarh town in order to illuminate the highway passing through the town. Stating this, the Deputy commissioner said that this 11-km stretch of the highway would be fully illuminated by May end. He said while damaged electric poles had been replaced, new lights were being put on a war footing.
Water charges The Irrigation Department is finding it difficult to recover pending water charges from farmers in the Hathin subdivision of the district. It is learnt that water charges worth about Rs 2.65 crore have not been deposited for the past ten years. Although a committee has been formed under the chairmanship of the SDM to recover the dues, it is reported that disputes regarding some wrong bills had created hurdles.
Houses gutted Rewari Labour dispute Sonepat |
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Two drown in drain New Delhi, May 10 The parents of the duo filed a missing complaint after the two did not come back from school till late last night. Some clothes of the children were found lying beside the drain after which a search operation was launched, they said, adding that the body of Nishant was recovered while the search for the other body was on. |
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4 carjackers nabbed after chase Sonepat, May 10 Giving the sequence of events, the SP said that Mr Vijay Pal Singh, a businessman of Gautam Colony in Narela, proceeded towards Narela around noon after closing his office on the Shivpuri road. After some distance, the four robbers stopped his car and snatched it at pistol-point and drove it away to Narela. On the receipt of information, the police swung into action and a `nakabandi’ was organised. A Maruti car was spotted coming from Pio Munyari. The car driver turned it towards Panipat, ignoring the police signal to stop. The police gave chase and on seeing the police, the robbers turned back the car towards Delhi from Teha village. One of them fired shots at the cops who returned the fire. The robbers continued firing but the car dashed against a tree and slipped on to a kutcha road. Thereafter, all the four were overpowered by the police. According to the SP, a case has been registered against them and further investigations were in progress. |
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3,500 quintals of wheat seized Noida, May 10 Mr A. K. Gupta of the special intelligence wing of the Trade Tax Department said that 4 per cent trade tax was chargeable on the wheat and the traders were smuggling out the wheat in tractor-trolleys to make it appear that it belonged to farmers. If the farmers themselves were carrying it, there would not have been any tax. To evade tax, traders have found a new method of transporting in tractor-trolleys to Delhi by showing it as belonging to farmers. The department keeps such movements under special observation. Officials of the Trade Tax Department have initiated legal action against seized wheat and the vehicles carrying it. Now the consignment will be released only after charging thrice the amount of the original tax, Mr Gupta said. The wheat-laden trucks and tractor-trolleys have been parked at Vijay Nagar and Mohan Nagar check posts. According to the department, grains are being smuggled in tractor-trolleys from one place to the other in the district and to Delhi in the name of farmers on a large scale. Some of the traders reportedly maintain a fleet of their own tractor-trolleys, to evade trade tax every year. These tractors don’t have any registration number like other vehicles. |
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Shot by uncle, kin over land row Jhajjar, May 10 According to the police sources, the deceased, Virender, was attacked around 1.30 am in the morning when he was asleep. He died on the spot, while his bodyguard, Dharambir, was admitted to the PGIMS at Rohtak. A land dispute between two brothers in the family is stated to be the reason behind the murder. The police said that Virender had also been attacked by the same accused on February 15 but he managed to escape. After that, he was provided with two policemen as personal guards. The assailants have been identified as his uncle, Diwan Singh, Kitabo, and two cousins, Anil and Krishan. The police had also booked the four after the first attack on the deceased in February this year. The police said that the deceased was fired at thrice. Though his personal guard fired in retaliation, the assailants managed to escape unhurt. The guard also received bullet injuries in the firing. The police have arrested the three accused while Krishan was still at larger. Crushed to death:
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Four held in pig farm murder New Delhi, May 10 The suspects were identified as Anil Kumar (24), Parveen (20), Gulab Singh alias Hathi (20) and Anil (19). They had reportedly stabbed to death Rajesh (17) a few days ago while the victim was working in his pig farm. During interrogation the suspects confessed to their involvement in the murder case. They disclosed that they went to steal pigs from the farm. When they were challenged by the victim and his brother, they killed Rajesh, the police said. Road death:
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