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Wednesday,
May 22, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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BKU workers take 2 DSPs hostage
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villages may come under Yamuna plan Hooda accepts CM’s challenge Cong threatens to gherao
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Lottery tickets to be costlier FCI staff stir today Get ready for war: Chautala Microscope model lying in a state of neglect
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BKU workers take 2 DSPs hostage Jind, May 21 Mr Nagar was coming from Panchkula to the town via Kandela last night. They have been held hostage at the residence of a BKU leader at Kandela. According to a report received here, another DSP, Mr Ashok Kumar, was also held hostage today afternoon allegedly by the BKU activists at Kandela village. One Head Constable was taken hostage on Sunday night at the village. The number of persons taken hostage by the activists has gone up to six. Further intensifying their agitation the activists allegedly set afire a Haryana Roadways bus of the local depot near Kuchrana village in the district today. Some jeep-borne youths intercepted the bus near the village and set it on fire. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Hawa Singh Dhankar, and the SP, Mr K.K. Rao, rushed to the spot. The dharna by the BKU workers and farmers at the Kandela village entered its third day today. Hundreds of youths, including children, armed with lathis and sharp-edged weapons were patrolling the venue of dharna and main roads of the village. The villagers had blocked the Jind-Kaithal road near the village by felling a tree on the road. Speaking at the dharna, Mr Ghasi Ram Nain, state President of the BKU, said the union did not want any confrontation with the government and they would continue their agitation peacefully. The farmers had to struggle to make government accept their demands. He alleged that the Chautala government had failed to fulfil its election promises and had not implemented the agreement reached at between BKU office-bearers and representatives of the government about five months ago forcing the BKU to start agitation again. Mr Nain alleged that post-mortem report of Ram Sarup of Shimla village who died in police firing at Naguran village had been changed. He said the BKU would start legal action against officers and doctors who had changed the report. Meanwhile, in Chandigarh, the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, warned that stern action would be taken against BKU activists if they did not release the hostages within 24 hours. “Mr Chautala said if the hostages were not released, the state government would act the way the BKU was wanting it to act” an official spokesman quoted Mr Chautala as having said. By this statement the Chief Minister meant that unless the hostages were released, maximum number of cops would be mobilised to storm the village, the spokesman explained. Mr L.M. Goyal, Chief Secretary of Haryana, told TNS that the state government had already declared Mr Ghasi Ram Nain, BKU chief, a proclaimed offender and efforts were on to arrest him. “ There is no question of the government being apprehensive about his arrest triggering off a law and order problem. We will arrest him as soon as we can lay hands on him”, Mr Goyal said. |
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villages may come under Yamuna plan Chandigarh, May 21 The Chief Minister, who was presiding over the first meeting of the State Sanitary Board for 2002-2003 here yesterday, also directed the department to conduct a survey in the Mewat area for exploring the possibility of utilising the seepage water of the Gurgaon canal for the purpose of drinking, agriculture and meeting the requirement of the cattle. He
said Rs 11.87 crore had been allocated for water supply and sewerage
schemes in various towns during the current financial year. Under the
Accelerated Urban Water Supply Programme, it was proposed to
commission drinking water supply schemes in the towns of Ferozepur
Jhirka, Indri, Nuh, Taoru, Ratia, Sadhaura, Naraingarh, Uchana and
Hali Mandi at the rate of 70 litres per capita per day. At present,
there were 68 towns whose water supply and sanitation services were
being managed by the Public Health Department. It was revealed at the meeting that Rs 10 crore would be provided by the Union Government under the Desert Development Programme during 2002-2003 for the augmentation of drinking water supply schemes in the desert areas. A sum of Rs 3.67 crore as bonus had been released under this programme by the Union Government after judging the good performance of the state during 2001-2002 in addition to the normal release of Rs 9.08 crore. |
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Hooda accepts CM’s challenge Chandigarh, May 21 Mr Chautala had challenged Mr Hooda to give a call to the farmers not to pay the electricity dues and face the consequences. Mr Hooda said here that he was not afraid of threats held out by Mr Chautala as he belonged to a family which had fought against British might. He said there was a proposal to call a panchayat of all sections of the farmers where a decision would be taken how to fight for their rights. Mr Hooda was addressing a “sadbhavna sabha” organised here to pay homage to the late Rajiv Gandhi. Adopting a unanimous resolution the sabha demanded the early completion of the CBI inquiry into the conspiracy aspect of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. By another resolution, it condemned the Chautala government for its “anti-farmer” policies. The sabha demanded a CBI inquiry into the police action against the agitating farmers and compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of those who were killed in the agitation as well as for the injured persons. It was addressed, among others, by Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala, former party president; Dr Ram Prakash, general secretary; Capt Ajay Singh, Mr Jai Prakash Barwala, Mr Dan Singh, Dr Raghubir Singh Kadian, Mr Shadi Lal Batra, Mr Jitender Malik, Mr Sher Singh, Mr Dharamvir, Mr Lachhman Dass Arora, Mrs Anita Yadav and Mr Dharam Pal, all MLAs; and Mr Sat Pal Kaushik, secretary of the party.
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Cong threatens to gherao
Assembly Hisar, May 21 Reacting to the police firing on agitating farmers at Kandela two days ago, he said Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had become the Chief Minister by promising free electricity and water to farmers. He himself had incited farmers not to pay power bills as he would waive their dues. However, now when the farmers were demanding from him to fulfil his promises their voice was being suppressed by the police. In a statement issued here today, Mr Bhajan Lal, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, said Mr Chautala had surpassed the British in using police against the peasantry agitating for justice. He asked Mr Chautala to accept the farmers’ demands. |
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Lottery
tickets to be costlier Chandigarh, May 21 The decision, however, will be effective only for tickets costing Rs 7 or more. Sources said that the increase in the tax was effected primarily to earn revenue from online lottery operations, which had been picking up in the state. The sources said that following a Supreme Court order making lotteries a state subject, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Punjab, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Pondichery, Sikkim and Haryana were among the states which had decided to allow lotteries in the areas under their jurisdiction. There is also a provision in the relevant legislation that if a state government runs its own lottery in the state, it cannot stop other lottery operators from doing business in that state. As lotteries have been banned by both the Delhi and UP Governments, Haryana has reportedly emerged as a lucrative centre for online operators for tapping the markets of Delhi and UP. A private company, with authorisation from the Sikkim and Karnataka Governments, has already set up kiosks in various Haryana towns, including areas bordering Delhi and UP, and is selling tickets for an online lottery which has been dubbed Super Lotto. The tickets cost Rs 10 each and the business is reported to be brisk. In fact, during the last Budget session of the Haryana Assembly, held in March, the Finance Minister had proposed the imposition of 20 per cent tax on online lotteries. However, subsequently the state government realised that singling out online lotteries for the heavy tax burden may make it vulnerable to allegations about discrimination against online operators and decided to bring both on-line and traditional lotteries under the new tax structure. “Punjab had banned online lotteries, but it was stayed by the court in view of the state government’s own lottery operations”, pointed out an official here. The Haryana Government’s own raffle will not be affected by the hike as the tickets of the state government-run lottery cost less than Rs 7 each, the cut-off price for the new tax structure. “The Haryana Government collects a lumpsump tax of Rs 65,000 per draw from its own Lottery Department. Eighty-four draws are held in a week by the department and the annual revenue earned by the state from the lottery comes to about Rs 28 crore”, stated an official. Incidentally, the Haryana Government, too, has plans for launching its own online lottery and prospective operators, including some from abroad, have met state government officials here for getting the contract. Asked whether online lottery tickets of the Haryana Government would be priced below Rs 7, an official said the administration would have to go a long way before launching online lotteries. |
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FCI staff stir today Kurukshetra, May 21 Mr Dharamvir said these agitational acts would be repeated at the district offices on May 24 while protest dharnas would be staged in front of the Haryana regional office of the FCI in Chandigarh for three consecutive days from May 30 to June 1. Talking about the second phase of their agitation, Mr Dharamvir said a mass protest rally would be organised at the FCI Haryana regional office, Chandigarh, on June 5, while a protest demonstration would be held in front of the FCI zonal/Head office, New Delhi, on the day of the meeting of senior officers. However, if grievances were not redressed and justice was not done, a mass deputation would be sent to the Union Minister for Food and Consumer Affairs, New Delhi, to appeal to him to intervene into the matter. The entire programme would be peaceful, Mr Dharamvir added. The demands of the BKNKS include eradication of corruption from the FCI, cancellation of transfers of union leaders and active workers, withdrawal of charge sheets, stoppage of recovery from the salaries of employees on concocted and flimsy grounds and revocation of suspension of innocent employees as well as stopping of all sorts victimisation, including exploitation, oppression or repression. |
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FCI body
not to back stir Chandigarh, May 21 The demands of the sangh include cancellation of transfer order of its state Chairman, Mr Dharam Vir, Assistant Manager (Depot). An official press note said Mr Dharam Vir had been transferred to Jammu and Kashmir following charge sheet filed against him in a case of misappropriation of FCI’s stock worth crores of rupees. |
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Get ready for war: Chautala Chandigarh, May 21 He was addressing a meeting of the MPs, MLAs, members of the Executive Committee of the INLD and other office-bearers of his party. Urging the people to get ready for a war against Pakistan, Mr Chautala said the people of Haryana would assist people of Punjab and Rajasthan who would have to migrate from the border. Mr Chautala said it would not be possible for the government to waive off the entire arrears of electricity bills as it had given the maximum benefit to the defaulters, whose 75 per cent arrears had been waived off.
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Microscope
model lying in a state of neglect Ambala, May 21 The microscope model has been dumped in the open at a corner of Gandhi Maidan and it is at the mercy of inclement weather. As it is lying in the open, the microscope model has lost its sheen and it’s condition is fast deteriorating. Since
four laneing had to be carried out and a fly over had to be built on the GT Road opposite the Ambala Cantonment railway station, the microscope model was removed from its prime location a few years back. Old-timers recall that the microscope model was strategically located and people passing through Ambala could easily spot it. It is believed that after it was dismantled, the large microscope model was kept at a cycle stand near the highway. Later on, it was again shifted and this time it was dumped in the open at one corner of Gandhi Maidan. Ambala Cantonment MLA Anil Vij said that the microscope model had been built by a private firm. “After the development work on the G.T. Road, the model was removed. Now we learn that the model has been dumped in Gandhi Maidan”, he said. He said that Ambala Cantonment is the city of scientific instruments and perhaps there cannot be better way of
symbolising this fact than by again setting up the microscope model at a prominent location. “The microscope model sends across the message that Ambala is the pioneer in this field”, he stated. Mr Vij observed that there is also a need for traffic lights near Ambala Cantonment railway station. “There is heavy movement of traffic and there used to be traffic lights which had been set up by the Shivalik Development Board at an estimated cost of Rs 5 lakh. With some modifications, the traffic lights can again be set up there”, he said. The Ambala Scientific Instruments Manufacturers Association (ASIMA) president, Dr Anil Jain, said that the huge microscope model had been build by a private firm of Ambala, which is now no longer operational. They used to pay about Rs 6000 annually to the Municipal Council as location charges. “After four-laneing of the GT Road, the model was shifted out. There was no further information about the microscope model until we were told that it was lying in Gandhi Maidan”, he said. Dr Anil Jain stated that the microscope model is a symbol of Ambala scientific industries. “The model had universal appeal and we demand that it should be suitably
rehabilitated. A proper location should be chosen for the microscope model so that the whole scientific instruments industry can be seen in its symbolic glory”, he said. Senior vice-president of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, N.C. Jain said that it is sad that the microscope model is lying in the open in Gandhi Maidan. “The microscope model had been built at substantial cost and it was a heavy model”, he said. Dr N.C. Jain said now that microscope model had been traced out, it should be suitably mounted at a place where it is clearly visible to the people passing through Ambala. “The microscope model should not have been dumped. Now efforts need to be made to bring it back to its former glory. The microscope model should represent the whole scientific instruments industry and not just a single company”, he said. Deputy Commissioner D.D. Gautam said that he will look into the matter. |
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Police
transfers Chandigarh, May 21 |
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