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Monday,
June 2, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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‘Mafia’ is violating mining rules Process of citizenship to Pakistanis
starts Fire destroys 45 houses in village IN FOCUS Summer courses pick up
in Ambala |
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Ambala dairies likely to move out of
city
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‘Mafia’ is violating mining rules Chandigarh, June 1 The apex court, which had initially imposed a blanket ban on all kinds of mining activities in the Aravali range, had later modified its order to allow mining from those areas which did not require the mandatory environment management plan(EMP). In view of the amended Supreme Court orders, the mining activities in Rajasthan restarted, but in Faridabad and Gurgaon districts the mines remained closed. However, informed sources say, seven quarries in Faridabad, which did not require the EPM, also reopened. These quarries, the sources say, are at Ferozepur Rajput, Bajida Pahari(both near Palwal), Begawali, Godawali, Ransika, Sarohi and Khori. The sources say these quarries were considered to be unimportant and minor by the industry before the Supreme Court imposed the ban. However, these quarries assumed importance after the apex court modified its order. Before the court ban, while some of these quarries were given on contract, the others were given on lease. The Punjab Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1964, as applicable to Haryana, provide that if “any minor mineral not specified in the lease is discovered within the lease area, the lessee shall report the discovered mineral without delay to the government and shall dispose of such minor mineral without obtaining a lease there of.” “If he fails to apply for such a lease within six months from the discovery of the minor mineral, the government or its authorised officer may give the lease in respect of such mineral to any other person.” However, in case of these quarries which are given on
contract (against the system of lease), the rules do not provide for allowing the contractor to take out any minor mineral which is not specified in the contract. According to Mr Karan Singh Dalal, RPI MLA from Palwal, the Ferozepur Rajput quarry was given on contract to take out stones(a minor mineral) only for Rs 71,000 per annum. However, now those who are running the quarry have started taking out badarpur sand(a minor mineral not specified in the contract) also from the quarry. The sources say the contractor has sought permission from the government to mine the sand, which is used in construction. Mr Dalal alleges that even before obtaining the official permission, which can not be given under the rules, sand is being taken out of the quarry. He alleges that an influential politician of Faridabad district is using his influence in the government to oblige the contractor. Mr Dalal told TNS on the phone that if the government granted permission, it would be violating the spirit of the Supreme Court order. |
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Process of citizenship to Pakistanis
starts Sirsa, June 1 The Indian Government had recently decided to give citizenship of those Pakistanis who have been living in India for the past five years. These Pakistanis had come to India on the pretext of undertaking a pilgrimage due to discrimination practised against them as Hindus in Pakistan and they settled down in various parts of India. The district administration has initiated action in this connection on receiving a letter from the Union Home Ministry. A form was sent to all police stations by the administration with instructions to take early action in this regard. Several Hindu families from Pakistan came to this area in 1992. About 30 families had come initially followed by several others. |
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Fire destroys 45 houses in village Rehna (Raipur Rani), June 1 Though the cause of the fire was not immediately known, it is suspected that someone threw burning cowdung cakes used in cooking into a pile of wheat husk near a house. The flames raged almost six-to-seven-foot high. With high-velocity winds blowing south-wards, sparks flew on the thatched rooftops of the nearby houses. After some villagers raised an alarm, others came out of their houses with buckets and began fetching water from a nearby village pond to throw on the fire. Persons from six nearby villages, too, rushed in to offer help. Thousands of villagers of Sultanpur, Masumpur, Gobindpur, Ratta Tibbi, Debur and Gari Kotahan came in carrying buckets of water to join the rescue operations. A police party led by Mr Fateh Singh, Station House Officer of the Raipur Rani police station came here after alerting the fire service in Panchkula. While one fire engine was sent here from Panchkula, the district administration also sought help from the Ambala and Chandigarh Fire Services Departments. Besides two fire engines from the Panchkula Fire Station, one each from the HMT, Pinjore, two from Ambala and one from Chandigarh were brought in for rescue operations. As the firemen and villagers tried to prevent the spread of fire, the flames spread south-west. With most houses here having a thatched roof, the flames spread fast and the firemen found it difficult to control the fire. A number of villagers barely got time to evacuate their children from the houses. In one of the houses, three-year-old Tahira, granddaughter of Buddhu Khan, was caught in the flames. Sub Inspector Mr Fateh Singh, then, went inside the burning house and rescued the girl. Cash and gold jewellery worth thousands of rupees were destroyed when Balideen’s house was gutted. He had got these items made for the dowry of his daughter, whose wedding was scheduled for June 11. Balideen’s wife,
Nimmo, said the couple feared their daughter’s wedding would be called off on account of the dowry getting destroyed. As thick smoke engulfed the air over the village, most of the victims sat under the sky, with the roofs over their heads gone. However, the villagers of nearby Sultanpur arranged for a langar for all victims. Senior officials of the Panchkula administration also came here. The Deputy Commissioner, Ms Satwanti
Ahlawat, said, though the District Red Cross Society had given food to the affected, a survey of the damage would be carried out and compensation would be awarded accordingly. A fire engine has also been stationed here for the night, in case the sparks stoke fire.
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IN FOCUS Kalka, June 1 The authorities have ignored the safety of residents so far. According to information, three or four fires in the forests nearby are reported every week in summer. The incidence of fire in housing units and other areas is low. The authorities say in case fire breaks out, fire-engines from the Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) unit at Pinjore and from Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh are pressed into service. With the Parwanoo fire station located about 5 km away and traffic bottlenecks common on the route, a fire-engine takes a long time on the way. With the HMT unit situated about 7 km away, help is generally delayed. In case of a major fire, fire-engines have to go back to either Parwanoo or Pinjore for a refill. Following the imposition of fire tax on residents by the municipal committee for the past two years, resources to set up a fire station have been accumulated. Officials in the municipal committee say Rs 5.04 lakh is collected each year as fire tax from the over 4,500 housing units here. The tax target for 2001-02 has been realised and the municipal committee is in the process of collecting the tax for 2002-03. The officials say the amount will be spent on buying equipment for the fire station and the fire tax collected subsequently will be utilised for maintenance and payment of salaries of the staff. The fire station building, being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 14.5 lakh, is nearing completion. A fire hydrant has been set up at the fire station. Residents claim that the road from the fire station to the main bazar is too narrow to allow a fire-engine to pass through it. The municipal committee officials allay their fears and say encroachments on the route will be removed. The municipal committee has sent a proposal regarding funds to buy a fire-engine and a jeep fire-engine to the Local Bodies Department through the Deputy Commissioner of Panchkula. A municipal committee official says a sanction for 17 posts — three chief fire officers, one deputy fire officer, three drivers and 10 firemen — has been sought. |
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Summer courses pick up
in Ambala Ambala, June 1 The Principal of SD College, Ambala Cantt, Dr Desh Bandhu, said the summer courses were increasingly becoming popular and three summer courses were being run in the college. “The courses are in English, French and music,” he said. He said summer courses helped to tap the talent of students. “For instance, in the English course, the change in personality of the students is evident within a few days,” he said. Chunmun Club is running summer courses in English besides art and dance workshops. The director of the club, Mr Ashok Sharma, said: “We need to hone the talent of the child.” Mr Sharma added that a talented child always got an opportunity while other children felt neglected. “But if a platform is given, the stage fright goes away and the children can showcase their talent,” he said. “The courses being offered by us are for free,” he added. Prof Krishan Malhotra of the English Association said they would organise a summer camp for children to promote their interest in English and literature. “In the past, the association has conducted programmes for children for recitation of poems, story telling, dialogues writing skills and quiz,” he said. He added that it was necessary to motivate the students. DAV Public School, Model Town, has started a 10 day summer camp, “Abhivyakti”. The school Principal, Ms M. Dogra, said hobbies like karate, skating, art and craft, dancing and soft-toy making were being taught. |
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Ambala dairies likely to move out of
city Ambala The proposal for shifting of the dairies, which had been hanging fire for some time, is now likely to be expedited with a piece of land being earmarked in Ugada Bada. The dairies are proposed to be shifted to the area once the allotment of land to the dairy owners is complete. The Executive Officer, MC, Ambala Sadar, Mr K.K. Jain, said the land for dairies had already been earmarked. “The plan has been forwarded for necessary action,” he said. He said the dairies would be spread over an area of 21 acres. “The land will be allotted to the dairy owners on a no-profit-no-loss basis. The applications for the land allotment will be invited once the plans are passed,” he said. “The project is estimated to cost around Rs 3.5 crore,” he added. Although the proposal is being considered to be a welcome step by the local residents, the dairy owners are not enthused by the proposal. A dairy owner in BC Bazar observed that the dairies had been built during the British era. “The dairies have been running from the earmarked areas for the past several decades,” he said. “We are being unnecessarily harassed,” he added. He stated that the MC must be restrained from issuing challans till the time the alternative site proposed was developed. “On the one hand they do not have a developed place for the dairies and on the other hand they keep on challaning us. It is unfair,” he observed. The major dairy clusters are in Topekhana Bazar, BC Bazar, railway station dairy and two dairies on Ram Bagh Road. A dairy owner at the railway station dairy said they had set up the dairy after Partition. “We were given an opportunity to run the dairy by the government. We managed to settle with a lot of difficulty. Now, we are again being forced to leave and go to a new place,” he said. He observed that the project for shifting the dairies would lead to an increase in price of milk. “Currently, people come to us here. If we shift, the cost of delivering the milk will go up. Also, the excess milk is sold to the shop owners here. In that case too, the price of milk will increase due to the transportation cost,” he stated. |
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Heat wave claims life Yamunanagar, June 1 |
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