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June 23, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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BJP snatching credit for Congress works: Sheila New Delhi, June 22 Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit accused the BJP of trying to take credit for development work completed in the NCT of Delhi by the Congress. Transport and development of infrastructure like flyovers, Dikshit said, were undertaken and completed by the Congress but the BJP was trying to snatch the credit by leaning on the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre. The tussle over the inauguration of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC’s) Tis Hazari – Shahdara section in December came for particular mention. The BJP, Dikshit told the rally, had done nothing for the city’s development but was always on the forefront in taking credit. The chief minister said the development work of the previous BJP governments headed by Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj was confined to “paper and files.” She said her government was the one to bring them into reality. “It is the Congress that decided in public interest to expedite the Metro project,” she said. The numerous flyovers constructed in the past four years, Dikshit said, were testimony to the fact that the Congress actually accomplished what it promised after coming to power in NCT of Delhi. The streamlining of the bus service, conversion of public transport to CNG, introduction of the Metro, she said, had all augmented the transport infrastructure in the Capital. All India Congress Committee Secretary Anil Shastri, in turn, alleged BJP-led NDA Government had failed on all fronts as “it is busy in earning money through corruption instead of working for the people.” On the Women’s Reservation Bill, he said the talk of consensus over the Bill was unwarranted and asked “if there was no problem in passing POTA for want of consensus (then) what is the problem for the Women’s Bill.” Addressing the first rally after becoming the DPCC chief, Chaudhary Prem Singh said the interest of the poor was the party’s foremost priority. He said they “would urge the Election Commission to stop demolition of slums till the elections.” He said the party would approach the Election Commission again to impress upon it the need to stall all demolitions till after the Assembly elections as the BJP was trying to gain undue advantage in its election campaign. The party had sent a letter to the Election Commission recently urging it to stop demolition of slums. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, her Cabinet colleagues and other legislators were signatories to the letter. They insisted the slum-dwellers be rehabilitated and given alternate accommodation prior to their relocation. Chaudhary, a Dalit leader, attacked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, saying: “She was only interested in Maya (money) and has used Babasaheb Ambedkar’s name for personal gains.” The party sources said the chief minister would attend a prayer meeting tomorrow morning before Sunil Dutt of the Congress starts on a Sadbhavana Abhiyan (campaign for harmony) to counter the BJP’s Ayodhya agenda. The party sources said Sadbhavana Abhiyan will be given a ceremonial send off from the Raj Ghat. The Congress movement for communal harmony, christened as Sadbhavana ke Sipahi, has already been initiated by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to vouchsafe party’s stand for “plural and prosperous India united by the bonds of love and harmony.” The week-long Abhiyan will pass through five districts of Rajasthan and will be joined by artists and social workers. |
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PUBLIC WRATH Ghaziabad, June 22 The youth, whose bill the clerks had refused to accept, was livid at the rebuff. Feeling humiliated and harassed, the angry youth took an acid cane and poured it on the head of the senior engineer Rajbir Singh in the UPPC office on Loni-Saharanpur road. An SDO, R S Agarwal, who was setting next to Rajbir Singh, also sustained acid burns. The youngster was overpowered, given a thrashing by the UPPC staff, and later handed over to the police. According to some eye-witnesses, the youth, son of Bhule Ram of Sablu Garhi, had come armed with the acid cane to the Power Office. It is learnt that his bills had not been entertained by the clerks on an earlier occasion also. |
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Man throws acid on seven family members New Delhi, June 22 The police said that the incident occurred at around 3 pm when Ram Singh threw acid on his family members and relatives, as he nursed some grudge against them. The accused was also injured during the altercation. A case of attempt to murder has been registered and the police are investigating the case.
81 held during drive The West district police, during a special drive last night, arrested 81 persons including bad characters under various sections of the IPC. During the drive, 251 bad characters were checked and a total of 661 strangers were questioned and out of which 422 were detained for interrogation. Also, over 1,600 vehicles were checked and five persons were challaned for violation of traffic rules, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Satish Golcha.
Murder solved With the arrest of three persons, the Central district police today claimed to have solved the murder of two persons that took place in Nabi Karim on Friday. The victims were one Rajesh and a boy, Guggan, who was hit by a stray bullet fired by one of the accused when a crowd chased them. The police have arrested Rajesh alias Vikas alias Pati and Vijay alias Paji, residents of Nabi Karim, and Budh Ram alias Ricky, resident of Ashoka Basti. Two of their associates Sonu and Narsimha, who were allegedly involved in the crime, have absconded. The police said that on Friday, Rajesh had some altercation with a woman Kamlesh, residing in the same locality. When Kamlesh told the accused persons about this, they went and stabbed Rajesh several times. When local residents came to know this and tried to chase them, one of the accused, Vijay, fired a round in panic. One of the bullets hit Guddan. He was taken to RML Hospital where he was declared brought dead.
Dies in police custody In another incident, Gopal Das (61), a resident of West Patel Nagar, who was arrested on Friday evening by the police under the DP Act, died on Saturday morning while being taken to RML Hospital for a check-up. The police have registered a case and have ordered an ADM inquiry to investigate the death of Gopal. Gopal was taken to the hospital for a check-up after he complained of drowsiness in the lock-up. He was taken in custody on Friday evening after someone complained to the police that he used to beat his mother and sister-in-law everyday under the influence of alcohol. |
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Bansi Lal sounds the election bugle Sohna (Gurgaon), June 22 Should his party come to power, it would give primacy to making adequate water available in the Ahirwal and Mewat area. (While two-thirds of Gurgaon district is covered by Mewat one revenue bloc of it falls in Faridabad district. The Ahirwal belt in South Haryana covers Gurgaon, Rewari, Mahendergarh and parts of Jhajhar district.) Touching on the issue of power shortage, he lamented that in the four years of INLD rule no new project had been undertaken to boost power generation capacity. He gave credit to the successive governments headed by him for creating the power infrastructure. He decried that while farmers were disposing of their cattle at throwaway prices in South Haryana — as they could not maintain them on account of shortage of water and rising prices of fodder — the Haryana government was sending fodder to neighbouring Rajasthan. Ironically, the fodder was being transported through the Ahirwal belt. He attributed the magnanimity of the he Haryana government to INLD’s plans to contest assembly elections in Rajasthan. Taking a dig at the Congress, Mr Bansi Lal said that its leaders were not interested in expeditious completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. He recalled that his HVP government had moved the Supreme Court to get the construction work expedited. Even though the court had ruled in Haryana’s favour, the Congress government in Punjab Had not honoured the verdict. He, however, asserted that the work on the canal would be completed and the state would get its due share of Ravi-Beas waters. He attacked Congress President Sonia Gandhi for not directing the Punjab government to honour the SYL verdict. He also criticised her for angling to become the Prime Minister. He contended that owing to her foreign origin, she was not conversant with the indigenous culture. The people will not accept her as Prime Minister, he added. Should his party come to power, it would reduce power
tariff, waive house tax for those who had constructed units and were residing in them, scrap Halwai tax, provide unemployment allowance to the educated youth, stop arresting farmers to recover loans and remove all statues of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal. Earlier, talking to newsmen, he ruled out an alliance with any party in the next assembly election. |
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Take a detour Mr CM, to see the real Sonepat Sonepat, June 22 However, there is no gainsaying the fact that it is only on the eve of a VVIP visit, whether that by the Chief Minister or the Governor, that official agencies like the Sonepat Municipal Council, the PWD (B and R), the Public Health Department, the Health Department and the Haryana Development Authority (HUDA) initiate remedial action. Workers and officials of these agencies have been working overtime for the past couple of days to spruce up the roads which are to be used by the motorcade of the Chief Minister. Office-bearers of the Federation of All Residents’ Welfare Association griped that the inner lanes and roads where the residents actually live are still littered with garbage, filth and mud. The roads are in a state of disrepair with choked sewers overflowing. Only those roads and areas which were to be visited by the Chief Minister had been given a facelift. They suggested that the Chief Minister take a detour and pay a surprise visit to the areas not on his itinerary to see the true state of affairs. Mr Chautala will organise a public darbar tomorrow at the PWD (B and R) rest house to hear public grievances at 8 am. He will flag off trucks loaded with fodder for drought-hit Rajasthan from the Police Lines at 9 am. Thereafter, he will inaugurate the HUDA drinking water scheme in Sector 23. |
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Mayawati’s
visit: The first
head rolls Ghaziabad, June 22 The Power Corporation engineer, H B Saxena, has been suspended because he had not taken any action to remove power cables which were supported by wooden staffs in an Ambedkar village in Jalalabad, as pointed out by the divisional commissioner, N S Ravi, and subsequently ordered by DM Ram Kishen. There is an atmosphere of utter confusion and panic among the officials who have been working on a war footing since the visit of Divisional Commissioner N S Ravi here last week. Some of them are losing their night’s sleep to meet the targets. Even government officers were working today, despite it being a Sunday, to complete the paper work entrusted to them. In Ghaziabad, the chief minister is slated to inspect the Ambedkar villages, which were selected in 1996-97, and review the progress of development works. Any lacunae or shortcoming could mean a crackdown on the errant officer. All officers are, therefore, keeping their fingers crossed. |
Youth Cong holds training camp
Mr Lilothia said the BJP-led NDA government had failed to protect the rights of the people. “The youth are unemployed, the poor are suffering but the NDA government, instead of helping the people, is itself mired in corruption,” he said. |
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FOLLOW-UP New Delhi, June 22 With the pressure from local residents, who wanted an impartial probe into the murder, mounting, the case was transferred to the Crime Branch on June 21. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Deependra Pathak said that the case had been shifted to the Crime Branch since “we have a specialised unit” and the investigations could be carried out better without any interference. “We would start the investigation in a fresh manner. The Crime Branch is now in the process of getting facts and undertaking verification of a number of people in the area,” he said. Since the entry seemed to be very friendly, the sleuths were trying to probe the case in all possible angles so that the actual criminals would not go scot-free, he added. On June 15, Madhu Mehrotra (50) and her sister Veena (60) were found dead in the drawing room by their maid Malati. Mrs Madhu was the wife of an assistant general manager with Engineer’s India Limited, Mr A. K. Mehrotra, who lives in the C-2 flat. The police said that about Rs 10,000 in cash, some jewellery, fixed deposit certificates and national saving certificates worth Rs 1.20 lakh had gone missing after the murder. |
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Ring bundhs: Centre gives nod for Rs 1.74-cr aid Sonepat, June 22 According to official sources, this amount will be released shortly under the Swaran Jayanti Gram Swarozgaar Yojna and Food for Work Programme. The villages include Banwasa, Dhanana, Chhapra, Meerakhpur Kheri, Garhwala, Baroda, Biachpari, Gangesar, Rithal, Guhna, Karewri, Khizarpur Jat Majra, Salimsar Majra, Barwasni, Bhatgaon and Bagru. There are 316 villages in this district. Ring bundhs had been constructed around 60 villages which are categorised as being prone to waterlogging and floods. The monsoon rain and accumulation of canal water were the main causes behind the floods and waterlogging in these villages.
Action sought against sarpanch Residents of Aurangabad village have submitted a memorandum to Mr Sujan Singh Yadav, SDM, demanding a high-level probe into alleged irregularities in the auction of panchayat land. They have demanded stern action against the sarpanch and gram sachiv of the village. According to a report, there were heated exchanges between the SDM and the residents when the former declined to take any action in the matter. The residents also threatened the SDM that they would approach the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who is visiting this place tomorrow, in this regard. Earlier, the SDM held an open darbar at Kharkhauda town and disposed of as many as 80 complaints. Most of the complaints were related to erratic supply of water and power and illegal occupation of the panchayat land. |
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Promise
of more power for Kharkhauda residents Sonepat, June 22 He disclosed the residents living in the villages of Jharot, Jharoti, Anandpur, Kanwali Bhanderi, Jatel, Ferozpur Bangar, Saidpur, Bambali, Mandori, Rampur Kundal, Nizampur Khurd, Sisana, Silana, Thana Kalan, Turkpur, Thana Khurd, Sehri, Madana, Nirthan, Dahiya Kheri, Nakloi and Kakroi will get regular power supply. He said two new feeders would come up in this power substation. According to Mr Mehta, hitherto the residents of Kharkhauda town and its adjoining 41 villages were being fed by the existing 33 KV power substation at Kharkhauda town. With the commissioning of the 132 KV power substation, the power supply would be increased manifold. The villages of Rohat and Fatehpur would be fed by the newly built power substation at Harsana Kalan village. He said the work for the construction of the 132 KV substation at Harsana Kalan village had speeded up and would be completed soon. The load of Kharkhauda power substation would be decreased and the power supply would be made available to several villages around Harsana Kalan village. He said the proposal to link Kakroi village with this power substation had been put off because of more length of the feeder. A new transformer would be erected at Ferozpur Bangar village and new MVA transformers would be added in the existing 33 KV power substation at Kharkhauda town. |
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NCR BRIEFS Bhiwani, June 22 Dowry: woman commits suicide Sonepat:
A young housewife, Mrs Mukesh, reportedly committed suicide by setting herself on fire in her house at Gamri village, about 40 km from here, yesterday. According to a report, she sprinkled petrol on her and set herself ablaze following harassment by her husband and his relatives for not bringing more dowry. She has an eight-month-old son, Sahil. The police have registered a case of dowry death against her husband Naresh, mother-in-law Shanti, father-in-law Nafe Singh and husband’s sister Neeta on the report of Amarjit Singh, a resident of Banwasa village and brother of the victim. Naib Tehsildar suspended Mr R. R. Bainswal, Commissioner of Rohtak Division, has ordered the suspension of Rajinder Verma, Naib Tehsildar of Sonepat, on the charge of his involvement in the evasion of Rs 40-lakh stamp duty in a case of mutation of land. According to a report, Mr Bainswal has also recommended the suspension of Mr Narinder Kadyan, a former Tehsildar of Sonepat, who is now posted at Faridabad in the same post, to the Haryana Financial Commissioner, Revenue Department. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Balwan Singh, has already placed two registry clerks under suspension in this case. Cyclist killed A cyclist, Surinder, was killed after he was hit by a car on G T Road near Bad Khalsa village, 13 km from here, last evening. According to a report, the victim belonged to Azamgarh (UP) and was employed in a factory. |
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, June 22 Famous traditional drinks like
thandai, lassi, jaljeera, mango shake and various other milk drinks were available. The
thandai, in various forms such as sattu, Banares ki thandai, aam ka panna and chuski in different flavours and colours such as kala
khatta, rose and kas, was big draw among visitors, a spokesman of the Delhi Tourism said. Free transport arrangements were also made in the interest of visitors from Dilli Haat to the Garden of Five Senses and back. More than 300 kites in two threads were also flown in the sky, calling the visitors to the Sherbet Mela. Camel rides, joker
(charle), Micky Mouse and cultural programmes were also special attractions.
Heart and lung check-up camp The Delhi Heart and Lung Institute (DHLI), the new 100-bed super-speciality hospital, is organising a three-day inaugural heart and lung check-up camp at the hospital at Panchkuian Road from June 26 to June 28. Delhi Health Minister A. K. Walia will inaugurate the camp. Free cardiac check-up, lung check-up and tests like ECG, blood sugar and cholesterol will be offered at the camp. The actual cost for the check-ups and tests is Rs 950 but the hospital will give 50 per cent discount on other additional tests. The institute will start its in-patient services from June 29. The hospital will cater to people from Delhi and around. |
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SPECIAL FOCUS ON SONEPAT Sonepat, June 22 Sonepat district is surrounded by Uttar Pradesh in the east and Delhi in the south. A large number of animals, including milch animals, are transported to Delhi and Uttar Pradesh through roads every day. According to the rules, the one is required to pay Rs 500 for each cow or buffalo and Rs 60 for each calf above the age of three months. More than six years before, there used to be tax barriers at the borders and the Sales Tax Department was empowered to charge the sales tax at these points. The amount collected from the transportation of animals from Haryana used to go into the account of the Animal Husbandry Department and reportedly used to be utilised for maintenance of veterinary institutions in the state. But the tax barriers were abolished during the rule of Mr Bansi Lal. The Deputy Director of the department at Sonepat also admitted while talking to NCR Tribune that annual loss on account of this was estimated at around Rs 20 lakh. However, according to animal traders and milk dairy owners, the losses could be more than Rs 30 lakh as a number of animals are taken from village to village through the local routes. A dairy owner on condition of anonymity confessed that he generally sent 20 buffaloes every year to Delhi or Uttar Pradesh. The business of sale and purchase of animals between the people of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana is very common and centuries old. It is also learnt that the department has reportedly written a letter to the Deputy Commissioner. It has been brought to his notice that animal traders were not paying tax to the department. The department has reportedly taken a decision to take the help of the police posted at checkposts on the borders by asking them to inspect the tax receipts whenever any animal is exported to neighbouring states. If anyone is unable to produce the tax receipts then that person ought to be penalised, according to an officer of the department. He added that the department was also contemplating posting its staff on border checkposts. The department has taken the decision to inform the public about the need to pay sales tax by means of posters and handbills, asking them to abide by the new regulations. The department has also planned to implement sales tax collection strictly at “pashu melas” too. Another problem which the livestock breeders might face in the future is with regard to rinderpest, a contagious disease in animals. The state has already been declared free from rinderpest (shooting diarrhoea) in which the mortality rate was around 80 per cent. However, there is the fear that it might spread again through animals which are being imported from other states, mainly Uttar Pradesh, where the disease is still being reported. Earlier, there used to be a team of veterinary staff at the border posts to vaccinate all animals entering the district but the staff was withdrawn after the area was declared free from
rinderpest. |
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Strangled woman found dumped on road Noida |
SHOWCASE GRAM Slam, the high-quality fitness equipment provider in northern India, launched “NordicTrack 2500R,” from ICON of the US, the world’s largest manufacturer and marketer of fitness equipment. Raman Sood, proprietor, Grand Slam, said, “As the sole distributor in the northern region for ICON of the US, we have the privilege of introducing this excellent state-of-the-art treadmill.”Tiles in new format Somany Limited has launched four series of wall tiles in the market. “We are happy to introduce for the first time in India 35 cm x 25 cm format in wall tiles. This range, inspired by Italian design, is available in 53 varieties under four different series – Murano, Torino, Naturo and Krinkle,” said Abhishek Somany, executive director, SPL limited. Initially launched in select cities across the country, the new format tiles would be made available in more than 200 outlets. Special tea Dilmah tea company has launched five specialty ranges in India – Ceylon gold, a large leaf variety, Premium, a small leaf tea, the Asian spice range with ginger and cardamom flavoured tea, English breakfast teabags and Dilmah Premium teabags. Each of these tea varieties has a distinct taste and aroma for the benefit of customers. Merrill J. Fernando, chairman, Dilmah, said, “India has a distinguished tradition of growing some of the world’s finest tea varieties, and we are happy to offer this new variety.” Stryde, a footwear brand from Tata International, has launched its latest range of floaters for men. The new range, “Siberian Frost”, spells fashion, style and above all comfort. This range is manufactured keeping the hot and humid conditions in mind and provides cool comfort. The new range of sandals comes in two types, Formal and Athletic. Cafe outlet in VK The Bangalore-based retail chain of cafes has opened its 100th Café Coffee outlet in the Vasant Kunj area. Naresh Malhotra, director, Café Coffee Day, said: “While continuing to consolidate our presence in west, south, and east markets, we will be growing in numbers and reach out to public in an aggressive manner in the north over the next few months, with 40 more cafes in 16 new cities in seven states.” Tupperware has launched the Crystalwave Microsteamer in the market. With this, the Tupperware Microwave range extends to seven products now. This three-piece Microsteamer consists of a base, a cover and a strainer. One can pour water in the base and steam vegetables and food the healthy way. Kanwar S. Bhutani, MD, Tupperware, said: “Microwaves are no longer just limited for reheating foods. Our new product has enormous utilitarian qualities, which will definitely attract everyone.” Finolex Industries has introduced Ringfit PVC pipes for irrigation and water systems in the Haryana and Punjab region. Ringfit pipes are ideally suited for buried pipelines for drinking water and irrigation as well as for waste water systems. These pipes have been specially designed for higher diameter requirements and eliminate the need for solvent cement for joining of pipes. A jet toy Mattel Toys has launched its latest toy from its Hot Wheels brand, Gyro Jet. The Gyro Jet is a unique toy that takes off like a helicopter and transforms into a hi-flying plane. Gyro Jet is a propeller-driven toy that is launched with a pull cable device. Kids can control the action. The faster the cord is pulled the higher and farther the Gyro Jet flies. Sunscreen for cars Garware Polyster, the manufacturer of sun control films, has launched their latest product for car owners of the country, ‘Classic Lite’. It rejects heat up to 40 per cent and gives UV protection up to 99 per cent. This is the latest addition of sun production films from Garware. Purifier of salty water Pentair has launched “Pentair Home Ro” water purifier in India. The product, a water purification unit for bore-well and salty water, uses special membranes under high pressure to remove suspended, dissolved, bacterial and chemical impurities to the minutest level. The new product is easy to install and can be connected to refrigerators and water ice-dispensing systems. EPABX with caller ID facility Accord Communications, the leading EPABX and KTS manufacturing company, has now launched its new series called True Caller ID EPABX systems called Pride in the market. The most unique feature of Accord’s Pride is its ‘caller ID facility’, which unlike the normal EPABX does not stop the caller ID signals and makes it possible to transfer the caller ID at all extension phones. Union Bay outlets The US brand exclusively aimed at the teenagers has launched its two exclusive Union Bay outlets and 14 retail outlets at Shoppers Stop. Presently, only select apparels for girls have hit the market and the range
for boys would be launched soon. Bhupender Nagpal, CEO, said the concept of the brand is to offer better lifestyle by projecting itself as an
‘all-American alternative.’ |
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New Delhi:
The Mehrauli District Youth Congress on Sunday organised a training camp for its members. Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress President Rajesh Lilothia said the participants were told to take the achievements of the Sheila Dikshit Ministry to the people ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled later this year.