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| Thursday,
September 18, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Sheila lashes out at ‘political charade’ on Metro New Delhi, September 17 In her letter to Mr Khurana, a copy of which was sent to Mr Advani, the chief minister pointed out that the Tis Hazari-Trinagar section was scheduled to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister on October two. ‘’From the media reports today, it, however, appears that the section might be inaugurated on September 30 by Mr Advani,’’ she said. Expressing extreme unhappiness, Ms Dikshit sought to remind Mr Khurana that the Metro project had equal participation of the Centre and the Delhi government. ‘’I am amazed that you have not thought it proper to keep the state government informed about inaugurations proposed to be done by a person no less than the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister. To charge ahead, without even consulting us, smacks of partisan behaviour and a studied disregard of a federal partner.’’ She said an inauguration ceremony should be held in a manner befitting official functions with due regard to protocol requirements, particularly in relation to the state government which is funding the project. ‘’It appears that as usual you have reduced even this normal aspect of government functioning into a political charade. It is high time you refrain from playing politics on each and every issue as it impacts the normal function of a prestigious project like the DMRC in which the hard-earned money of the tax-payers has been invested.’’ Because of the immense popularity of the rapid transport system and its efficient operation, both the ruling Congress and the Delhi Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party have missed no opportunity to take credit for the project, specially in view of the forthcoming elections. |
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BJP spells out issues, but keeps trump New Delhi, September 17 Talking to reporters at the Delhi BJP office in the presence of Delhi BJP chief Madan Lal Khurana, Mr Mahajan said the state of basic amenities like water, power, road and traffic in the Capital was a matter of concern and the BJP would highlight these issues during the poll. Taking a dig at Congress President Sonia Gandhi, he said Delhiites were still being provided with contaminated water despite the much-touted Sonia Vihar plant of the Delhi Jal Board. ‘’We thought the Sonia Vihar plant will provide European standard water, but people in Delhi were still getting contaminated water.’’ However, when he was reminded that the Sonia Vihar plant was still under construction, the BJP leader quipped that the basic issue still remained that people were not getting clean and safe drinking water. ‘’What to talk about presence of pesticides in cold drinks, we are not even getting clean drinking water,’’ he said. The BJP leader said another major issue would be the large-scale corruption in the Sheila Dikshit government and the failure of the administration to tackle the problems. Mr Mahajan promised that in the event of the BJP returning to power in Delhi, which was quite likely considering the current wave, a parallel master plan would be drafted to increase infrastructure for education, health, road, water and power in proportion to the population. Asked what was decided at the meeting of the Delhi BJP core group, Mr Mahajan said certain strategies had been adopted to counter the political threat, but the trump cards would be “opened” only during elections. |
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SP throws hat in the ring, keen on pact with Cong New Delhi, September 17 The Congress, at its Shimla conclave, had expressed its willingness to have an electoral adjustment and the SP, too, was open to any suggestions in this regard, Mr Yadav said. The party would surely be fielding its candidates in at least 40 to 45 seats. Mr. Yadav said SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav would address a public meeting in Nangloi on September 20, which would kick off the party’s
campaign. Nangloi has been chosen as the venue for the rally because it is representative of the cross-section of the Capital’s population. Moreover, 50 per cent of the residents were from backward classes, which had migrated from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Though the Delhi SP chief talked about the possibility of some electoral adjustment with the Congress, he also, in the same breath, accused the party, along with the BJP, of doing nothing to ameliorate the suffering of the poor in the Capital.
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Centre seeks time to verify CAS status in other metros New Delhi, September 17 Chief Justice B.C. Patel and Justice A. K. Sikri were informed in an application by one of the petitioners, Siticable, that Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Pawan Chopra had informed a CAS Implementation Committee meeting on September one that implementation was also being deferred in Mumbai and Kolkata. Additional Solicitor General K. K. Sud sought time after Siticable counsel Harish Salve produced the minutes of that meeting. Earlier, on September five, the court had listed for hearing on September 30 four petitions filed by cable operators and others, challenging the postponement of the conditional access systems for cable television (CAS) in the National Capital Territory of Delhi from September one, unlike in the other metros. The court had issued notices on petitions filed by the Cable Networks Association, Siticable, consumer Arvind Gupta and Joy Polychem India, seeking directions to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to implement CAS in South Delhi in accordance with the official notification dated July 10. The petitioners also sought quashing of the May 7 notification which while fixing July 15 as the date of implementation of CAS (later deferred to September one) said Rs 72 plus local taxes would be charged from customers who only view the 30 Free-to-Air channels. When the petition by the Cable Networks Association had come up for hearing on August 29, the court had asked the counsel to check up if the court had already dismissed pleas on the minimum amount to be charged by cable operators. |
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Charmed
by the man with the golden wand His latest fan, a young sports buff of Faridabad, Saurabh Duggal, who has just finished his BE from the YMCA Engineering Institute here, was lucky to be closeted with the superstar for five-and-a-half hours. He told the NCR Tribune that the encounter was like a dream come true and he had never expected that despite his busy schedule, the captain would fawn over him like a VIP. Incidentally, Saurabh, who has never played hockey, has kept a track of all important sports events at the national and international level. Himself a skater, Saurabh said he had been a fan of Pillai ever since he could remember. The lucky break came when a friend tipped him off about the Indian hockey stars’ sojourn in a hotel in Karol Bagh. Saurabh obtained the contact number of Pillai and requested him for a meeting. “I jumped with joy when Dhanraj accepted my request’’. The captain even took him to the stadium and introduced him to other players. Recalls Saurabh: “Dhanraj never let me feel that he was a celebrity.’’ He was offered tea, coffee, snacks and asked to stay for dinner. But as it was quite late in the evening, he had to return to Faridabad. Dhanraj offered his help and support to any sports activity and its promotion across the country. The hockey champ even asked him about his personal life and discussed various issues. “I am now a die hard fan of Dhanraj and his team,’’ said Saurabh, with a twinkle in his eyes. |
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CRACKING THE SYSTEM Noida, September 17 The very next day he had deposited the cheque in his account in the ICICI Bank, Mayur Vihar. When, after a few days, he checked with the bank, he found the cheque had not been credited to his account. He immediately contacted Vijaya Bank, Noida, which had issued the cheque. Imagine Manoj’s shock when he learnt that the cheque had been encashed. It was found that his name had been struck off and that of `Suresh Kumar’ had been written instead. The overwriting on the cheque had been clearly endorsed by fresh signature of the issuing person at two places. Manoj has lodged a complaint with the Noida as well as the Delhi police while bank officials are maintaining a silence on the issue.
Hypothecation racket busted, conmen held New Delhi: Three persons, who impersonated CBI officials and were involved in getting hypothecation of vehicles cancelled by using fake bank NOCs, have been nabbed by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police. The accused had cheated several finance companies and banks such as Standard Chartered, Citi Bank, ICICI, HDFC, HSBC, Kotak Mahindra, PNB and Associate Finance Company. The sleuths also seized two vehicles, including a Ford Icon, fake banks papers, seals and photo identity cards from their possession. The officials got suspicious when they found that the process of getting vehicles financed and the cancellation of their hypothecation was being done in an unusually short span of time. The sleuths have nabbed Ramesh Kumar (37), a resident of East Sagar Pur, Amit Kumar (25), a resident of Palam Colony, and Shyam Upadhye (26), a resident of Sagar Pur. During interrogation, the accused revealed that they were garment manufacturers who had suffered huge losses. They also confessed to having financed at least 17 vehicles through banks such as Standard Chartered, Citi Bank, ICICI, HDFC, HSBC, Kotak Mahindra and other finance companies. They told the police that they used to prepare fake NOCs to get the hypothecation cancelled.
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Property
dealer shot dead Ghaziabad, September 17 As the gunshot was fired, his peon, Satya Prakash, ran out and raised an alarm. The assailants again shot at Varinder Kaushak in the head and fled away in Kaushak’s car, which was parked outside. Later, the victim’s neighbours took him to Nasrinder Mohan Hospital at Mohan Nagar. But Varinder had succumbed to his injuries on the way. According to eyewitnesses, one of the assailants was of about 28-years-old while the others were in their early twenties. The criminals had parked their own car in Sector-14, where they dumped Varinder’s car before scooting in their own vehicle. According to Satya Prakash, the same persons had came on September 15, but at that time Varinder was not in the office. Subsequently, a strong contingent of police was deployed in and around Narinder Mohan Hospital in view of the riots in Hapur. Varinder has left behind his wife and two sons. |
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Notice on Khurana’s defamation suit New Delhi: A city court today issued a notice to Delhi Pradesh Congress President Chaudhary Prem Singh on a defamation suit filed against him by city BJP Chief Madan Lal Khurana. Additional District and sessions Judge Narottam Kaushal sought a reply from Singh by September 27. Mr Khurana has contended that Singh defamed him by alleging that he had embezzled crores of rupees collected during Parivartan Yatra. The state BJP chief said he had filed the defamation suit, demanding a token damage of Rs 101, as Singh did not reply to a legal notice sent to him. Mr Khurana claimed that the alleged defamatory article quoting Prem Singh was published in some dailies here. TNS
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8-year-old water scheme caught in bureaucratic snarl Sonepat, September 17 According to information, the World Bank aided scheme was sanctioned in 1995 when the then local MLA Shanti Rathi was the Public Health Minister. The scheme was to be canal-based as the sub-soil water in the village was found to be brackish. However, when a resident of adjoining village Sitawali donated some land for the supply of sweet sub-soil water, the scheme was reportedly converted into tubewell-based supply. Subsequently, the then Superintendent Engineer, Mr R. N. Malik, even sent pipes and other materials for the installation of a tubewell. However, even before the scheme could be started, Mr Malik was transferred and Ajit Singh Ahlawat took over the charge from him. After reviewing the scheme, Mr Ahlawat reportedly withdrew the pipes, electric motors etc., from the village on the plea that the financial allocation was not for tubewell-based but for canal-based water supply. Subsequently, the work for canal-based water supply began. However, when the scheme could not become operational for long time, the village panchayat lodged complaints with the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, the local MLA, Mr Jitender Malik, and senior officers of the Public Health Department in 2002 demanding immediate completion of the scheme. After receiving complaints about the scheme, it was again converted into tubewell-based supply as the Public Health authorities claimed that most of the works had already been completed. The authorities explained the delay in making the scheme functional by saying that they had to revise the scheme from the initial target of providing 40 litres of water per day per person to about 110 litres of water per day per person. The Superintendent Engineer, Mr S. K. Bansal, claimed that the pipelines have been laid, tubewells installed, motors replaced and the supply would become functional within 10-15 days. On the other hand, the villagers are optimistic that the scheme would be inaugurated by the Chief Minister during his proposed two-day tour of Kailana Assembly constituency on September 20-21. The women of the village are particularly excited about the inauguration of the scheme, as they have been the real sufferers due to the non-availability of piped water in this village.
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SPECIAL
FOCUS ON PANIPAT Panipat, September 17 Now, however, an association under the name of ‘Hali Lake and Park Association’ has been formed with eight official and five non-official members under the Deputy Commissioner, Mr M. R. Anand, to oversee the completion of the park. The non-official members of the association are Prakash Chand Bajaj, Mam Chand Jindal, Satyaveer Saxena, Satish Guglani and the architect of this park, Praveen Chopra, with Vilayati Ram Aggarwal as its president. The Chairman, Nagar Parishad, Chairman, Improvement Trust, Executive Engineers of Public Works Department (PWD) and Public Health and Irrigation, District Town Planner, Municipal Engineer and Executive Officer of the Nagar Parishad are the official members of the association. Disclosing the details of the scheme, the Deputy Commissioner said that a decision has been taken by the Indian Oil Corporation (Panipat Refinery) and the Nagar Parishad to establish a petrol pump in the park on a priority basis in order to generate a regular source of income for the maintenance of the park. Probably this would be the first venture of its kind in the country where IOC would construct a petrol pump jointly with local body of Panipat. This proposal was initiated by the Nagar Parishad, Panipat, and the project was finalised with IOC officials in Chandigarh, the Deputy Commissioner added. Mr Anand said that after confirming this proposal, the Haryana Government has decided to make similar arrangements for all other Nagar Parishads in the state in order to enhance their income. Giving the details of the proposal, the Deputy Commissioner said that the total cost for the construction of the petrol pump would be Rs 40 lakh and the Nagar Parishad would provide the staff to run it. Speaking about the ongoing beautification drive in the town, the Deputy Commissioner told the NCR Tribune that this historical park was the only project that was being unduly delayed. He expressed the hope that after its adoption by the Panipat Refinery, the project would soon be completed. He said the Panipat Refinery had agreed to bear the total project cost of around Rs1.53 crore. Mr Anand said the recent visit of the Haryana Chief Minister to the city had speeded up the decision making process as far as this project was concerned. He expressed the hope that this historical town would soon be also known for its green parks. The Executive Director of the Panipat Refinery, Mr Rohit Bhardwaj, told NCR Tribune that the refinery had already disbursed Rs10 lakh for the project and the balance would be provided in a phased manner after ascertaining the progress of the construction work. Mr Bhardwaj said that a detailed scheme was being worked out to provide more greenery cover, high mast lights, cafeteria and fresh water in the lake with provision for boating. Besides this, the park would also have a jogger track for the fitness freaks and would be maintained by the Nagar Parishad, he added. Both Mr Anand and Mr Bhardwaj expressed the hope that with the completion of the project, Panipat would not only be known for its handcrafts but also for the unique joint venture between citizens and officials to improve the living standards here. DC to be felicitated:
Mr Bajaj said that the Deputy Commissioner would be felicitated on September 18 by the Residents Welfare Association of Panipat for facilitating the completion of a number of projects that would enhance the living standards of the citizens of the town. He said that the Deputy Commissioner has facilitated the beautification of almost 62 parks in the town, construction of 52 acres Tau Devi Lal Park on the National Highway No.1 and Ch. Devi Lal shopping complex in the heart of the city. Moreover, the Deputy Commissioner had seen the plantation of thousands of medicinal plants in the district, Mr Bajaj added. Mr Bajaj said the Deputy Commissioner would also be remembered for shifting of dairies and dying units of the town to separate areas, which has helped in keeping the city clean, green and pollution free. |
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Non-plan fund must for MCD: BJP New Delhi, September 17 The Delhi Government has to release Rs 1,100 non-plan money of the MCD but this is not being done due to internal fighting in the Congress. The Delhi Government has kept the arrears of property tax amounting to Rs 31.95 crore against the erstwhile DVB and non-payment of Rs 5,000 crore collected on behalf of the corporation as electricity charges. He alleged that the Congress-led government in Delhi was also withholding the funds amounting to Rs 341.91 crore as arrears of property tax (Rs 272.69 crore from the Delhi Jal Board, Rs 23.17 crore from the PWD and Rs 46.08 crore from other government departments). He also alleged that the Delhi Government had not paid the funds amounting to Rs 40 crore received from the Central Government as reimbursement of the expenditure already incurred by the MCD in the previous years on sponsored projects–family welfare and the ICDS
programmes. Besides arrears to the tune of Rs 60 crore pertaining to the maintenance works in resettlement colonies have also been withheld. The Delhi Government has also failed to implement the second Delhi Finance Commission recommendations.
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Simians
giving goose-flesh to Rabupura residents Noida, September 17 Three women, it may be mentioned, have died after being bitten in Rabupura this year. The monkeys in Shri Ram Mandir Mohalla, Mohalla
Rajputan, Jatan, Nai, Rangrazan, Mena Thakuran and Mohalla Vaparyan are most aggressive. They take away clothes, utensils and eatables even from inside the houses. The residents have stopped putting their clothes on terrace for drying. Suresh Singh of Mohalla Jatan and Mamta, pregnant wife of Suresh, and some others were badly mauled by the animals. Mamta who had gone to terrace to put the washed clothes on line was pushed so badly by the monkeys that she fell in the compound. Earlier, three women were killed when pushed from the terrace by the animals. On May 6, 2003, Shanti Devi of Mohalla
Brahminan, died after being pushed down from the roof. Maryam, wife of Gaffar Khan of Mohalla Kurshyan was another victim. She was pushed down and killed. The people in
Rabupura, and elsewhere, get goose-flesh at the very mention of the monkeys. They don’t know how to protect themselves from the administration and the police who defend themselves by taking the plea that any action would hurt the religious sentiments of the people.
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Issueless
widow cries for her share of land Noida, September 17 Her husband died in 1972 and her father-in-law Bidhi Chand also expired in 1974. Subsequently, his 44-bigha land was given to her mother-in-law Mohinya. After the death of Mohinya, Lakshmi Chand got 22-bigha land while her brother-in-law Revti got the other 22 bigha as his share. However, Revti in connivance with the land revenue officials had also got the land of widow’s share transferred to his name on November 6, 1981. She had lodged a complaint against it with the consolidation officer as well as with the administration authorities. She has been going to the revenue department and tehsil office since then, but in vain. The woman said she was an issueless widow and the land in any case would go to Revti after her death. Today, the old woman is without any source of sustenance. |
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Buddhists
demand representation in New Delhi, September 17 It was pointed out that in the National Commission for Minorities, Buddhists have been getting representation since its inception in 1978. It was alleged by the Delhi unit spokesman, Shanti Swarup Buddha, and Coordinator, Ashok Shah Vankhade, the community was facing discrimination by not having representatives in Delhi. They urged the Chief Minister to initiate steps in this regard and take up the issue of giving representation to Buddhists with the Centre. |
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Women rally against blockage of sewers Sonepat, September 17 According to a report, they submitted a memorandum to the DC against the blockage and the resultant spilling of filthy water on the streets. The memorandum warned that if steps were not taken to clear the blockage immediately, they would intensify their agitation and also hold up the traffic. Cyclist hit by bus, killed:
According to a report, the bus driver, however, managed to escape leaving the bus. The police have registered a case against him and launched a hunt. The victim was going towards Baghpat on his bicycle. He leaves behind his handicapped wife Mrs Nirmla, handicapped mother Mrs Vidya Devi and brother Mr Ram Karan. The residents of the village raised the amount voluntarily for the cremation of the body as the family members had no money. According to another report, one person was killed when a truck hit a car on G T Road near Chaudhary Devi Lal Park about 12 km from here last evening. The victim was identified as Titoo of Kurukshetra who was driving the car which was on its way to Delhi. The police have registered the case against the driver who fled after the accident. A hunt is on to apprehend him. Meanwhile, a woman was run over and killed by a train near the railway station here yesterday. The victim was identified as Mrs Pinki of Bandepur village. The GRP has sent the body for a postmortem. Bar to move court against five cops:
According to a report, it has rejected the apology offered by these officials. The District Bar Association president, Mr Prem Atrey, convened a special meeting of the lawyers in the chamber here yesterday to discuss the issue. Almost all the lawyers expressed their views in favour of filing up the complaint in the court of law against the five officials. The officials who were asked to be present during the meeting, left the place after the decision of the association. Man killed by lightning:
According to a report, the youth had got separated from his associates. The lightening struck him and he died on the spot. |
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NCR
BRIEFS Faridabad, September 17 It is stated that one of them had wanted to marry the girl. The police rescued the girl after a raid and arrested the accused. Meanwhile, the police have booked a case of theft of a motorcycle in Sector-15 market here.
Rally to expose ‘anti-people’ policies today Rohtak: The activists of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) will hold a demonstration at Jind on September 18 to expose the ‘anti-people’ policies of ruling Indian National Lok Dal. This was announced by state RLD president Swami Indervesh. He was addressing a meeting of the party workers of the district unit here today. He also announced that a kisan rally would be organised at Jhajjar in the first week of October. Mr Ajit Singh, a former Union Agriculture Minister would be chief guest on the occasion.
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DC warns panches Narnaul: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr O P Indora, has warned panches and sarpanches who caused hurdles in the way of development of panchayats. Addressing the panch-sarpanch camp organised by the Mewat Development Society on behalf of ‘Haryana Institute of Rural Development, Nilokheri’ at local Panchayat Bhawan today, he said that such people were eating the Panchayati Raj system like termite. He called upon the participants to take responsibility for the complete development of gram panchayats.
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Flying squads for exam centres Bhiwani: After complaints of copying in the supplementary examinations of middle, matric and plus two being conducted by the Board of School Education Haryana since yesterday, the district administration has taken several measures to curb the menace. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Harpal Singh, said today that children would have to study now and copying would not be allowed. He disclosed that special flying squads had been formed to check those resorting to the unfair means. According to Mr Singh, nearly five to six flying squads would conduct surprise raids at different examination centres.
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Anti-demolition
squad retreats Sonepat:
The officials of the anti-demolition squad had to retreat without razing a multi-storeyed building in Sikka Colony here yesterday. According to a report, the officials pressed into service JCB machines and three tractor-trolleys and started the demolition operations. But the building owner and his supporters resisted the move by putting pressure from a political leader. Thereupon, the officials left the place immediately without razing the building. The Sonepat Municipal Council, it may be recalled, had already issued notices to the owners of multi-storeyed buildings asking them to demolish on their own otherwise the council would demolish them.
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DELHI
DIGEST New Delhi, September 17 Subsequently, Damodar asked Jose for some money since ‘he has his account abroad’. After a while, Damodar apparently repaid the money, but the cheque bounced. Jose came to know that the account holder had closed the account long ago. Jose reported it to the police. The sleuths found out that the accused had purchased some jewellery from a shop in Karol Bagh. Later, he was traced to a rented accommodation in Gurgaon and was finally arrested. Opium seized: Conference on ‘Saving
Children’:
DUTA executive committee members elected:
Ashok Kumar Singh was elected vice-president, Jaswinder Singh, secretary, Vivek Saxena, joint secretary and Sanjay Tyagi was appointed treasurer. D K Sethi of Ramjas College, Krishan Lal of Sri Aurobindo College, Prakash Narayan of PGDAV College, Rajiv Kumar of Satyawati (eve) and A K Srivastava of Delhi College of Engineering were appointed co-option members of the DUTA executive committee. |
Kidnapping case solved,
four held New Delhi, September 17 Sunita, the victim’s mother, reported to the police that her son had been kidnapped and she received a ransom call for Rs 2 lakh. The police reportedly swung into action. The call was traced to Jahangirpuri. The caller was identified and turned out to be Sunita’s namesake. The caller had told the victim’s mother that the money be given at a shop in Jahangirpuri. The culprit came and waited near the shop for half an hour. As she started moving, the police nabbed her. During interrogation, Sunita told the police that she was a relative of the victim. Since her husband had been arrested by the police under the Narcotics Act, she needed money to bail him out. The other accused Shram Singh alias Sharma (43), resident of Mangol Puri, Suresh alias Bhairon (45), resident of Jahangirpuri and Krishna (45), resident of Jahangirpuri were also arrested.
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Traders demand withdrawal of VAT Sonepat, September 17 Mr Bansal reportedly had no other explanation than to say that the Chief Minister might make some specific announcement for the benefit of traders at Karnal rally on September 25. In a meeting of the traders at Sonepat, most of them stressed that their first and foremost demand was the withdrawal of VAT. They said that Haryana was the only state where VAT had been enforced, creating problems for the traders. Similarly, the Kharkhoda traders demanded withdrawal of VAT. The trader Ishwar Das Gupta said that though the government had abolished the Inspector Raj, VAT was the biggest problem of the traders. “Only Haryana traders have been burdened with VAT and it has become very difficult for the traders in the state to balance trade links with the traders of other states,” he said. Addressing the traders in these meetings, Mr Bansal said that the traders were being fully protected by the state government. He also gave accounts of various steps taken by the Chautala government for the benefit of the trading community. Referring to the demands of the traders for withdrawal of VAT, Mr Bansal hinted that as the government always thought of the welfare of the traders, the Chief Minister was likely to make some special announcement for their benefit in Karnal rally on September 25. It could be withdrawal of VAT, he said. |
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Faridabad, September 17
