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Insurance plan
for farmers soon: Rajnath
Liquor vend on
government land Schoolchildren
develop cheaper, organic pesticide |
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Large turnout at
Ekta Shakti rally HVP preparing to
go it alone in poll Jyotisar to be
developed as tourism centre Tibetans for
autonomous status on Hong Kong pattern 3 escaped jail
inmates caught Blankets given
to the poor Ambala Diary
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Insurance plan for farmers soon: Rajnath Hansi, December 28 Addressing a well-attended Jan Jagriti rally organised by the party at this subdivisional town, 25 km from Hisar, he said this was the dream of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the party think tank was working on the intricacies of the scheme. Mr Vajpayee, he said, was of the view that no farmer in the country was able to fulfil all the needs of his family solely through farm income. It was, therefore, necessary that at least one member of every farming family be provided an additional source of income to raise the standard of living. He, however, did not spell out how this would be done. Mr Rajnath Singh was the main speaker at the rally since the Deputy Prime Minister Mr L. K. Advani and the BJP chief Mr V. Naidu who were also scheduled to attend it, failed to turn up because of the death of former BJP chief Mr Kushabhau Thakre early this morning. He said the BJP had done more for farmers in five years than any other party since Independence. The proposed Farm Income Insurance Scheme which was likely to be implemented from the next Rabi season would make the farmers immune from losses through natural calamities or other similar factors. Experiments were being conducted in 18 districts spread over 13 states and the results were expected soon. The Jai Kisan satellite TV channel was on the anvil and it would revolutionise extension activities in the country. Besides, the Agriculture Call Centre access to which would be free, was expected to be launched before the end of January next. The two projects combined would make farmers' lives a lot easier, he added. Mr Rajnath Singh said the metalled link roads being laid all over the country were being financed by the Centre and no Chief Minister could claim that his or her government was financing these projects. The project was the brainchild of Mr Vajpayee and was financed entirely by the Centre. Before Mr Rajnath Singh arrived several hours behind schedule,
anti-INLD sentiments dominated the speeches of Haryana BJP leaders. The beginning was made by Mr Krishan Pal
Gujar, Leader of the BJP Legislature Party. Without mincing words he said the INLD had swept to power on the shoulders of the BJP. However, once in power, the INLD had kept none of its promises and betrayed the people of Haryana. He said the functioning of the government was undemocratic and anti-people. Such a party did not deserve the support of a principled party like the BJP. Besides, the people of Haryana too were fed up with the functioning of the Chautala government. Mr Ram Chander
Bainda, MP, was also forthright in his criticism of the Chief Minister as well as the
INLD. He said the people of Haryana wanted a change and the BJP should get rid of the INLD immediately. He too echoed the sentiments expressed by Mr Gujar and asserted that the INLD government had been reduced to a private limited company owned by the Chief Minister and his sons. Mr Kishen Singh
Sangwan, another BJP MP from Haryana, also wanted the central party leadership to honour the sentiments of the BJP cadres and end its political alliance with the
INLD. Senior Haryana BJP leader Ram Bilas Sharma addressed the rally in Mr Rajnath Singh's presence. He bitterly criticised the Chautala government and went to the extent of asking the audience to raise its hands if it wanted the BJP to severe relations with the
INLD. The entire audience responded positively. However, the Union Minister did not comment on the issue and concentrated on listing the achievements of the Prime Minister, especially what the Centre had done for the farmers. |
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Rs 319 cr for
water courses Sonepat, December 28 This was disclosed by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala at Rohat village today. He redressed the grievances of the people of 21 villages. |
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Work on SYL to restart soon: CM Sonepat, December 28 The Chief Minister, who was redressing the grievances of the people at Pipli village in Sonepat district under fourth phase of the Sarkar Aapke Dwar programme, said the state would get adequate water for irrigation after the completion of the canal. He redressed the grievances of the residents of Gopalpur, Rampur and Pipli villages and announced a number of development works. Mr Chautala said steps were being taken to improve the irrigation system. The damaged water courses were being repaired and the base level of canals was being improved, he added. He said a plan was being implemented to improve the availability of safe drinking water. He said the government had introduced a scheme to set up sports stadiums in villages. He announced a number of development works for the villages of the area. He said a new six-bay bus stand would be constructed at Kharkhoda. Urging the people of Kharkhoda to deposit the power arrears, amounting to Rs 1.2 crore, Mr Chautala said this amount would be utilised for the development of the town. |
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Liquor
vend on government land Gurgaon,
December 28 Legal provisions are being wrongly interpreted by the authorities concerned in order to allow the mafia to continue business on government land at public places. Ironically, the judicial process is used by the authorities concerned to avoid direct measures to vacate encroachments. Take the case of a liquor vend at MDI (Management Development Institute)/Maharana Pratap Chowk. The Kulwant Singh and Company, the contractor, who had won the bid for running liquor vends in 1998 illegally opened a vend right at the chowk towards Maruti road. The Forest Department challaned the company and took the matter to a special environment court. The culprit was booked under Sections 32 and 33 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. According
to Forest Department officials, the court issued a summon to the
accused but he did not respond. When the original address 15-B, DLF,
Sector 14 of the accused was checked, it was found that the accused
did not reside there. The department then intimated the court another
address of the accused in Sector 17. A fresh summon was issued but to
no avail. Thereafter, the court declared the accused a “proclaimed
offender” (PO) in 2000. The Forest Department says it is helpless as the matter is sub judice. In fact, the department has not done anything after the court declared the accused as a proclaimed offender to get an ex-parte order in its favour, if any was required, to remove the encroachment. Now there is a different contractor who has won the bid to do liquor business in Gurgaon. The new contractor is doing business from the controversial vend. Many wonder that if the matter was sub judice how come a third party has tampered with the entire legal process with the Forest Department and the government remaining a mute spectator. The police has taken the stand that the Forest Department has not intimated it on the issue. But the fact of the matter is that when the court declares an accused as a proclaimed offender it intimates the police. In this case the vend, per se, on ground of encroachment and on other counts clearly falls under the category of public nuisance. Residents of Sector 17, which is adjacent to the vend, and Sector 14 of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) have taken up the issue with the district administration and other authorities a number of times but to no avail. The vend is adjacent to a PWD road. Hence, the PWD, along with HUDA, which can act suo motu, has enough reasons and provisions in the rule book to remove the encroachment. Also involved is the sensitive issue of environment as the vend is located on forest land/green belt. There
is another vend on the Forest Department’s land on Mehrauli Road
near the headquarters of the Electricity Department. The matter is
being heard in a civil court. A private company was reportedly
charging rent from the owner of the vend even though it was set up on
land of the Forest Department. An employee of the department was once
held guilty of contempt in a case relating to the removal of the vend. |
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Schoolchildren develop cheaper, organic pesticide Kurukshetra, December 28 The National Council of Educational Research and Training, Department of Education in Science and Mathematics, Head and Professor, Dr R. D. Shukla, has appreciated student ‘success and informed the school Principal Mrs Annie Philip that the exhibit of her school, at the 30th Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Exhibition for Children (JNNSEC) – 2003 at Dehradun from November 17 to November 22, 2003, had been identified as one of the best exhibits. Now, the teacher and students associated with this project will participate in the ‘Science for Schoolchildren Programme’, organised by Science Congress, Institute of Microbial Technology, in Chandigarh from January 3 to January 7, 2004. School team’s another exhibit ‘Organic Farming’, displayed at 29th JNNSEC – 2002, at Hyderabad from November 26 to December 1, 2002, was also selected for the ‘Science Exhibition for Children Programme’ at Bangalore University, Karnataka from January 3 to January 7, 2003. School’s science teacher, Suresh Kumar, — a B.Sc., B.Ed., Diploma in Electrical Engineering and doing M.Sc. in Biotechnology (through correspondence), says that he had an idea that if some insecticides can repel insects from human skin then an insecticide from poisonous plants can be made to keep insects away from plants. His team started working on this idea and succeeded in making ‘CODAAK INSECTICIDE’ — an extract of poisonous plants (Congress Grass, Dhatura and Aak) obtained by distillation. One litre of ‘CODAAK INSECTICIDE’ with 20 litres of water, will make a solution. Which can be sprayed on crop and vegetable plants to keep insects away. Mr Suresh Kumar, with farming background, says to test the product he selected corner of a cotton field in his village Brah Kalan, Jind district and sprayed ‘CODAAK INSECTICIDE’ on the plants, which after a fortnight, were found to be free from any ailment compared to other cotton plants in the field which were affected by white fly and bug of cotton plants. His team is trying the product on other plants and calculating the cost of its large scale manufacture. According to a an estimate, 15 litres of ‘CODAAK INSECTICIDE’ solution is
enough for an acre of crop and cost would be rupees four only. It can be a cheap, effective and environment-friendly insecticide, if improved on, adds Mr Suresh Kumar. The equipment used to make CODAAK INSECTICIDE’ by distillation, is indigenous and arranged from waste material from junk dealers save the electricity meter used to calculate consumption of electricity and electric heater used to boil made by grinding equal quantities of raw material comprising Congress Grass, Dhatura and Aak. School Principal Mrs Annie Philip, gives credit for this achievement to Mr Suresh Kumar and students’ team comprising class VIII students, Mr Pankhuri Arora Ms Sucheta and Ms Nisha Bura and class IX student, Master Nishant Sharma. She says that Mr Suresh Kumar is an ideal science teacher, always keen on teaching children to think differently and creatively. The achievement according to her is a culmination of dedicated work put in by Mr Suresh Kumar and his team. She is all praise for Ms Pankhuri for her effective presentation at various exhibitions. Maharana Pratap Public School, an institution run by the Kshatriya Sabha here is a little over 10 years old is known in the district for academic excellence, adds Mrs Phillip. School Manager Dr M.S. Chauhan says the school is poised for further growth. He says that the school this year, moved to spacious campus in the Urban Estate and
class XI and class XII will be added on the completion of buildings. |
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Large turnout at Ekta Shakti rally Kurukshetra, December 28 The Ekta Shakti, led by a former Haryana Government officer, Mr Veerendra Verma, and launched recently, had organised an ambitious public meeting here. Mr Verma, who prefixes his name with “Maratha” to emphasise his descent, promised lots of things to the people if the party was voted to power. Backed by the advantage of being a fresh entrant in politics, he claimed that if voted to power, Haryana would be like one of the European countries or Singapore. He said the old age pension would be increased to Rs 500, and there would be 24 hour power supply. A medical institute would also be set up at Kurukshetra which would be better equipped than AIIMS in Delhi, he claimed. Being referred as the “future Chief Minister of Haryana” by the speakers, he said he was not on the pay roll of any of the politicians of the state. He had jumped into the political arena because successive Chief Ministers had not done anything to fulfill the aspirations of the people, he said. The alleged discrimination against northern districts of the state is also one of the important planks of the party. Mr Verma said the state government had sacrificed the interests of farmers of the northern districts by allowing private sugar mills to pay them at the statutory minimum price of cane fixed by the Central Government. The other speakers launched a scathing attack against “Bagri Jat politicians”, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Mr Bansi Lal and Mr Bhajan Lal and alleged that these three had a secret understanding so that they could become Chief Ministers in turn. The Ekta Shakti president was presented with over Rs 3 lakh in cash by his supporters. He was also presented with a “sudarshan
chakra” made of silver. A large number of people claiming affiliation to the
INLD, Congress, Haryana Vikas Party and other social and political organisations had joined the Ekta Shakti at the venue of the meeting. |
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HVP preparing to go it alone in poll Fatehabad, December 28 He said politics was a game of uncertainties and an alliance with any party before the poll could not be ruled out. He went on to add that with the disinclination of the BJP to continue its alliance with the ruling INLD in Haryana, his party’s alliance with the BJP could not be ruled out. He hastened to add that the party chief, Mr Bansi Lal had made it clear that the party would go it alone in the poll. Mr Kanwal Singh said the HVP was expecting parliamentary elections in April or May. He said the party was ready to face the elections as and when they were announced and hinted that he might contest from Hisar. He said Mr Bansi Lal had directed party leaders to galvanise the party in the state so that it could contest in the elections at the shortest notice. He said though it was for Mr Bansi Lal to take decisions on matters like an alliance with any party, he personally felt that there was no permanent friend or foe in politics and an alliance with the BJP was not ruled out in the present conditions. Mr Kanwal Singh criticised the INLD government in Haryana and said no section of society was happy with the performance of the government. He said power and irrigation, which were the two basic necessities of the people in an agricultural state like Haryana, had become rare commodities. The government, he alleged, had doubled the ‘abiana’ to be recovered from farmers. He said the rice shoot, which was provided by the HVP government for Rs 1,500, was now being provided for between Rs 4500 and Rs 45,000 by the present regime. Power connections for tubewells had become dearer, he alleged. He added that even after purchasing transformers and other equipments, farmers were not getting connections for the last three months. Mr Kanwal Singh also addressed a meeting of HVP workers at the local Arorwansh Dharamshala. A HVP state executive member, Mr Prahlad Singh Gillankhera, the district president of the party Mr. Gian Chand Pruthi, the president of the women wing of the district unit Ms Dayawanti Varma, the president of the youth wing Mr Ram Murthi, and a number of other party leaders were present on the occasion. |
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Jyotisar to be developed as tourism centre Kurukshetra, December 28 The team visited workshops of rural craftsmen engaged in the manufacture of carpets, embroidery work, soft toys, shoes and pottery. Sarpanch Zile Singh said the craftsmanship could be improved if training facilities were provided. The provision for marketing by establishing a shopping complex at the village would improve the rural economic conditions. Mr Sahi urged the villagers to provide home-stay facility to tourists who might wants to learn their craftsmenship. Deputy Commissioner Abhilaksh Likhi explained the historical, religious and handicrafts background of Jyotisar village through a projector to the team and panchayat members, besides district officers. He said a light and sound show depicting the Mahabharata war, had already been started at Jyotisar with the help of the Central Government while a planetarium after the name of Indian astronaut, Kalapna Chawla would be set up near Jyotisar. There was a potential for developing Jyotisar as a rural
tourism centre, he added. The team also visited the Sri Krishna Museum and the Kurukshetra Panorama and Science Centre yesterday. |
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Tibetans for autonomous status on Hong Kong pattern Panipat, December 28 Expressing concern at the setting up of nine nuclear bases in the Himalayan kingdom by China, Professor Rinpoche informed that over 60 lakh Tibetans the world over were anxiously awaiting the reaction of the Chinese government to the “five-point peace proposal",submitted the Dalai Lama
recently. The demand for the full independence had long been renounced by the Tibetan and the community wanted control over their internal affairs, he asserted, indicating a soft line towards China. Professor Rinpoche, who was addressing a function organised by the Panipat Nagrik Manch to felicitate him, said the establishment of the nuclear bases in Tibet had upset the balance of power in South Asia and posed a serious threat to the Indian security. Under the zone of peace, the stockpiling and dumping of nuclear waste in Tibet should be banned and efforts made to preserve its rich environment. Terming the Tibetan freedom struggle as "Tibet Mukti Sadhana", based on the truth and non-violence principles of the Gandhian thought, he claimed that the international opinion gradually veering round the fact that the Tibetan should have a homeland of their own on the pattern of Hong Kong under which China could control the external affairs of Tibet. The Chinese constitution provided for the protection of the rights of the minorities, he claimed. The Tibetans' conflict with the Chinese should not be seen in the light of the fight for the democracy with communism or as clash of the nationalities, he noted, adding that the peaceful struggle for the restoration of their homeland and human rights would continue. The Tibetan leader, who had a word of praise for the Indians for standing behind the Tibetans since 1959 mass exodus from Tibet, regretted that the Tibetan cause had not be understood by the several countries. Coming in favour of the relevance of the teachings of the Father of the Nation, he urged the Indians, particularly the children, to read “Hind Swaraj," written by Mahatma Gandhi. A granddaughter of Gandhiji, Ms Tara Bhattacharjee, while presiding over the function, urged the youth to follow in footsteps of the Mahatma. Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were the president of the manch, Mr Mahesh Dutt Sharma, and Mr Yash Pal MIttal, a prominent Gandhian. Tributes were paid to Som Dutt Vidyalankar, a close associate of Gandhiji, who died recently. |
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3 escaped jail inmates caught Hisar, December 28 According to the Jail Superintendent, Ms Shashi Ahlawat, one of them Balbir Singh, who was lodged there in connection with a murder case, had stolen four blades of saw from the jail store two days ago. After this, he along with three other inmates in his cell — Vijay Kumar of Chichra village in Sonepat district and Umed Singh and Rajender Singh, both residents of Litani village, made a plan to escape. At around 6 a.m. they cut the iron bars of their barrack and escaped. The jail authorities came to know about the incident at 7 a.m. when the jail officials did the counting. Immediately afterwards three of them, Balbir Singh, Umed Singh and Rajender Singh were caught by jail officials on the Kaimari road here while the fourth Vijay succeeded in running away. The local police has registered a case. Those suspended are Suresh Kumar, Virender Singh and Balbir Singh, all jail wardens. |
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Blankets given to
the poor Kurukshetra, December 28 Appreciating Aastha’s gesture, Mr Arora said Aastha had been engaged in the welfare of society by distributing blankets and medicines among deserving persons, besides arranging marriages, for the last four years. Talking about Aastha’s future programme, Mr Arora said it had proposed to construct a women’s college, besides solemnising marriages of girls hailing from poor families. Aastha would organise health check-up camps for poor persons, who would be provided medicines free of cost, he added. Earlier, Mr Arora also inaugurated the installation ceremony of Echo Colour Doppler, a machine used for diagnosing heart diseases, at a nursing home here. |
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Ambala
Diary Ambala, December 28 This was a milestone year for the school since it organised its 10th annual day function. The students presented a number of programmes including a welcome dance and a short musical “Cinderella”. The enthusiasm of the tiny-tots as well as the hardwork put in by the teachers was apparent in the scintillating performance. School Principal Asha Aggarwal, while presenting the school’s annual report, said the school has installed a multimedia computer system in every classroom to give impetus to computer-aided learning. She said an LCD projection system has been installed in the school
auditorium.
Mayank to represent Haryana Mayank Jain, a student of Class XI at SA Jain Senior Model School, has been chosen to represent Haryana at a national-level competition to be held at Chandigarh from January 3 to January 7. The School Principal, Dr Anima Jain, said Mayank along with a team comprising Shruti Gupta, Sachin Vohra, Mehak Chawla and Sanchit Singhal had participated in the 11th National Children Science Congress - 2003. The team had been guided by Ms Neelam
Rawal. The competition was organised by the Haryana Vigyan Manch in collaboration with the National Vigyan Prodyogiki Sanchar Parishad of the Government of India, Haryana State Vigyan and Prodyogiki Parishad, Chandigarh. |
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