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Personal benefits matter more than community issues to voters Poaching of tigers continues
Ranbaxy officer held,
gets interim bail |
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Jan 7 rally to
focus on graft Ekta Shakti to contest all Assembly seats Ranga lambasts
Ganeshi Lal BJP to organise Smast Haryana rally Poor women to get taxi fare for delivery CM promises middle school in each village MDU may take action against Nehra Kali Paltan flyover declared open to traffic Jind emerges as centre
of Haryana politics Polluting units in Panipat to be shifted Fire in house, 1 dead 2 held for bid
to take away minister’s vehicle Poor women to get taxi fare
for delivery Bogus certificates given by schools Power curbs
to continue Petrol price hike flayed Woman dies in accident Forensic
Science Congress from Jan 18
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Personal benefits matter more than community issues to voters Rohtak, January 2 Senior political leaders who have been nursing constituencies very carefully throughout their political careers now find themselves on a sticky wicket since power substations, roads, irrigation minors and other community works are not on the common man’s political agenda anymore. Instead, there are demands for government jobs and after that virtual management of their careers which incidentally includes transfers, postings, promotions and other kinds of political protection. A senior Haryana politician of the ruling INLD said, “99 out of every 100 visitors who come to me want a job for sons or daughters. The remaining solitary visitor is the one who wants a transfer or reinstatement. Even those who come in groups or panchayats as we call them have the same demand. The days when they came asking for irrigation channels or power substations are over. Nobody is bothered about how I have changed the face of my constituency”. Senior politicians say the rural society has become very individualistic in its political approach. Those who support a particular politician or a party generally feel that community projects benefit everyone including those who opposed that party or the person. So that is of no consequence. Instead, the voter wants benefits that are exclusive to him or her. Translated into practical politics it means a government job and lifelong political patronage during careers. Another senior politician narrated an incident which left even a very politically shrewd Chief Minister foxed. He said a family of four called on the Chief Minister. The group included both parents, their son and his wife. Both the son and the daughter-in-law were candidates for the post of JBT teacher. The Chief Minister asked the father who they wanted selected. The father left it to the Chief Minister himself who was perplexed. If he selected the boy, it would antagonise the girl’s family and if the choice fell on the daughter-in-law, the boy’s family would say him goodbye. This is every politician’s dilemma these days. The fast decreasing number of vacancies in the government jobs has only added to the politicians’ woes. Decreasing jobs have inflated demand and increased competition to secure political favours leaving the politicians at their wit’s ends. So far as the urban voter is concerned, there is only a marginal qualitative difference. Politicians say while the rural supporters seek Class III and IV jobs, urban voters come for Class II and I jobs. Rest of the scenario is the same. Better roads, lighting and public utilities like parks do not matter at all. Politicians say there is no dearth of jobs in Haryana. However, there are certainly fewer and fewer government jobs. The problem lies there. Nobody wants to work in a private firm. The main reason is that the mindset of the people especially in rural areas is such that a government job is considered a lifelong asset with no accountability or responsibility. Then there is the attraction of graft. This feeling is so deep-rooted that a government employee has better matrimonial prospects compared to the one who is employed in a private firm howsoever big. Another equally serious problem is that despite government efforts, self-employment schemes are not taking off mainly because the rural youths consider this as unworthy. This arrogance arising out of ignorance is aggravating the unemployment problem and consequently the problems of the politicians. Mr Sampat Singh, Finance Minister, says keeping this in view the government has started many job-oriented courses which will over a period give a fillip to self-employment opportunities. Besides, efforts are being made to attract private enterprises to the state so that more jobs are created. However, he says, for all that to succeed, a change in mindset is a must. However, there appears to be little hope of a respite for the politicians in the near future as by nature Haryanavis are not easy to convince.
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Poaching of tigers continues Panipat, January 2 Poachers hailing from Samalkhan village, about 20 km from Panipat, are said to be active in Pithoragarh, Bhageshwari and Ranikhet districts of Uttaranchal. Pithoragarh is the main centre for poaching due to the presence of tigers in large numbers, source say. The police claims to have seized the tiger skins from Loda Colony in Samalkhan on December 31. A case has been registered under various provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act. Prem, an alleged poacher, managed to escape when his house was raided by the police. The skins will be sent to the Wildlife Protection Department for confirmation of identity. This is the second biggest recovery of tiger skins in the region. The police had seized 25 skins of animals, including seven of tigers, from the same village on May 22 last year. The police had arrested two persons of Loda Colony in the case. Tiger skin is in demand worldwide. Many poachers kill the tigers mainly for their coats. Moreover, it is believed that the fat of tiger can help leprosy patients and claws help relieve pain. Police sources said due to poor economical conditions, some residents of the colony had been in the poaching business for the past many years. The police sources said the poachers used to kill the animals and sell them to a Delhi-based agent. Even the poachers were not aware of the real price of the tiger skin. While the price of the tiger skin in the international market is in lakhs, the poachers used to sell it between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000. |
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Hisar girl Varsha tops HCS exam Chandigarh, January
2 Ms Khangwal, who did her post-graduation in history from Panjab University with 69.2 per cent marks, is a daughter of retired Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Suraj Bhan Khangwal. She lives in Hisar and has one elder sister who is a dental surgeon and and a younger brother who is doing BDS. Talking to TNS over telephone, Varsha said she had studied six hours daily in an average for appearing in the HCS examinations. Her subjects in the examination were history and sociology. Asked about her hobbies, the HCS topper said she was fond of watching sports on the television. She watches cricket more than any other sport and though her first love is the India team, she also admires the Pakistani cricketers. Reading books is also a favourite pastime with Varsha and the last book she has read is a biography of Alexander the Great. Movies too are her passion and she likes Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan. Akshay Khanna comes second in Varsha’s list of favourite Bollywood stars. She is also a fan of Hollywood hunk Sylvester Stallone. Asked about the actresses, Varsha said she did not like anyone particularly. Varsha credited her success in HCS to her family members and to the blessings of God. (Results on page 18)  |
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Hisar girl Varsha tops HCS exam Chandigarh, January 2 Ms
Khangwal, who did her post-graduation in history from Panjab University with 69.2 per cent marks, is a daughter of retired Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Suraj Bhan
Khangwal. She lives in Hisar and has one elder sister who is a dental surgeon and and a younger brother who is doing BDS. Talking to TNS over telephone, Varsha said she had studied six hours daily in an average for appearing in the HCS examinations. Her subjects in the examination were history and sociology. Asked about her hobbies, the HCS topper said she was fond of watching sports on the television. She watches cricket more than any other sport and though her first love is the India team, she also admires the Pakistani cricketers. Reading books is also a favourite pastime with Varsha and the last book she has read is a biography of Alexander the Great. Movies too are her passion and she likes Bollywood icon Amitabh
Bachchan. Akshay Khanna comes second in Varsha’s list of favourite Bollywood stars. She is also a fan of Hollywood hunk Sylvester
Stallone. Asked about the actresses, Varsha said she did not like anyone particularly. Varsha credited her success in HCS to her family members and to the blessings of God. |
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Haryana Civil Services (executive) results declared Chandigarh, January 2 HCS (Executive Branch): 75, 161, 422, 559, 1022, 1102, 1123, 1124, 1199, 1304, 1309, 1400, 1435. Deputy Superintendent of Police: 9, 234, 290, 322, 470, 799, 857, 1050, 1179, 1222, 1226, 1269, 1320, 1363, 1381. Excise and Taxation Officer: 92, 107, 148, 160, 295, 313, 344, 468, 510, 527, 958, 1042, 1083, 1235, 1265. District Food and Supplies Controller: 943 ‘A’ class Tehsildar (Apprentice): 58, 244, 252, 262, 321, 330, 444, 545, 717, 725, 829, 848, 953, 1110, 1252. Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies: 170, 606, 641, 729, 875, 1214, 1391, 1434. Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer: 61, 82, 121, 182, 230, 380, 445, 477, 1098, 1241, 1251, 1278, 1408. Block Development and Panchayat Officer (gazetted unclassified): 115, 157, 192, 308, 363, 449, 761, 790, 924, 978, 1105, 1267. District Food and Supplies Officer: 558.
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Ranbaxy officer held,
gets interim bail Karnal, January 2 The local police arrested him from his New Delhi residence early this morning after arrest warrants were issued by the court. Earlier, he did not accept the summons issued by the court on a complaint of fraud pending against him and Mr R.C. Gupta, Director-cum-General Manager (Commercial), under Sections 384, 420 and 506 of the IPC. Mr Kaul is a co-accused in the case. Mr Kaul had also filed an application for anticipatory bail in the court of Ms Navita Singh, Additional District and Sessions Judge, through his counsel on December 24 last year but the court rejected his bail application. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Najjar Singh, while accepting his application for regular bail today, granted him interim bail till January 7. The hearing on the regular bail of Mr Gupta has also been fixed for the same date. The local police had arrested Mr Gupta from his New Delhi residence after arrest warrants were issued by the court of the CJM on December 19. However, he managed to secure interim bail on the same day while Mr Kaul evaded arrest during this period. Mr Surinder Kumar Kakkar, son of Mr Khushal Chand, the proprietor of the National Pharma Distributor, Ambala Cantonment, and the National Finance Company, Karnal, had in his complaint alleged that Mr Gupta had accepted Rs 3 lakh and Mr Kaul Rs 1 lakh to extend the carry and forward contract of Ranbaxy with his firm for the third time. Subsequently, he paid Rs 5 lakh to renew the contract for the fourth time. The complainant alleged that the first amount was paid through demand draft issued in the name of Ms Shashi Gupta, daughter of Mr Gupta. However, even after receiving the bribe, Mr Kaul and Mr Gupta terminated the agreement between the two firms on June 6, 2003, almost a year before the due date, alleged the complainant. A case was filed against Mr Gupta and Mr Kaul in the court of Mr Najjar Singh, Chief Judicial Magistrate, on July 14, 2003. During the course of the trial, the CJM repeatedly issued summons to the defendants but both refused to accept these. |
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Jan 7 rally to
focus on graft Chandigarh, January 2 Though Mr Nirmal Singh asserted here today that the rally was not against any particular person, all those leaders who have confirmed their participation in the rally are known to be at daggers drawn with Mr Bhajan Lal. They include the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda; former Haryana Congress Presidents, Mr Birender Singh and Mr Harpal Singh; AICC Secretary Selja; Mr Chiranji Lal Sharma, a former MP; Mr O.P. Jindal, MLA from Hisar; former minister Rao Inderjit Singh and many other MLAs belonging to the Hooda camp. Mr Nirmal Singh said the rally was aimed at highlighting corruption and discrimination against all constituencies except those represented by the successive Chief Ministers and their sons. For the sake of record he says the rally is against the Chautala Government. But when he demands the publication of a white paper detailing money spent on development of various constituencies and the number of jobs given to residents of those constituencies since the inception of Haryana, it becomes obvious that he is targetting Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Bansi Lal as much as Mr Chautala. Mr Nirmal Singh claimed he had been given permission by the AICC General Secretary in charge of Haryana, Mr Nawal Kishore Sharma, to organise the rally. The AICC Secretary, Mr Subodh Kant Sahay, had agreed to reach Kurukshetra on January 7. |
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Ekta Shakti to contest all Assembly seats Rohtak, January 2 Addressing a press conference here he said his party’s fight was against the politics of caste and exploitation perpetrated by all three Lals of Haryana. He said these leaders had only exploited the people for their personal benefit and had let the people of Haryana down. It was now necessary to launch a movement to create awareness among the people. He said his party had established its units in nine of the 19 districts in the state.
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Ranga lambasts
Ganeshi Lal Chandigarh, January 2 In a press statement, Mr Ranga said apparently Mr Ganesh Lal had no idea about what a white paper and was making incongruous statements only for remaining in the news. About Mr Ganeshi Lal’s comment that the ‘Sarkar aapke Dwar’ programme was being supported by Central funds, Mr Ranga said Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala would be delighted to change the name of the programme to ‘Ganeshi Lal aapke Dwar’ if the BJP leaders could arrange Haryana’s dues amounting to Rs 3,000 crore from the Centre Mr Ranga said Rs 3,000 crore being withheld by the Centre comprised Rs 1,500 crore on account of Haryana’s share in Central taxes, Rs 95 crore of routine assistance, Rs 826 crore in fuel cess and Rs 544 crore in centrally sponsored scheme. The INLD minister said Mr Ganeshi Lal must release the details of assistance received by Haryana from the Centre. He must also clarify how this assistance had been misutilised, Mr Ranga said, adding that Mr Ganeshi Lal should not ignore the interests of the state while making “irresponsible press statements”. |
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BJP to organise Smast Haryana rally
Sirsa, January 2 The BJP leader said the BJP would organise a ‘Smast Haryana’ Rally in the hub of Haryana politics Jind in the last week of February or first week of March. The party is trying to ensure the presence of the Prime Minister of the country, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in the proposed rally. The party had already scheduled the meeting of a core group of the state party unit at Panipat on January 4 and 5 to chalk out strategy for public contact programme to make the rally a success. —
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Poor women to get taxi fare for delivery Narnaul, January 2 This was announced by Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala at Kadipuri village in Mahendragarh district where he inaugurated a drinking water supply scheme. He said the government had already decided to construct community latrines for women in all villages and get health check-up of senior citizens conducted. Mr Chautala, who also unveiled a life-size statue of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal in Narnaul, reiterated his commitment to make Haryana a model state as dreamt by Jan Nayak Devi Lal. He said the government had a plan to provide facilities to the people living in rural areas on a par with those in urban areas. —
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CM promises middle school in each village Rewari, January 2 Addressing a public meeting after laying the foundation stone for a District Institute of Education and Training at Harinagar-Hussainpur village in the district, he said with a view to bringing qualitative changes in the education system, it had become necessary to impart pre-service and in-service training to teachers. Mr Chautala also inaugurated a drinking water supply scheme costing Rs 75 lakh at Mastapur village in the district. Speaking on the occasion, he said 70 litres of water per capita per day would be provided to people in six villages under the scheme. —
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MDU may take action against Nehra Rohtak, January 2 It has been alleged in the agenda for the meeting that Dr Nehra had been indulging in indiscipline and disrupting the functioning of the university and that it had become necessary to initiate action against him. The agenda lists eight charges against him. If the meeting decides to initiate action against him on these charges, he will be the second leader of the association to be punished within the past few months. The secretary of the association, Dr H.S. Ratnoo, was suspended recently following complaints against him. The meeting is also scheduled to consider action against another lecturer of the university college for allegedly plagiarising a research paper originally penned by a scientist from Kerala. An inquiry panel which probed the charge had found that the paper was an original copy of the Keralite’s research publication. |
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Jind emerges as centre
of Haryana politics Chandigarh, January 2 “Samast Haryana”, the biggest-ever rally to be organised in the state till then, has become a yardstick for measuring the crowd at any rally. Even Mr Devi Lal’s political adversaries measure their rallies in terms of “Samast Haryana”. It has become a belief in Haryana politics that whichever party is able to organise a mammoth rally at Jind in the election year, it forms the government in the state. If in the late eighties Mr Devi Lal formed the government, in the mid-nineties, it was the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) led by Mr Bansi Lal, which organised a successful rally in Jind and formed the government in 1996. Incidentally, Jind district had also been the stronghold of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, whose President, Mr Ghasi Ram Nain, was arrested on various charges, including sedition, by the INLD Government. With the talk of early Lok Sabha elections in the air, Jind has again become the centre of attraction for political parties. The President of the Haryana BJP, Prof Ganeshi Lal, announced last week that his party would organise a “Samast Haryana” rally at Jind towards the end of next month or in the first week of March. He said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was expected to address the rally. Today the HVP announced its decision to organise “Samast Haryana” in Jind on February 29, perhaps to pre-empt the BJP. In the coming days other parties are also expected to announce their plans for rallies in Jind. |
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Kali Paltan flyover declared open to traffic Ambala, January 2 The flyover, which links northern and southern portions of the Ambala Cantonment, has been completed seven months ahead of schedule. Colonel Punit Sethi, Commander Works Engineer, said the flyover is 308 m long, out of which 110 m comes over the GT road and the Railway lines. The width of the flyover is 9 m. He said the side ramp of the flyover towards the Ambala Cantonment railway station is still under construction. The formal inauguration of the flyover will take place after the completion of the side ramp. It will take about three months to construct the ramp. “Based on soil investigation, the flyover is 18 m deep bored cast in situ pile foundation. The total construction cost of the flyover is about Rs 10 crore,” he said. The flyover has undergone major disputes due to inter-departmental rules. The Army as well as the Railways were asked to complete the flyover, which had been lying incomplete for the past four years. With motorists being allowed to use the flyover, there will be less congestion near the railway station and bus stand. |
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Polluting units in Panipat to be shifted Panchkula, January 2 Buoyed by the success of shifting of the polluting electroplating and painting industrial units from residential areas to the periphery in Faridabad, the HPCB has virtually served an ultimatum on the dyeing industry to shift to the Sector 29 Industrial Area in Panipat. Sources said the shifting of the polluting units from residential to industrial areas was in compliance with a directive of the Supreme Court. Functioning from the city areas, the dyeing units have been discharging over 1 crore litres of polluted water into the open. The board Chairman, Mr H.S. Bains, said no polluting unit would be allowed to function from residential areas. A common effluent treatment plant for the units will be inaugurated on January 4 at Faridabad, he added. |
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2 held for bid
to take away minister’s vehicle Sirsa, January 2 The minister’s son and other family members reached the bazaar around 5 pm today. While they were shopping, the driver of the vehicle went to a nearby shop for a cup of tea. Meanwhile, two young men, Jarnail Singh and Rajinder of Bhahiya village tried to take away the Tata Safari. When the driver raised the alarm, some youths flung into action and nabbed the robbers. But before they could be caught, one of them opened fire with a country-made pistol while the other drew a knife. At least six persons were injured in the firing. The youths were later handed over to the police, which registered a case. |
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Fire in house, 1 dead Ambala, January 2 The wife of the deceased and his children had gone out of Ambala last evening to meet their relatives. Ram Kumar was alone in the house when a fire broke out. The fire was first noticed by a neighbour. He shouted to inform. Ram Kumar about the fire When he did not get any response, he informed the fire brigade personel. A fire tender reached the spot and opened the door forcibly. They found that most of the articles in the room were burnt. The partially burnt body of Ram Kumar was also lying here. The police suspects that the deceased might have switched on a heater to get relief from shivering cold last night. Some clothes might have caught fire which later spread in the room. The body was handed over to relatives after a post-mortem examination. |
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Poor women to get taxi fare
for delivery Narnaul, January 2 This was announced by Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala at Kadipuri village in Mahendragarh district where he inaugurated a drinking water supply scheme. He said the government had already decided to construct community latrines for women in all villages and get health check-up of senior citizens conducted. Mr Chautala, who also unveiled a life-size statue of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal in Narnaul, reiterated his commitment to make Haryana a model state as dreamt by Jan Nayak Devi Lal. He said the government had a plan to provide facilities to the people living in rural areas on a par with those in urban areas. —
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Bogus certificates given by schools Bhiwani, January 2 Stating this today, a spokesman for the board said the board had got the enrolment forms verified and found that out of 1621 such certificates, 1058 were bogus. The maximum bogus school-leaving certificates had been found in the districts of Sonepat, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Karnal, Rohtak and Bhiwani. |
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Power curbs
to continue Chandigarh, January 2 An official press note said the northern grid was operating under critical conditions and unscheduled power cuts were being imposed by Northern Region Load Despatch Centre to avoid disturbances in the grid. However, efforts were on to arrange power from other sources to meet the demand. |
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Petrol price hike flayed Ambala, January 2 Mr Malik said the “New Year gift” of the NDA government to the country was the increase in the prices of diesel and petrol. He said the prices were increased recently. “It is during the Vajpayee government that the prices of petroleum products have increased a number of times in a year, proving to be a financial burden on people,” he said. He said the people were expecting that the government would reduce the already high prices of petrol and diesel but it had further increased these. He demanded that the prices should be rolled back immediately. |
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Woman dies in accident Sirsa, January 2 According to information on Thursday Sharvan Kumar of Bappan villeage who was going to Malewala village on a scooter with his mother and sister-in-law, was hit by a bus. His sister-in-law Parkash Kaur died on the spot while he and his mother were seriously injured and admitted to the local Civil Hospital. —
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Forensic
Science Congress from Jan 18 Chandigarh, January 2 The chiefs of forensic science laboratories in the country would participate in the congress to deliberate upon the usefulness of forensic science for detection of crime. Specific issues like fingerprint verification, DNA tests, autopsy, ballistic analysis, etc would be discussed at the congress. |
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Kala Manch office-bearers elected Ambala, January 2 Project director J.B. Thapar, said the chief patron was Mr Praveen Sudan, chief advisers Arvind Suri and Indu Bansal, president Izzat Pal, general secretary Beena Bhatia, finance secretary Indrajeet Singh, public relations officer Ravindra Kumar and secretary Rajesh Kalia. Mr Thapar said in February, Mr Praveen Sudan would be shooting a Punjabi video album and artists would be from Ambala. |
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Schools told not to hold classes till Jan 9 Kaithal, January 2 |
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Varsha Khangwal has topped in the Haryana
Civil Services Examination. The result of the HCS was announced here today.
Ms Khangwal, who did her post-graduation in history from Panjab University with 69.2 per cent marks, is a daughter of retired Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Suraj Bhan
Khangwal.
