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Stalled MCF projects need the kiss of life Faridabad, January 6 It is reported that the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF), which is the largest civic body in the state with an annual budget of Rs 100 crore, is seeking to tap the Local Area Development Tax to meet its financial liability vis-à-vis contractors who are holding up projects for want of payment. The state government has already agreed to give the MCF a share in the LADT collected by the Excise and Taxation Department each year. Although the decision in this regard had been taken last year, the civic body is still to receive any funds under this head. While the annual income of the MCF runs into several crores, it is reported that due to poor fiscal management, the civic body has been strapped for funds. Though the state government has initiated a programme to prune the staff strength here, the problem of paucity of funds persists. The issue has been raised on numerous occasions and members have asked the MCF Commissioner to ensure that he gets either a special grant or a part payment under the LADT head. The authorities had told some of the elected members of the MCF that the first installment of the LADT is expected by January 15 next. It is reported that development works worth Rs 7 to Rs 8 crore are lying unattended even as their construction cost keeps mounting. Some of the stalled projects include ones that had been sanctioned about two years ago. The pending projects include pipelines for water supply, a sewerage network and construction of roads. Residents of many colonies in the NIT area, especially in Jawahar colony, still have to buy potable water from private suppliers. The total payment pending under this head is stated to be around Rs 9 crore. The only schemes, which have not been affected by the funds crunch, are those which had been sanctioned under the third phase of the ‘Sarkar Apke Dwar’ programme. The MCF also owes several crores in dues to the Power Department and the agency which had been hired for ensuring cleanliness in the eastern sector of the town. |
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Two sparring families leave a trail of death Sonepat, January 6 The killings have also prompted the prominent citizens of the neighbouring villages to come together and hammer a compromise between the two sparring families of Butana. While one family, of Prithvi Singh and Chhotu Ram, has lost four members, the other family, of Hukam Singh, has fled from the village; the latter’s house in the village is locked and their agriculture land is lying uncultivated. Hukam Singh and his eldest son, Prakash, are in jail in a murder case while the other son Jagbir is serving in the air force and living in an air force station along with his wife and children. Two other sons — Sanjay and Krishan – are absconding after allegedly murdering the four youths of the rival family. Sanjay’s family has also left the village and is reportedly residing elsewhere. Only an aged person, who is an uncle of Hukam Singh, is still staying in the village, but he too had gone underground since the Saturday shootout. The terrorised family members of Prithvi Singh and Chhotu Ram met the chief minister at Canal rest house in Gohana on Monday and sought protection for their family members and immediate arrest of the suspects. The CM reportedly took a serious note of the shootout and directed the police authorities to nab the criminals at the earliest. Now, five police parties have been constituted to arrest the alleged accused; already, the parties have raided more than a dozen suspected hideouts in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, but without any success. According to villagers of Butana, some prominent citizens of Gangana, Nunan Khera and other neighbouring villages plan to hammer a compromise between the two rival families. It is feared that if the rivalry is not stamped out, the two families would be ruined. |
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total recall New Delhi, January 6 Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Neeraj Kumar said that the alert sleuths were able to neutralize five militants, including Arif Mohammad, an LeT militant, two JeM militants — Zahoor alias Mohammad Mumtaz Shahid, a Pakistani national, and Aslam alias Habeeb, a resident of Sikandrabad — and Hafiz Rashid alias Javed Iqbal and Bilal, both Pakistani
nationals. The sleuths also arrested 234 persons, including three Bangladeshis, two Pakistanis, one Canadian and one African, for various criminal activities in 2003. Kumar said that even though the primary work of the Special Cell was to counter terrorist activities, the sleuths also handled cases of organized and economic crime, counter espionage, extortion, robbery and dacoity. The sleuths also continued to undergo a revamp in the field of communications. In fact, there was a continuous effort to upgrade skills by organizing specialized training programmes for officers. These programmes disseminated information about the latest techniques in investigation of credit card frauds, counterfeit currency, combat shooting and cyber crime, added Kumar. In 2003, the sleuths also examined the threat perception of 381 persons, including VIPs and commoners, suggesting types of security cover to be provided to them according to the nature of the threat. Last year, 19 officers and men of the Special Cell were promoted and Rs 12 lakh was given to the sleuths as cash reward for their good work. In addition to the cash reward, commendation cards, certificates and rolls were presented. The sleuths had also busted rackets in fake passports and election cards, illegal telephone exchanges, credit cards, spurious and illicit drugs. |
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Coldest night of the season New Delhi, January 6 The temperature at mid-day was nine degree Celsius. A dense fog reduced visibility to a few metres, disrupting operation of morning flights. However, the sun showed up in the forenoon. An Airport Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson said the Runway Visibility Range (RVR) at 1400 hrs was just 125 metres as against the minimum 500 metres required for flights to land or take off. Flight arrival and departure could be possible only around 1100 hrs. The rail traffic continued to be hit by the prevailing fog. According to a Railway spokesperson, four trains – the Jalandhar-New Delhi Express, the New Delhi-Amritsar Express, the Bhatinda-New Delhi Express and the New Delhi-Shriganganagar Express remained cancelled. Besides, the Delhi-Guwahati Avadh Assam Express has been rescheduled to depart at 1730 hrs, the New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express at 2000 hrs and the New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express at 1950 hrs. A number of other trains too had to be rescheduled and quite a number of them were running late by several hours. |
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in a nutshell Noida, January 6 The students had gone missing after school hours at 2.45 pm. The girls had told their families that they will come late in the evening as they had to attend a friend’s birthday. The families of the students had got in touch with Sector-24 police when their wards failed to turn up in the evening. According to police, Ms Inderbala Verma of Sector-31, Ms. Mohina of Sector-55 and Ms Nidhi and Ms Shruti of Sector-21 were all students of the 9th class. The police have flashed their photos in Delhi, Mumbai and Goa. The police have also constituted three special teams to trace the missing girls. Neither the police nor the families of the students have any information about the whereabouts of the girls. The police have flashed the photographs at railway stations and at airports. None of the missing girls have contacted their families on phone. All hotel are being checked.
Criminal gives cops the slip Bulandshahr:
A criminal, who was to be produced in a court here in connection with a hearing, gave two his police escorts a slip at the Ballabhgrah bus stop. The escorts brought the matter to the notice of the court on Thursday. Subash, a resident of Anupshahar under police station Rajpura Badanyoo, is facing a case of attempt to murder in the court of OP Dixit. He had to attend a court date on Thursday. Subash had gone to a corner to relieve himself, when he is reported to have given the police a slip.
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Haryana will have surplus power: Chautala Sonepat, January 6 With the commissioning of these projects, the state would not only meet its requirement but it would be in a position to provide surplus power to the other states in the country. This was asserted by the Haryana Chief Minister while addressing the industrialists after inaugurating an auditorium at Kundli Industrial Estate. The state-of-the-art auditorium has been constructed by the Haryana Industrial Development Corporation at a cost of Rs 1.70 crore. The Chief Minister reiterated that phenomenal progress had been made in the state during the last four years. Even developed countries had lauded the developmental process adopted by the government, he claimed. He said that earnest efforts had been made to provide basic infrastructure in the state for the development of industries. The industrial facilities available in the state were of high standards, he claimed. He said that the government had launched a number of programme in the state to help the industrialists since July last year. He assured the industrialists that most of their demands would be fulfiled by the government soon. While seeking the co-operation the industrialists, the Chief Minister said the government would work in cooperation with the industrialists so as to usher in a new era of peace and development. He reminded the industrialists that it was due to their co-operation that the state had achieved new heights in every sphere. He hoped that they would continue to extend their co-operation to the government in future also. Extending his greetings to the industrialists for the new year, he appealed to them to help fulfill the cherished dream of Jan Nayak Devi Lal to make Haryana a front ranking state in the country. He assured the industrialists that their problems would be sorted-out by the government soon. Earlier, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of a police station at Kundli Industrial Estate, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 54 lakh. He directed the Haryana Industrial Development Corporation authorities to complete the construction of this police station within a stipulated period of 6 months so that the same could be inaugurated by him. On the occasion, the Chief Minister was honoured by Kundli Industries Association, Rai, Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association, Sports Goods Complex Manufacturer, Murthal, and Manufacturer Association, Industrial Area, Sonepat, by presenting a memento. While welcoming the Chief Minister on behalf of the All Industrial Associations, Mr M L Arora, expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for accepting a number of their demands. On the Occasion, Chairman of Hafed, Mr Surajmal, Dr Ramkumar Saini, Padam Singh Dahiya and Dev Raj Dewan, MLA’s, the MD of HSIDC, Dr Harbaksh Singh, the former Minister, Mr Ved Singh Malik, the Deputy Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr Vidya Dhar, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Balwan Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rajeev Ranjan, and Superintendent of Police, Mr Param Jit Singh Ahlawat were also present.
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Chautala has failed to rise upto expectations: Swami Sonepat, January 6 Talking to the mediapersons at the residence of Mr Bajrang Lal Gupta, an RSS leader in Sector 14 here yesterday, Mr Swami stated that the leaders and the workers of the party were not satisfied with the style of functioning of Mr Chautala and they were pressing the party ‘High Command’ to disassociate itself with the INLD and contest the Assembly elections independently. The party ‘High Command’, he said, was considering this question at the national level and had not taken any decision in this regard so far. The party ‘High Command’, he said, would take its decision on the issue of alliance before the next Lok Sabha elections. However, the party was strong in the urban and rural areas of the state and it could contest the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections independently. The minister disclosed that the party is planing to hold a massive state-level rally on March 14 in the state, which would be addressed by several national and state leaders. The main aim of this rally, he said, was to strengthen the base of the party. The party would hold yatras in each district to cover the villages and towns and mobilise the people for taking part in this rally. Referring to the landslide victory of the party in the recent Assembly elections in three states, he said that the Congress was frightened and it was trying to form an alliance with other so-called secular forces to challenge the BJP. However, he expressed confidence that the partners in the NDA would succeed in defeating the Congress and its partners in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, Mr Swami and Mr Gupta discussed the current political situation in the state and country. |
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Special Focus on gurgaon Gurgaon, January 6 Leading the distressed body of residents are more than a dozen formers office-bearers of QERWA. They have written a protest letter to the incumbent president of QERWA on the issue and have urged him for the emergency meeting. Earlier, they published and circulated a circular among the residents joining issue with the act of entering into an agreement with the management. This was sequel to a circular jointly signed by the present president and general secretary of QERWA and a senior functionary of the management disclosing the new agreement. The circular reads that the DLF management has accepted the proposal of QERWA to provide “additional services” to the city from January 1. The services include provision of round-the-clock security, upgradation of roads, parks, repairing and strengthening of boundary walls and fencing, electricity consumption of streetlights, which shall include replacement of bulbs, tubes, maintenance of electrical system and its upgradation, conservancy and general upkeep, which shall include sweeping of roads and collection of garbage. The significant aspect of the agreement is that the DLF will charge Rs 1-per sq yd (Rs 1.20/per Sq mtr) per month. What has got the goat of the residents having reservations against the QERWA-DLF Management understanding is the charge for providing the services. In fact an action committee of the QERWA, which was set up several years ago and given specific assignments relating to problems of the residents by the general body of the organisation, has come out with documentation on the issue calling in question the agreement with the management. According to the action committee, the agreement between QERWA and the DLF management designates normal civic services as “additional services” (internal development) to hoodwink the residents. Its case is that responsibility for providing these services in urban areas vests with the state. Under the terms of the license and the provision of Haryana Act, 1975 the state’s Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) has entrusted this responsibility to DLF as a consideration for grant of license for development of Quatab Enclave Colony. The specific condition of license is that maintenance works, as per HUDA’s norms, will be executed by DLF at its own cost. The president of QERWA in retaliation issued another circular among the residents questioning the very existence of the action committee. There is another angle to the present controversy. More than year back, the DTPC made it clear that the practice of making charges under maintenance charges by the DLF from the residents was ultra virus and inherently wrong. The DLF took the matter to the Punjab and Haryana High court, which upheld the order of the DTCP. Thereafter, the management stopped making arrangement for providing security in the DLF City, for which it was making charges under the head of maintenance charge from the residents. It also went in appeal to the Supreme Court. The apex court as temporary arrangement allowed the DLF to raise bills at the rate of 42.5 paise i.e 50 per cent of the claimed cost of maintenance services as interim measure pending final disposal of the case. The DLF again approached the apex court for clarification on the issue, which is expected to be given shortly. Those agitating the QERWA-DLF agreement on the issue, even when the matter is sub-judice, alleged that this was done to influence the issue in the court. According to them, the agreement will be used as an alibi by the DLF management to make out a case as if all the residents were agreed to the move of the DLF to make charges in the name of maintenance. However, the president of QERWA says that the agreement and its implementation was ad hoc as it was subject to the decision of the apex court. In any case the agreement was done keeping the best interest of the residents in the DLF City, he added in his circular to the public. He further alleged that only handful of persons having no say among the residents is trying to rake up the controversy. |
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DEA president gets Lifetime Achievement Award New Delhi, January 6 At the 15th Annual get-together of exporters at Pragati Maidan on Saturday night, Delhi Lt-Governor Vijai Kapoor handed over the citation to Mr Agarwal, while Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit gave silver plaque. Mr Agarwal got the award for rendering relentless services for the cause of the exporters especially from tiny, cottage and small-scale sectors throughout the length and breadth of the country. Mr Agarwal, son of the first Deputy Mayor of Delhi Ram Charan Agarwal, has been serving the cause of the exporting community for over three decades. Being a handicraft exporter, his products are mainly exported to Germany and other parts of the world. Mr Ashok Jha, Chairman and Managing Director of India, Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), also graced the occasion. DEA, an all India body of exporters, has over 1,50,000 members, including major export promotion councils, from all over the country. The get-together was jointly organised by the DEA and the ITPO. The award ceremony was followed by a concert by famous bhajan-ghazal maestro Anup Jalota along with Penaz Masani and Preeti
Sinha. |
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Shekhawat to inaugurate AITWA national convention New Delhi, January 6 To honour this cause, the Vice-President of India, Mr Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, will inaugurate the first national convention of the All India Transporters’ Welfare Association (AITWA) on January 7. Besides flagging of the Anti-Aids campaign, ‘Rastoon Ka Rahee-Jaagriti Rath’, the Vice-President will present a lifetime individual excellence award –‘Parivahan Shiromani’, for contribution to the transport industry. The convention will be presided by the Labour Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma. The Minister of Chemical and Fertilizers, Dr Chhattarpal Singh, will be the guest of honour at the function. Highway, which is home for 5.8 lakh drivers, cleaners and mechanics has not only become the breeding ground for deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS and STDs, but has also witnessed an increase in highway robberies. Realising this danger, AITWA, through this convention, will be taking concrete steps to support the neglected truck drivers. The convention will be attended by more than 850 members marking the start of the campaign to create AIDS awareness among the truckers who account for seven per cent of the HIV positive cases in the country. A budget of Rs 51 crore has been earmarked for the elaborate social welfare plan by AITWA in the golden jubilee year of the transport sector. Schemes would be announced to provide incidental insurance coverage for the operational staff supported jointly by the government and the transport companies. The convention would also mark the ‘0 per cent child labour drive’ in the transport sector. These children would be adopted by the transport Industry who would sponsor their education. This initiative will be extended to the children of the truckers as well. AITWA is also looking at liasioning with the government agencies to stop the murders and accidents that happen on the highways. A pilot project has already been started in Mumbai, where two members from the association are helping the police to keep vigil. |
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NCR BRIEFS Faridabad, January 6 Although the doctors and members of the pulse polio teams have tried to assure the residents that there was no truth to such rumours and beliefs, it is learnt that parents of many children continued to avoid participation in the immunisation drive. The Haryana Health Minister, Dr M. L. Ranga, who also visited many parts of the district today, was also informed about the hurdles faced during the campaign. Mr Ranga, who took stock of the various health schemes and the functioning of the Bhadshah Khan Civil Hospital here, was told that of the targeted 4.68 lakhs children, about 4.11 lakh children upto 5 years were administered polio drops so far. Dr Ranga also announced that the government had launched a new scheme of hiring private surgeons for performing emergency operations in the government hospitals where there was no regular surgeons available.
Six buffaloes seized Sonepat: The police have arrested a youth, Surinder of Larsauli village, and recovered six buffaloes from his possession allegedly stolen by him. According to a report, the stolen buffaloes were being taken to UP through the Bega ghat along the Yamuna river. A case has been registered against him and further investigations were in progress. |
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, January 6 These demolitions during the winters, particularly during the ongoing cold wave, was very inhuman as the poor people have no alternate arrangement but to live in the open, the protestors said. The Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, has written to the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L. K. Advani and the Prime Minster, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, for halting the demolition of JJ clusters until the final examinations of children in March and April. Ministers felicitated:
Mr Ravinder Bansal, MLA, was also felicitated for being elected for the second time from the area. The Deputy Director in the Education Department, Dr Bhupender Singh, was the guest of honour on the occasion. Loadshedding announced:
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Rly to open private booking agencies Sonepat, January 6 Resentment among patients:
According to a report, patients alleged that specialist doctors were turning up very late for duty and the patients have to wait for hours to get treatment. The civil Surgeon, they alleged, had failed to take any action against the late comers and to regularise the attendance of doctors and other paramedical staff. Blankets distributed:
According to a report, she plans to hold more such functions where blankets would be distributed to the poor people. Families’ get-together:
According to a report, members of about 300 families took part in this function. A number of competitions and cultural programmes were the main attractions. Later, a community lunch was also organised as part of the function. |
Constable arrested red-handed New Delhi, January 6 The accused, posted in the Central District, was arrested red-handed based on a complaint that he demanded and accepted Rs 1,000 for providing favours in an externment case. The victim reported the matter to the Anti-Corruption Branch that he was being harassed by the Head Constable for bribe. A trap was laid and the Head Constable was arrested red-handed, the police said. Self- defence drill:
The girls trained by the Women Cell demonstrated various martial art skills and displayed how note books, duppatas, bags and pens can be used as weapons to ward off the anti-social elements. The Women Cell has so far trained more than 6,200 women of different age groups in self-defence against physical assault by wayward husbands, eve teasers and anti-social elements. The girls have mentioned in their feed back that they felt confident and empowered and were ready to tackle difficult situations on their own. |
Lord Krishna Bank opens two branches in NCR region New Delhi, January 6 The service bouquet will also include a wide range of hi-tech services including retail banking boutique, corporate banking and financial advice to corporate and retail customers, a spokesman of the Bank said. Commenting on the new branch openings, Mr Vipin C. Marwah, General Manager of the Bank, said that as part of bank’s series of initiatives to make Lord Krishna Bank truly national bank, the management was currently focusing on Northern India and NCR. The NCR is a key market for the bank. The Lord Krishna Bank was established in 1940 at Kodungallur in Tissur district of Kerala. Although the bank was started at a very modest level by the end of 1960s, the bank was in a position to take over three commercial banks, Thlyya Bank, Josna Bank and Kerala Union Bank. The bank is managed by a team of experienced professionals with a proven track record and is in a fast growth mode. The Lord Krishna Bank has a tie-up with VISA Electron to offer debit card facility to its customers. The bank also has distribution alliance with LIC Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual, HDFC Mutual Fund, Franklin Templeton, Standard Chartered Mutual Fund and the DSP Merryll Lynch, he said. |
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