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Guidelines now apply to colonies on pvt New Delhi, February 7 The clarifications, issued for the second day running, point out that the new guidelines for regularisation of unauthorised colonies are applicable to the colonies on both private and public land except the Sainik Farms, which was a matter of separate consideration. In a news conference yesterday, Union Urban Development Minister Bandaru Dattatreya had said that since the government’s decision pertains only to the colonies that have come up on public land, it does not apply to the farmhouses which are on private land. The ministry said that only such colonies where more than 50 per cent of the area have been built up would be considered for regularisation. An official release here said that the cut-off date for regularisation of unauthorised colonies would be March 31, 2002. The onus of development work would be on the residents’ co-operative societies. They may execute the work themselves or through the local bodies. The society could get the layout plan prepared by the registered architect / town planner. Earlier, a resident welfare association was required to be formed with at least 75 per cent of plot / house owners in a colony as its members, but now a registered co-operative society may be formed to do away with the problem of multiple residents associations. The cost of land for unauthorised colonies on undeveloped public land would be recovered on the basis of prevailing cost of acquisition of agricultural land plus penalty of 10 per cent of land rate on plots up to 100 sq m or 50 per cent of land rate on plots of 101 sq m and above. For unauthorised colonies that have come up on developed public land, it will be on the basis of notified land rate of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) plus penalty of 10 per cent of land rate on plots up to 100 sq m or 50 per cent of the land rate on plots of 101 sq m and above.
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Kidnapper of financier shot dead in encounter Ghaziabad, February 7 The deceased has been identified as Subash, alias Kala, carrying a reward of Rs 2,500 on his head announced by the Muzzafarnagar police. He was a member of the Sanjay Bhoot gang and was also involved in the kidnapping of financier Gopal Sharma of Shamli. Although his other companions had been nabbed, Subash was absconding. The latest police success in shooting a dreaded criminal is the result of a special campaign launched by the police recently, the SSP said. SOG in charge Shatrugan Upadhya with his team and a team from Indirapuram police station was patrolling near Kanawani culvert, when they noted a Maruti car without a number plate approaching them. When signalled to stop, the driver tried to accelerate the car. As the police vehicles chased the car, it hit against a divider near Shakti Khand. On getting out of the car, the two criminals started firing at the police party. One of the criminals was injured in police action. He was rushed to the government hospital where he was declared dead by doctors. SSP said the slain criminal has been identified as Subash, alias Kala, of Baraut in District Bagpat The police have recovered a chit from the pocket of the deceased, and seized a Maruti car, an American manufactured pistol, a local revolver and some cartridges. The SSP said dreaded criminal Subash had kidnapped financier Gopal Sharma from Shamili on September 27, 2003 for ransom. Gopal Sharma was, however, rescued later on October 15 in Barwala jungles. |
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Five students hurt in group clash Sonepat, February 7 On receipt of information, the officials of the Government Railway Police (GRP) arrived on the scene but none of the students was found there. It is stated that one of the students of ITI had teased the sister of a student Sonu of HIT in the morning. When the eve-teaser along with his friends reached the railway station, somebody informed Sonu about him. The brother along with his friends reached the railway station and fought with other group. Panic prevailed among the passengers and they started running to the safer places. On hearing the hue and cry, the GRP officials reached the site but the students managed to escape after seeing the police officials. The GRP officials are still investigating the case and trying to ferret out the students. Meanwhile, the rail traffic on the Sonepat-Delhi section of the Northern Railway remained disrupted for at least three hours following the failure of the engine of a Delhi-bound goods train near Rathdhanna railway station about 8 km from here last evening. According to a report, the goods train was on its way from Ambala to Delhi when its engine developed a mechanical defect and the train halted on the down track between Sonepat and Rathdhanna railway station. The driver tried to rectify the fault but failed. Thereafter, he sent an SOS to the staff of the Rathdhanna railway station for seeking a relief engine. On receiving information, a number of trains were held up at nearby railway stations, stranding the passengers travelling on them for hours. |
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Deploy unused vehicles on roads, Paul New Delhi, February 7 At the same time, the police commissioner has cautioned the police personnel the need to be civil and polite while dealing with the public and asked the senior control room staff to finalise a standard response which should subsequently passed on to the police personnel in the field. This is the second such direction in the last three days by Mr Paul to make the presence of police personnel felt in the Capital. He has directed the PCR unit to use the 50 brand new PCR vans which were recently purchased by the unit. Mr Paul wants these additional PCR vans to be deployed at vulnerable places to make the women, children and senior citizens safe in the city. “PCR vans should be visible in vulnerable areas and stretches of important roads, particularly at night and fresh orientation needs to be given,” he observed. He added that convergence exercises for the escaping vehicles need to be held at night at least once a week to adjudge the operational effectiveness and plug the loopholes, wherever required. He asked the senior officers of the PCR unit to properly brief the PCR personnel on the courtesies to be extended to the public. The attitude of the PCR staff needs to be monitored very closely. Interestingly, Mr Paul has also asked the district policemen and PCR staff that while speaking to the public the use of Sir and Madam should be encouraged. Besides, he also ordered for a standard response in Hindi and English for the PCR staff. Mr Paul also held a meeting with the District Deputy Commissioners of Police and Joint Commissioners of the ranges today and reviewed the crime situation in the city. As five murders had been reported in the North-West and West districts recently, he asked the officers to study the situation and also properly brief their men to strengthen beat patrolling, said the sources. |
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Worried traders to hold
‘chicken melas’ New Delhi, February 7 The Delhi traders have been concerned about the drop in the sale of chickens in the Capital since the outbreak of the disease in South-East Asia. The Delhi Poultry Commission Agents Association at the wholesale poultry market in the Ghazipur Mandi today held a meeting of all the people, including wholesalers, commission agents related to this industry for chalking out a strategy to save this countrywide trade worth Rs 29,000 crore from the verge of closure. The Assistant Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Shahdara South Zone, Mr M. U. Sarwar, was also present at the meeting to inform the association that a six-member committee has been formed by the MCD to check the ‘unauthorised’ sale of chickens in their zones with the powers to seize the products from the unlicensed sellers. The MCD has been informed that a majority of the chicken shop owners do not have a licence. They sell chicken which is not fit for eating. The MCD will conduct raids and take action against such shop owners. During the meeting, the poultry farmers from neighbouring states suggested holding ‘chicken melas’ in different parts of the Capital and inviting reputed personalities from that area to relish chicken dish in full view of the people to show that the product is safe for consumption. The Association president, Haji Salahuddin Qureshi today arranged for one such mela at the spot in which over 1,000 chickens were fried and eaten by about 2,000 people in the poultry market, including the wholesalers, commission agents and other workers there. “So far no case of any avian influenza has been reported from any part of the country, but we cannot take any chance,” Mr Sarwar quipped and to prove it, he himself consumed a couple of pieces of fried chicken legs along with other people gathered there. Mr Sarwar, accompanied by Deputy Health Officer Capt. Dr N. R. Tuli and Veterinary Surgeon Dr S. K. Sharma, said that ‘’no licence holder will be harassed, but if the product being sold at his outlet is found infected with any kind of disease, it will be seized and the sale banned.’’ This was an old practice to seize products and check the sale by unauthorised persons. But with the bird flu scare, the action has been intensified to avoid any adverse effect to the trade and human health. Mr Qureshi assured all cooperation in this regard and said the association would try to issue a slip in the form of a confirmation that the poultry sold through this wholesale market is free from any disease and safe for consumption. |
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Jagmohan to go all out to cleanse Yamuna New Delhi, February 7 At a luncheon hosted by the Indian Association of Tour Operators, Mr Jagmohan alleged that some “vested interests” had been standing in the way of his attempts towards cleaning up the Yamuna, but he would persist with his efforts “till the end”. He said his attempts were frustrated by the vested interests who had been banking on the one lakh “bonded votes” of the people living in slum clusters on the banks of the river. “Cleaning up of the Yamuna river is not only an effort to clean up our environment but also a major work of cleansing our society and our conscience,” he said. He added that the Government of NCT of Delhi had not implemented even the High Court order to evict the unauthorised dwellers. |
SPECIAL FOCUS ON REWARI Rewari, February 7 Ajay Singh Chautala was given a rousing reception by hundreds of the youth INLD activists and taken in an open jeep from the KLP College Road entrance to the venue of the youth convention organised in the open compound of the old courts complex here on Friday. Besides a purse of Rs 1 lakh, which was presented to Mr Chautala on behalf of the people of Rewari district, purses and garlands of currency notes worth several lakh were also offered to him by dozens of sarpanches and other prominent persons of various villages who virtually made a beeline to honour the young Chautala who readily passed on the huge collections to Ch Devi Lal Memorial Fund. Addressing the huge gathering, Mr Chautala primarily targeted youth wing of the Indian National Congress recounting its ignominious Nagpur Train, Tandoor, Naina Sawhney and several other episodes which, he claimed, had tarnished its image most despicably as well as irretrievably. He asserted that in sharp contrast to the youth Congress, the track record of the youth wing of the INLD was quite unblemished and commendably its historic gesture of eye-donation was soon going to be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. In the same breath, he also made a scathing attack on the Haryana Congress which, he said, was lying in total disarray on account of its increasing internecine factionalism. Making a specific mention of the HVP supremo and former chief minister Mr Bansi Lal’s repeated outbursts against Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s recent pronouncement of providing employment to 50,000 youths, the young Chautala claimed that the present INLD governance was completely immune from politically patronised hooligans, whereas the Bansi Lal regime during 1996—1999, had pushed lakhs of innocent youths into dens of crime and hooliganism through the so-called rigours of the stratagems of its prohibition policy. He also repeatedly mentioned the Haryana Vikas Party as the Haryana Vinash Party which, he said, would spell more disaster if the people did not exercise care in this regard. In an indirect rebuff to the Chautala regime’s critics in the Haryana BJP, he said that by accomplishing over 40,000 works of development during the past four years the Chautala government had made rapid and unprecedented strides towards development and that too with its own financial resources without any central assistance whatsoever. In the end, Mr Chautala cautioned party workers against the Congress, the HVP and such other political parties and also exhorted them to work whole heartedly for the success of INLD nominees at the hustings during the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. Among others, the convention was also addressed by the Haryana Health Minister Dr M.L.Ranga, the Haryana Tourism chairman Rao Inder Pal Singh, the Rewari district INLD chief Mr Jagdish Yadav, the INLD mahila wing district president Mrs Kamla Sharma, the state vice-president of the yuva INLD Mr Ram Phal Yadav and youngman’s association president Mr Amit Swami. Prior to this, Mr Ajay Singh Chautala unveiled the statue of Mr Bhagat Ram Mahlawat at Bawal 14 km from here on Friday. Mr Mahlawat, who was an Inspector in the Border Security Force, had laid down his life fighting against the militants in the Drass sector of Jammu and Kashmir, on October 2, 2002. Paying homage to the martyr Mr Chautala recounted measures, which the present state government had initiated to provide dignified financial assistance to the families of the slain soldiers. He also urged youths to follow the path shown by the martyrs and work for the welfare of the state as well as the nation. Later, Mr Chautala, though he was late by several hours, participated in the 627th ‘Prakash Utsav’, birth anniversary of the legendary saint Guru Ravi Das organised in Guru Ravi Das Temple-cum- Hostel complex here on Friday. Paying glowing tributes to Guru Ravi Das, he said that he was a great saint of the Bhakti movement who had rendered unique services in the eradication of social evils like casteism and untouchability. He wanted the people to follow the teachings of this great saint to ensure undeterred national progress. Mr Chautala also
flagged off Guru Ravi Das Shobha Yatra on the occasion. The yatra comprised a fine band, well-decorated horses and attractive tableaus etc. Later, Mr Chautala made a dash to Kosli, where he inaugurated the newly-constructed six classrooms wing in the government girls senior secondary school. He assured the people of the Kosli region that their interests would be well cared for. Simultaneously, he also unveiled the statue of a martyr Mr Sat Prakash at Bhakli village near Kosli. Capt Inder Singh, MP from Rohtak, was also present on the occasion. Mr Chautala wrapped up his jampacked Rewari visit with his gracious participation in the closing function of the handicraft-cum-industrial fair titled ‘Basant Utsav-2004’ in the Ram Lila ground here in the evening. He complimented the district administration for organising such a fair, which provided an excellent exposure to handicrafts and other industrial products as well as a fine opportunity to artists of different states for presentation of their cultural heritage before a wide range of spectators. Furnishing details of the fair, the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Neerja Shekhar, told Mr Chautala that along with a fine display of handicrafts; workshops on painting, self help women’s groups, literacy and total sanitation campaign were also organized in the ten day ‘ Basnt- Utsav’ to create holistic awareness among the people. She also informed that the fair had also been greatly instrumental in the dissemination of public welfare programmes and policies of the state government. |
Museum to showcase Chandni Chowk’s history New Delhi, February 7 The brainchild of Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mr Vijay Goel, the museum has been built in a building, which has stood in its place for over a century. Passionate about propagating the history of the famed Chandni Chowk, Mr Goel has spent not just a substantial sum, Rs 75 lakh from his MP Local Area Development (MPLAD), but also countless hours watching the museum take shape. On display will artifacts, rare photographs of Shahjehanabad, the architecture, as displayed in the jaalis and the jharokhas, art objects accumulated by Mr Goel from various havelis in the city. “It was my dream for many years to set up a museum of this kind,” says Mr Goel. His love for the walled city saw him pen a book, ‘The Emperor City’, which was recently released by the Prime Minister. The spot for setting up the museum was selected after much thought. It was pointed out that a dispensary, which did not attract too many patients, had to be relocated to make way for the museum. A DESU transformer and an MTNL junction box that threatened to spoil the beauty of the museum were also removed. And now with the structure ready for viewing, arrangements are being made to enhance the looks of the museum through the use of floodlights and other lighting techniques. To mark the inaugural festivities ICCR has announced the presentation of a cultural extravaganza, including folk dances and music. Mouthwatering delicacies, the walled city specialties will also be part of the inaugural. |
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SEARCH WITHIN TO be honest, such a question should send tremors into some of us, who are aware of the ground realities. Standing up for what is right has become a costly affair in this nation. Twelve drunken men throwing out of the running train, a bona fide passenger from a coach that accommodates more than sixty passengers with impunity, is symbolic of the situation we face in the political, social and other realms of life. According to one version, the policemen who were present in the compartment of the Chhattisgarh express just watched the fight and did not intervene.
That Manish Misra, one of the victims, this time happened to be a relative of Prime Minister Vajpayee, helped focus media attention on a “successful intimidation” that resulted in silencing and paralyzing a larger number of people by a few determined mischief mongers in public is a sad commentary on our civic sense. Women members of a cultural troupe traveling by the Himgiri Express were molested on December 29 last year. The main accused in the incident, a politician, is yet to be arrested. A 25-year-old Mizo woman was allegedly stripped in the Guwahati-Dadar Express on November 12. No one has been arrested in this case too. On August 14, 2002, a ten-year-old girl was raped in front of other passengers and in this case the accused, who was only a casual labourer, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Alert newspaper readers will recall the incident of October 26,1998, in which Jayabala Asher was pushed out of a running train resulting in the loss of her legs. Her assailant is yet to be traced. As against these incidents reported in the papers, there must have been numerous cases of eve teasing and bullying which had gone unreported. Strong arm methods of the wicked in intimidating the weak and the helpless are meeting with such success not only in Bihar but in more enlightened and urbanized areas of this country because people are afraid to get involved until their interests are touched. A culture of “non-involvement” in public affairs either because of indifference or out of fear of the consequences often allow the bad elements in society to have their way and with the least opposition or protest. In the incident involving the Chattisgarh Express, it is the silence of the majority of passengers in the coach in particular that had made the tragedy inevitable. Fear of incurring the wrath of the bullies must have deterred at least a few of them from taking the side of the victim. “Why get involved in an issue, which is not related to me,” could have been the rationale behind other spectators, who refused to intervene. They could have at least compelled the policemen, who were present in the coach to act. There was the other option of stopping the train by pulling the chain. Among the silent spectators no one felt the pangs of guilt at such inaction either before the two victims were thrown out of the train or even after the event. Besides fear, it is selfishness that often prevents people from getting involved in such cases. The desire to prefer one’s own safety or convenience even when others are being wronged is not an unusual trait in man. It is this survival characteristic embedded in human nature that makes injustices and wrongs possible in society. Corruption in society becomes possible because there are many who would rather collude with the corrupt than stand apart and fight the evil. It does not take long for the majority to be on the side of the corrupt when it stands to benefit thereby. And in the process, the honest ones become the targets of the corrupt. They expose themselves to danger. Cowardice and selfishness in man are the two serious flaws when it comes to the issue of rooting out corruption from public life. That explains why the majority would rather fall in line rather than protest against wrong-doing and injustice. sense of right and wrong does not seem to override the inclination towards survival and self-interest in the case of the majority. And this only strengthens the concept of original sin, the concept of a sin-stained personality of man. But what happens when bad characters remain unchallenged? They get emboldened and repeat their misdeeds being sure that there will not be any resistance from third parties. And more and more people are unwilling to burn their fingers on any issue in which their interests are not involved. But then if it is costly to get involved, we must know that sometimes it is costlier not to get involved. If a few pollute the air and some others pollute your source of water you drink, you will be compelled to act at some point or the other. You can only keep quiet at your peril. So, it is when society is being polluted and challenged by law breakers. When the rule of law does not prevail, there is a possibility of chaos engulfing everyone whether they are getting involved or not. It is often dinned into our ears that it is not the wickedness of the few that endangers society, but the indifference of the large number of good people who simply watch things happen and remain indifferent. Your neighbour’s house is being looted and you can choose to remain unaffected. But then, it won’t be long before the looters find a way to your doorsteps. It costs to take a stand for justice and righteousness in our times. But indifference also will prove costlier. The moral is that we should get involved when public interests are at stake.
M P K Kutty |
Husband’s macabre act Sonepat: An angry husband, suspecting his wife’s fidelity, took the barbaric step and stitched her private parts with threads in the house at Garhi Brahmanan village situated on the outskirts of the city yesterday. According to a report, the woman remained silent during the macabre action and did not raise the alarm. As she continued bleeding, her condition became serious. Thereupon, she raised a hue and cry. Some neighbours then reached the house and she was rushed to the local civil hospital. The doctors there, referred the case to the PGIMS at Rohtak. The man, however, managed to escape immediately after committing the act. The police have registered the case and further investigations were on. A hunt is on to apprehend the culprit. The name of her husband is Balbir and he is a truck driver. It is reported that he had given some foodstuff laced with sedatives to his wife. When she became unconscious, he took the heinous step. He was got married about four years ago and the woman had a two-year-old girl.
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Man arrested for murdering wife New Delhi, February 7 The victim, identified as Sonia, had earlier worked with Rama Finance Company where she developed an intimate relationship with one Ram Pal (35). Thereafter, Ram Pal often visited her at her house. Consequently, her husband suspected her of
carrying illicit relations. On February 4, when Ashwani returned home early, he found both Sonia and Ram Pal in a compromising position. When Ram left the house, Ashwani and Sonia were involved in a heated argument. Subsequently, Ashwani killed his wife by strangulating her. Three held for
robbery With the arrest of three persons, the police at IGI airport today claimed to have solved a robbery case in which a motorcycle along with the belongings of a person was snatched at knifepoint. After verifying the antecedents of number of persons, the police zeroed in on Sikander Nath Dogra alias Sunny (20), Virender Singh Mehlawat alias Sonu alias Teli (20), residents of Palam Colony and Ashok Kumar alias Shoki (24), resident of Sagarpur. During interrogation, the suspect told the police that they used to move around at remote places for vulnerable targets. |
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Three cheats arrested for encashing forged cheque Ghaziabad: The police have arrested three cheats who were trying to encash a forged cheque from the State Bank of Patiala’s Nav Yug market branch. They had fraudulently withdrawn money from the bank in the past too, the police said. The Superintendent of Police (City), Mr Umesh Srivastava, said the police had received a number of reports that some cheats were encashing forged cheques from banks and getting bank draft made illegally. When the three cheats, identified as Khan Mohd, Zalim Singh and Sanjay Agarwal, arrived at the bank on Friday to withdraw some money from their account, the Bank Manager, Mr Jawahar Sharma, became suspicious and called in the police. The police seized a number of passbooks, cheque books and withdrawal forms from their possession. They accused told the police that they were involved in making bank drafts from forged cheques and depositing them in their accounts.
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Atma Ram murder case: Sharda Jain, New Delhi, February 7 Additional Sessions Judge B. B. Chaudhary framed charges against Jain, who had since been suspended from Congress, under Sections 302 (murder), 364 (kidnapping), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of IPC. The councillor was murdered after he had been abducted from a Congress rally held near Bhagat Singh Terminus at ITO in August 24, 2002. Others charged in the case are, Sharda Jain’s brother Rajkumar, ex-pradhan of Chajjupura village in Uttar Pradesh, Roshan Singh, hitmen Pushpendra and Nirvikar, UP policemen SI Sripal Yadav, head constable Satyendra Kumar and constable Rakesh Kumar.
16 ‘pahelwans’ held in eve-teasing case The North district police today claimed to have arrested 16 ‘pahelwans’ who were reportedly involved in an eve-teasing case with a Delhi University student on January 24. They were identified as Sandeep Kumar, Somveer, Naveen, Manoj, Jyoti, Vinod, Parveen, Sonu, Vikrant, Rohtash, Naveen and Vijender. They practise wrestling in various ‘akharas’ in Roop Nagar area.
Woman ends it all Noida: A woman has reportedly committed suicide by strangling herself with her dupatta under Kasna police station area. Her husband, a transporter, was away from home. Marital discord has been cited as the cause of suicide.
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Need for value system in business Gurgaon, February 7 Mr Munjal, who was the chief guest of the function, said that the organisations would have to base their marketing and production strategies on value system to make them sustainable. In the present era, the entire business paradigm has changed wherein the customer is the king. The entire business process, including the quality of production has to be measures on the touchstone of customers satisfaction. Speaking at the inaugural session, the GIA president, Mr J.N.Mangla, said that the GIA has already taken a pledge to enhance the competitiveness of its member industries. |
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