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Hooda promises stern action
MLAs concerned at state of health sector
Non-teaching staff want better pay
School study schedule announced
Plea to change name of railway station
Assembly |
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2 extortionists nabbed
12- yr-old boy ‘kidnapped’
Doctor caught taking Rs 2,000
Banks’ review committee meeting held
Panel to assess quality of work
Visually challenged
to hold protest
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Hooda promises stern action against criminals
Kaithal, March 21 Addressing a press conference here today, the Chief Minister went to the residence of Mr Narinder Arora, a local business man who was shot dead outside his shop here on Friday night. He consoled members of the bereaved family and assured them that the criminals would soon be behind the bars. The Chief Minister told mediapersons that there was some rise in the crime graph because the police had been directed to register FIRs in every case. He said during the past one year, the police had succeeded in checking the activities of criminals and many hardened criminals had been arrested or neutralised. Replying to a question, Mr Hooda said the government had taken a serious view of the murder of Mr Narinder Arora and the DGP, Mr Nirmal Singh, had rushed to Kaithal soon after getting information about the incident. He said he himself visited Kaithal and met members of the bereaved family despite the Assembly session . He urged the people to inform the police about the activities of criminals. Mr SS Surjewala, local MLA and president, All-India Kisan- Khet Mazdoor Congress, said now there was no political patronage to criminals and those indulging in criminal activities would not be spared. He regretted that inspite of his frequent visits to the town, he was not informed about extortion threats to members of business community. Dr Ram Parkash, working president, HPCC, Mr Dillu Ram, parliamentary secretary, Mr Tejinder Mann, MLA Pai, Mr Dinesh Kaushik MLA Pundri , Ms Geeta Bhukkal, MLA Kalayat, Mr Bajrang Dass Garg, chairman, Confed and president, Beopar Mandal, Haryana , Mr Dilbagh Mor, organising secretary, HPCC, Mr Nirmal Singh, DGP, Dr Mahaveer Singh, Commissioner, Ambala Division, Mr SS Deswal, IGP, Mr BS Malik, Deputy Commissioner, and Mr NS Virk, SP, were also present on the occasion . After the Chief Minister’s departure for Chandigarh, the DGP held a closed-door meeting with the IG and SP and reviewed the progress of investigations.
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MLAs concerned at state of health sector
Chandigarh, March 21 Replying to Mr Ram Kishan's question, the Health Minister, Ms Kartar Devi, said it was not true that the government hospital in Bhiwani was in a dilapidated condition. She added that five out of the seven lifts in the hospital were operational. Mr Ram Kishan, however, asserted that only two lifts were operational. Dr Shiv Shankar Bhardwaj, Congress MLA from Bhiwani and surgeon, said posts of doctor and paramedic were vacant in the hospital. Mr Sher Singh of the Congress said while many hospitals were facing a shortage of staff, the hospitals at Panchkula and Karnal had excess staff. Mr Randhir Singh, Congress MLA from Barwala in Hisar district, also raised the issue of shortage of doctors and paramedics. A number of other MLAs also got up to speak about medical institutions in their areas. Ms Kartar Devi said she could appreciate the concern of the MLAs and added that the recruitment of doctors was in the pipeline. The Health Minister said there was surplus staff only in Gurgaon district. Asking a supplementary question on the canal water supply to Mahendragarh district, Mr Naresh Yadav, Independent MLA, said water had not reached the tailends of canals for the past 30 days. Repair work on the tailends had been also stopped. The MLA said after the new government came to power, the water supply to Mahendragarh had initially improved. But gradually it had deteriorated. The impressive figures given by the minister, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, regarding the water supply were far from reality. Mr Radheshyam Sharma, MLA from Narnaul in Mahendragarh district, also alleged that water was not reaching the ends of canals. On a question asked by a Congress MLA, Mr Dharampal Malik, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, replying on behalf of the Chief Minister, said the state government would consider giving jobs to local villagers in the cooperative sugar mill at Gohana.
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Non-teaching staff want better pay
Yamunanagar, March 21 The Haryana Non-Government Aided Colleges Non-Teaching Employees Union has complained that the work pressure on non-teaching staff has increased severalfold in the past 25 years (since the ban on recruitment was imposed) and yet no new appointments were being made. “Some unwarranted and unjust conditions had been imposed in the case of recruitment of non-teaching employees whereas these conditions did not apply to the teaching staff”, said a member of the union. There are hundreds of non-teaching staff in various private colleges of the state. In 1981, the government had banned the recruitment of non-teaching employees in government-aided private colleges and ever since, the posts of clerk, lab attendant, sweeper and library staff are lying vacant. “No fresh appointments were being made and on the other hand the regular employees had not also been given promotions”, said Mr Kripal Singh, secretary of the union. According to him, there are regular employees in the state who are not getting more than Rs 8,000 as salary even after putting in services of 15 years. “We have approached the government on several occasions, but nothing concrete has taken place,” said the secretary. According to him ministers and MLAs were sympathetic to their demands, but the bureaucrats were causing hurdles. “Our file is moving in the Secretariat for the past many years,” complained Mr Kirpal Singh. Student strength in colleges since 1981 has increased manifold and the college managements were managing their affairs by temporary appointments only, said a union member. The temporary employees were being paid very nominal wages. The union said that recently the government had decided to appoint lecturers (659) in 96 private colleges but the government did not bother to provide any financial assistance to hundreds of non-teaching employees. The union members complained that non-teaching staff had been left on the mercy of college managements. The union complained that Mr Om Prakash Chautala during his tenure had announced that the services of non-teaching staff working for five-years in a row would be regularised, but no action had been taken. The union has demanded that the ACP scale (promotions after 10 years and 20 years of services) should be applied to the non-teaching staff also and fresh recruitments made.
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School study schedule announced Chandigarh, March 21 A spokesman of the Secondary Education Department said the semester system would be introduced in the schools from the next academic session.The first semester would be from April 1 to September 30,2006, and the second from October 1 to March 31, 2007. During the first semester, schools would open at 8 a.m. and close by 2 p.m. In the second semester, the school hours would be 9 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. He said the summer vacation would be from June 1 to 30 and the semester break from September 21 to 30. In the second semester, the winter vacation would be from December 24 to 31. The spring break would be from March 21 to 31, 2007. He said the examinations for the first semester would be held in September, and in the case of the second semester in March, 2007. |
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Plea to change name of railway station
Yamunanagar, March 21 Various organisations also demanded stoppage for Akal Takht Express, Himgiri Express and a Chandigarh-bound passenger train at the station. Yamunanagar became a district in 1989 and earlier it was part of Ambala district. Speakers at a combined meeting of various organisations said thousands of pilgrims going to Patna Sahib and Harmander Sahib in Amritsar were facing problems in the absence of direct trains to these places during daytime. Similarly, thousands of labourers hailing from West Bengal and Bihar working in different factories here were facing problems while going back home. The other demand pertains to opening of a second ticket selling window at the station. Representatives of the Haryana Pradesh Vayapar Mandal, Shri Sanatan Dharm Sabha, Shri Gopal Paper Mill Labour Union, Sewa Panthi Dera Sant Pura, Shri Sant Nishal Singh Ji (Dera Santpura), Guru Nanak Mission Foundation, District Yamunanagar Plywood Manufacturers’ Association, Shri Sanatan Dharam Mahavir Dal, Yamunanagar Chemists and Druggists Association, Daily Passengers Association, District Bar Association and dozens of gram panchyats participated in the meeting. Later, a memorandum was sent to Mr Naveen Jindal, MP.
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Assembly Chandigarh, March 21 Taking part in the discussion on the Budget proposals in the Assembly, Mr Gautam said the state government had failed to reinstate the employees retrenched from the cooperative sector and public sector units by the Om Prakash Chautala-led regime. He said reinstating these employees should have been the top priority of the present government. The MLA, who delivered a sparkling speech laced with typical Haryanavi humour, praised the Budget but said that it was not free from lacunae. Mr Gautam said the provision of Rs 40 crore for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes was grossly inadequate. “They are at the bottom of the social and economic hierarchy. Even if Rs 1,000 crore was provided for them, it would not have been enough,” he said. The MLA said the proposed increase in bus fares by the Finance Minister in the Budget was unjust. The fares were already high and a further increase would create problems for people, he said. He added that if corruption by officials of the Transport Department could be stopped, the government could actually reduce the fares. The standard of education in schools had dropped to an all-time low during the Chautala regime, Mr Gautam said and added that many teachers recruited by the previous government were not suitable for the job. He said the present government must focus on the improvement of education in the state. On the law and order front, Mr Gautam said criminals were intimidated when gangsters got killed in encounters with the police. There had been no encounters for some time now and as a result criminals were again becoming active, he said. He mentioned some incidents of murder, abduction and other crime, including one rape, and said the culprits had not been arrested as yet. Mr Gautam said corruption was rampant among officials. Some DCs and SPs were also involved in corruption. Mr Gautam said the Chief Minister had the moral authority to check corruption. “Take action against those officials who are thoroughly corrupt and the moderately corrupt will automatically mend their ways”, he said. Earlier, speaking on the Budget, a Congress MLA, Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala, said if the government wanted to curb crime, it must put the former Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, and his two sons behind bars. He alleged that a gangster patronised by the INLD leader had engineered the recent killing of a businessman in Kaithal. The Congress leader, who is also chief of the AICC farmers' cell, said the rate of interest on crop loans given to farmers by banks should not exceed 6 per cent. He added that the government should offer loans to marginal farmers and landless labourers for solemnising their daughters' marriages and meeting other important obligations. Mr Surjewala also demanded that the minimum support price of wheat must be increased to Rs 700 per quintal. The Congress representative said family members of those whose land would be acquired for setting up the special economic zone should get jobs in the SEZ. He added the government should start giving training to young persons for providing skilled hands for the proposed SEZ. The discussion was marked by two separate walkouts by MLAs. Mr Naresh Malik of the BJP got angry when the Speaker, Mr Raghubir Singh Kadiyan, refused to give him a chance to participate in the discussion. He walked out of the House with his colleague, Mr Gautam. Mr Gautam later returned but Mr Malik did not. Mr Sita Ram of the INLD also walked out of the House at the fag end of the sitting when Mr Kadiyan did not allow him to speak. The other MLAs who participated in the discussion included Mr Naresh Yadav, Ms Sumita Singh, Ms Anita Yadav, Mr Randhir Singh and Mr Kulbir Singh. |
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2 extortionists nabbed
Kaithal , March 21 The police has recovered the mobile phone used in making threatening calls to the shopkeepers . Giving details of the case , the SP, Mr NS Virk, said on a complaint lodged by the shopkeeper, the police had registered a case under Section 387, 506 and 34 of the IPC. During investigations, the police arrested Kuldip Singh and Vikram Singh. The accused were sent to 14 days judicial custody on the directions of Ms Gurinder Kaur, Judicial Magistrate . |
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12- yr-old boy ‘kidnapped’
Yamunanagar, March 21 Police sources said Arpit, who had just appeared in his Class VI examination, went missing from outside his house near Nehru Park. Arpit was an adopted child of Mr Alok Kumar and Ms Anita. The family reported that Arpit was playing near his house. At around 7.30 pm yesterday, Anita came out of house to take him inside the house. But he was nowhere in sight. Efforts were made to trace him but when he could not be located, the police was informed. |
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Doctor caught taking Rs 2,000
Ambala, March 21 The complainant doctor, Satish Joshi, had filed a complaint with the DIG, Vigilance Bureau, Mr M.S. Ahlawat, two days back in which he alleged that the officer was demanding Rs 5,000 from him for clearing his medical bill of Rs 22,000. He said in his complaint that around six months back too, Dr Sharma had taken Rs 5,000 from him for clearing a medical bill of Rs. 1.86 lakh. He said he had submitted this bill of his bypass surgery which was conducted in September, 2005. He said Dr Sharma, again had demanded Rs 5,000 for clearing the bill. It was settled that Rs 2,000 would be paid in advance while the remaining amount would be given after receiving the amount of the bill. March 21 was fixed for paying the advance amount. The DIG sent a party under the supervision of DSP Ram Saran Dass. The SDM, Ambala, was included in the raid as an Executive Magistrate. When Dr Satish was giving Rs 2,000 to Dr Naresh in his office, the party raided and nabbed him.
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Banks’ review committee meeting held
Ambala, March 21 Mr Kuljas Rai, Senior Regional Manager, Punjab National Bank, Chandigarh region, said the district had achieved 100 per cent overall target under the district credit plan for the ongoing financial year. He said the growth had been registered in the key parameters of deposits, advances, agriculture advances and weaker section advances. Mr Inderjit Singh Bedi, Lead District Manager, PNB, emphasised the need for quick disposal of government-sponsored cases. He requested the heads of government development agencies to extend support to bankers for effective recovery of bank dues. Mr Amrik Singh, Assistant General Manager, RBI, and Mr RK Singh, Assistant General Manager, NABARD, also spoke on the
occasion. The district credit plan for 2006-07 of Rs 938 crore was discussed. |
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Panel to assess quality of work
Ambala, March 21 A meeting was held on Sunday which was presided over by Mr Bansal. It was decided in the meeting that the committee will ensure that the money allocated by the Haryana Government and the Lok Sabha MP is properly utilised. Mr Bansal said if irregularities and shortcomings were noticed by the committee, then the case would be referred to the Vigilance Department. He said the objective of the committee was to ensure that transparency was maintained. The members of the committee include Mr Kamal Kishore Jain, Mr Subhash Sharma, Mr Babu Kanojia, Mr Omkar Nathi, Mr Gagan Dang, Mr Bindra, Mr Harsh Ratra and Mr Satish Saini.
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Mother, son commit suicide
Jind, March 21 The police has registered a case.
— UNI |
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Visually challenged
to hold protest
Ambala, March 21 The demands of the federation include appointment of SS masters, employment for the visually challenged persons and regularisation of weavers in CDPO. They also demanded that conveyance allowance should be 10 per cent of the basic pay and modern education should be provided to students. |
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