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Over 120 liquor vends await allotment
Traders sell paddy against form D-2
News Analysis
Dispute over water drainage claims 2 lives
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Procurement process gains momentum
Hoax bomb call creates panic
BSNL makes services people friendly
Teachers’ Spat
Barwala MC secy shot dead
BSP to go it alone in elections
11 motorbikes seized, 5 held
Doctor killed in mishap
High Court
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Over 120 liquor vends await allotment
Chandigarh, October 3 Officials in the excise and taxation department said 122 liquor vends were still awaiting allotment. These included country liquor and Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) vends across the state. “Since the first half of the financial year is over, we are now going to allot these at only 50 per cent of the original price. We have sought applications and allotment will be made through a draw of lots,” said the officials. This year, the Haryana government had offered allotment for 3,578 liquor vends (2,339 country made and 1,239 IMFL). Though the allotment was made in March, as many as 137 vends could not be allotted because the price fixed by the department was high. Officials admitted that the price for these vends had been fixed without seeing the potential of the area, which ensured that there were no takers for these vends. “Though we managed to get Rs 926 crore through allotment of 3,456 vends, we are hoping to earn another Rs 16 crore through the allotment of the remaining vends,” said the officials. It may be noted that the liquor policy in Haryana was changed in 2006. The allotment of vends through a draw of lots has not only made the state’s policy transparent but has also helped in breaking the monopoly of the cartels which had rendered small liquor contractors unemployed. This policy has also eliminated the element of political corruption because big contractors used to pay hefty amounts to the political leadership of the state to help them at the auction. Excise officials said ever since the new policy had been introduced, the state’s revenue collections too had shown a quantum jump compared to revenue collections of just Rs 122 crore in 2005-06, before the policy was introduced, the excise revenue went up to Rs 1,000 crore in the last financial year.
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Traders sell paddy against form D-2
Sirsa/Fatehabad, October 3 While traders in the Ratia grain market of Fatehabad had started the sales against form D-2 yesterday, those in the Fatehabad grain market have still not started selling paddy against VAT. Farmers producing the ‘muchhal’ variety of paddy have to depend on private agencies, as government procurement agencies have abstained themselves from buying this variety of paddy. Since there are no millers of long-grain variety in the area, farmers have to largely depend on exporters settled in towns situated on NH-1, who procure ‘muchhal’ paddy from these markets through local agents. According to sources the state government had exempted the quantity exported from the VAT payment. The exporters had the option of purchasing the crop against form D-2 without payment of VAT or getting it refunded after the actual export. “Some of our members had to pay VAT under recoveries by the taxation department, as exporters fail to export exactly the same quantity that they had purchased,” Tek Chand Midha, president of the Fatehabad Beopar Mandal, said. Private agencies that had been pressing for purchases against form D-2 had adopted a go-slow policy on its denial. Consequently, traders of Sirsa and Ratia have already bowed to their pressure and started sales against form D-2. “However, we have made it clear that in case they have to suffer any recovery due to differences in quantities of purchases and exports, it will be paid by purchase agencies,” former president of the Sirsa grain market Gurdial Mehta said. The procurement continued on a slow pace in Fatehabad today where traders refused to yield to pressure from agencies. Meanwhile, the labourers’ strike has worsened conditions in the Fatehabad and Tohana grain markets. Labourers have been demanding more than the schedule rates of Rs 1.08 for unloading trolleys of farmers, Rs 1.80 for cleaning, Rs 1.07 for loading on the scale, Rs 0.78 for weighing and Rs 0.62 for unloading from the scale in the Fatehabad grain market. |
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Hooda now ‘farmer face’ of Cong
Yoginder Gupta Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 3 Hooda's new stature in the party's scheme of things became apparent when he was asked to address a Congress rally at Dadri in UP along with party president Sonia Gandhi on September 30. The importance of the rally lay in the area where it was being held. Dadri, like elsewhere in the national capital region (NCR) falling in UP, has been a centre of a major controversy over low compensation paid to farmers for their land acquired by the government. Hooda had not visited western UP for the first time when he addressed the Dadri rally. He had been to that part of the biggest state of the country even before the last assembly elections to seek votes for his party. But at that time he had gone as the "new Jat face" of the Congress after Natwar Singh had been sidelined. But at Dadri he was projected as the "farmer face" of the party because of certain decisions taken by him for the benefit of the farming community, cutting across caste lines. Also, Dadri was the first place outside Haryana where he shared the dais with Sonia. In fact, his emergence as the Congress's "farmer face" has been gradual. The foremost step in this direction was his unprecedented decision to fix floor rates for land acquisition. When these rates were fixed, they nearly matched the market price of the land. The immediate beneficiaries of the fixation of floor rates were those whose land was acquired for the construction of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway. The owners, who were offered merely a couple of lakhs per acre when their land was first acquired by the INLD government, got richer by crores of rupees after the decision. The decision unleashed a sort of economic revolution in the state, pushing up the land prices in the entire state. The farmers, who received good compensation for their land in the NCR, were able to purchase larger holdings in the interior of the state. But the situation in the NCR falling in UP remained abysmal. No wonder Hooda was projected at the Dadri rally as a symbol of the "farmer-friendly Congress." The turnout at yesterday's Panipat rally, organised at just six days’ notice, must have gladdened Sonia further. No wonder she snubbed Hooda's critics, including certain MPs of his party, who accuse him of discriminating against certain areas in the field of development, by saying that the Haryana government had taken care of all sections of society, may it be the backward classes, the poor, the farmers, women or children. A very senior journalist, who happened to cross Panipat when the rally was about to begin, remarked that if Hooda was able to maintain his capacity to mobilise people like this, he would go far ahead. Such was the turnout.
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Dispute over water drainage claims 2 lives
Jhajjar, October 3 The deceased have been identified as Praveen (24) and Naveen (20), sons of Rajbir Singh. The police has registered a case against 11 persons, including Narender, Dhirender, Raj Rani, Jyoti, Sanjay, Brahmanand, Ramrati, Bhupinder, Sunita, Rajni and one another, on the complaint of Rajbir Singh. Sources said there had been a dispute over drainage of water between Rajbir and Brahmanand’s families for the past sometime. The situation turned violent after heated exchange of words took place between members of the two families here today. The brawl turned violent when Narender along with his brother Dhirender came to the spot in favour of Brahmanand and allegedly opened fire on Praveen and Naveen. Rajbir’s other family members, who came out after hearing the gunshots, were also allegedly assaulted with lathis. Praveen and Naveen died on the spot while Anil, Sube, Reshma, Santosh and Rajender sustained injuries. All injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital whereas Narender and Dhirender managed fled the spot after the incident. The police has sent the bodies for a postmortem to the Civil Hospital. Later, a group of villagers blocked the road for half an hour near Silani Gate in protest against the alleged police inaction. They were demanding immediate arrest of the accused. The protesters lifted the blockade after SDM Satyender Duhan assured of prompt action in the case. |
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Procurement process gains momentum
Panipat, October 3 According to official sources, government agencies had bought 58,91,000 mt of paddy. They lifted around 4,000 mt of sarbati paddy, 693 mt of A-grade paddy, 329 mt of muchal variety and 10.15 mt general paddy. The district administration has set up eight procurement centres, at Babel, Babarpur, Bapoli, Israna, Matloda, Panipat, Samalkha, and Sanoli. Deputy commissioner Vijay Singh Dahiya said in order to ensure that the farmers coming to sell produce would not face any hardships, the administration had made elaborate arrangements. He said facilities like drinking water, proper sheds and weighing machines would be provided to the farmers. The government agencies had been asked to make the payments immediately for the procured paddy. The state agencies said they were most likely to meet their paddy targets. Meanwhile, private traders have also started buying wheat from the grain markets. |
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Hoax bomb call creates panic
Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar), October 3 A bomb squad was summoned from Delhi, which recovered objects that looked like a bomb. The information led to tension in the town and the police had a tough time preventing people from going towards the restaurant. According to information, an anonymous person made a call to the restaurant and said he had planted a bomb. The employees immediately got the restaurant vacated. The police was also informed about the call. The anonymous caller again made a call informing that the bomb had been planted in the toilet. The police rushed to the restaurant and called the anti-bomb squad from Delhi after taking all precautionary measures at the spot. The bomb squad removed the object, which appeared similar to a bomb, but comprised fire crackers connected with a wire. The police has traced the number of the mobile phone from which the calls were made. SP Vikas Arora said a case had been registered against an unidentified person under Section 285 (negligent conduct with respect to combustible matter), 182 (false information with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person) and 211 (false charge of offence made with intent to injure) of the IPC.
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BSNL makes services people friendly
Ambala, October 3 Additional steps have been taken so that customers can easily access PSTN call centre. Addressing a press conference here today, chief general manager of the Haryana Telecom A.K. Gupta informed of the new plans and schemes being introduced. A direct number 0124-2211500 has been launched in call centres in Gurgaon to book complaints. Customers can now also register complaints through SMS at 9477001500 or via email at 1500haryana@bsnl.co.in. To make the broadband complaint redressed system affective, more people are being added to the GSM call centre. Complaints can also be registered online at www.haryana.bsnl.co.in under the public grievances segment or on telephone 12727. To win the confidence of customers, the BSNL, Haryana, had decided that the GM, DGM and the DE would attend all phone calls in person from 3 pm to 5 pm daily to have firsthand information for prompt disposal of grievances, said Gupta. The BSNL telecom circle has launched a promotional scheme for landline and WLL customers of Haryana. The promotion scheme will be launched for 90 days till December 12. Under the scheme, existing subscribers will be provided free of cost telephone connections (rent free).
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2 lecturers get anticipatory bail
Tribune News Service
Sirsa, October 3 Sewa Singh Bajwa, a lecturer in the journalism and mass communication department of the university, had lodged an FIR against the two teachers. Bajwa had alleged that Malik and Yadav came to his residence, pulled up his beard, smashed his turban under their feet and beat him up. Malik and Yadav had, however, denied the allegations and Malik, who is the security in charge of the university, had accused Bajwa of harbouring youths who ogled at girls and passed unsavoury remarks. Earlier, the court had granted interim bail to Malik and Yadav and sought a police reply. The police said it had no objection if the accused get bail. The court granted anticipatory bail to Malik and Yadav after hearing both the counsels.
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Barwala MC secy shot dead
Fatehabad, October 3 Sharma had come from Barwala by bus and was walking towards his house when the assailants, who had been waiting for him near Ambedkar Park, fired from a pistol. The killers escaped on motorcycles. Sharma lay on the roadside for about 20 minutes but passersby could not make out that he had been hit by a bullet. A fire engine took him to the general hospital, where he was declared “brought dead”. |
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BSP to go it alone in elections
Yamunanagar, October 3 While addressing a gathering at the new grain market in Jagadri, he said the party would create employment opportunities for the
youth. Thousands of young persons were jobless as the state government lacked a proper policy in this regard. He said there was rampant corruption in the state and the government had failed to check it. State president of the BSP Prakash Bharti said people in the state were feeling insecure due to a rise in crime. |
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11 motorbikes seized, 5 held
Yamunanagar, October 3 The gang had been active since 2006 and its members were arrested during a special drive launched by the police, SPP C.S. Rao said. He said those arrested included Shahjahan of Amadalpur, Nirmal Singh of Fatehpur, Mehboob and Nirmal Singh of Kulchandu, Ishan of Behlol. However, the five accused had confessed their involvement in 11 theft cases of motorcycles, he added.
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Doctor killed in mishap
Fatehabad, October 3 While Kavita died on the spot, her husband Raj Kumar’s condition is stated to be critical. The couple used
to run a private clinic in Bhuna town here. Sources said Kavita had some medical problem and the couple was going to Hisar for her medical examination. However, they met with an accident on their way to Hisar. |
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Safety sought
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 3
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