Thursday, April 1, 1999
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Closure of canal hits 301 villages SRIGANGANAGAR, March 31 — The Punjab Government’s unilateral decision to begin construction work on the cross drainage system at the Indira Gandhi canal and the Sirhind Feeder canal from March 27 and closure of the canals for 15 days has adversely affected the crops as well the drinking water supply in more than 301 villages in Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Barmer, Jodhpur and Churu districts. Centre to release coin on Shivaji |
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 BANGALORE: The control room at the Insat master control facility at Hassan in Karnataka. The facility is a multi-mission control centre providing telemetry, tracking, commanding and ranging services for the Insat series satellites round the clock. The centre is now ready to take control of the Insat-2E immediately after its launch by an Ariane rocket at Kourou in French Guyana on April 3. — PTI (Story)
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UP sabhas plan Khalsa march MEERUT, March 31 — As a part of the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth the Singh sabhas of UP will organise a Bhai Dharm Singh Khalsa march from Hastinapur. Mr Tirath Singh, a former MLC and ex-member of the Minorities Commission, who has been appointed the convener of the march, told TNS that the march would start from Hastinapur on April 4 and would be led by Mr Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Minister of Panchayats, Punjab.
INSAT-2E
launch rehearsal over PM to
open tribal shop Tripura
asks for more forces Kerala’s
RSP unit splits New
Delhi MC budget |
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Closure of canal hits 301 villages SRIGANGANAGAR, March 31 — The Punjab Government’s unilateral decision to begin construction work on the cross drainage system at the Indira Gandhi canal and the Sirhind Feeder canal from March 27 and closure of the canals for 15 days has adversely affected the crops as well the drinking water supply in more than 301 villages in Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Barmer, Jodhpur and Churu districts. While the construction work on the Sirhind feeder canal has already started in Punjab and a closure is in effect since March 27 till April 10, the water supply from the Indira Gandhi canal to this desert state will also come a halt on April 4 for 15 days. The Indira Gandhi canal (Rajasthan feeder) and the Sirhind feeder are two main water supply sources to the seven districts of Rajasthan to cater to the irrigation and human consumption needs. These two canals which pass through a very wide area of Punjab, owing to poor maintenance and a number of cracks beds and walls have caused an alarming problem of water-logging in Punjab area. A major portion of agriculture land of Muktsar, Faridkot, Abohar, Ferozepore and Mansa districts have been affected by water-logging and for the last three years, the problem has shattered the agriculture economy of the area. The Punjab Government has launched an elaborate water-logging eradication programme in the area and now wants to check water seepage from the cracks of these canals to the adjoining areas by an effective repair. Although keeping in view the closure of the canals for 15 days, Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar district administrations have made arrangements to store drinking water a week ago, but with the daily rising temperature the storage is insignificant to cater to the demand. The closure of Sirhind feeder on March 27 hit the water supply in Hanumangarh district as 19 of 22 water distributaries from Karni and Sadul branch of the Bhabra irrigation scheme have gone dry resulting in acute shortage of water for irrigation and human consumption in the area. The water supply to the Bhabra irrigation system declined from 1339 cusecs to 443 cusecs following the closure of the Sirhind feeder. Earlier, the Punjab Government had assured the Rajasthan Government that the repair and construction work would be completed within 15 days of the closure but the engineers here say that it will be almost impossible to complete the work within this period. Accusing the Punjab Government for inhuman attitude towards farmers of this state, Mr Dolat Ram Pawar, President, Rashtriya Kisan Morcha said that the government was not bothered about the plight of thousands of Punjabi farmers in Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar area. He said the government should have started the construction work during January when the need for irrigation and drinking water was least. Mr Madhu Sudhan Sharma,
District Collector Sriganganagar, said that a joint
meeting of district collectors and officials of the
Irrigation Department of Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Churu and
Sriganganagar was being called at Bikaner to work out the
measures to provide drinking water to 360,000 villagers
and 4.7 lakh livestocks in these districts. |
BMW case NEW DELHI, March 31 (UNI) — The lone survivor of the infamous BMW accident case wants to compromise with the influential family whose son maimed him. The survivor, Manoj was housed by the police in a dingy one-room government flat in Lodhi Colony after he was discharged from hospital on January 29. He is now being forced by the police to vacate the apartment. Manoj is the only survivor of the BMW accident which look place near Golf Links at 4.30 a.m. on January 10. Six persons were crushed to death by a speeding BMW driven by Sanjeev Nanda, grandson of Admiral S.M. Nanda (retd). “I want to compromise with the Nanda’s and go back to my family in Orissa. The police from Lodhi Colony station came here last night and told me to vacate the room on the alibi that neighbours had complained against me,” Manoj said UNI. However, three others living in the same building, when contacted, denied that nobody had complained against Manoj. “Why should anybody object. He is an unfortunate fellow who fell victim to unforeseen circumstances. This can happen with anybody,” said a neighbour. Another described Manoj as a gentle person. “What problems can he create for anybody. He has been lying on a cot for the past two months.” Both neighbours requested anonymity fearing harassment by the police. Manoj who was working at a dhaba nearby for the past seven years, was going to Nizamuddin railway station to see some of his friends off at 4 a.m. on the fateful night of January 10 when he was stopped by a police patrol for a routine check. After that all he remembers is that he regained consciousness in hospital. Manoj said he had initially taken a room at Kotla Mubarakpur after his discharge from hospital and even paid Rs 700 as rent. But he was immediately shifted to the present accommodation by the police. Now he did not have any money and was living off the Rs 20,000 that the police had paid him as compensation. Out of the Rs 20,000 nearly Rs 15,000 had been spent on food and medicines. The police had even deducted (from the Rs 20,000) the money for blankets and utensils he had been given. Even his share of the Rs
15 lakh compensation, announced for the victims, had not
been paid to him. He even does not know what is happening
in the case and has not seen the man who maimed him. |
Centre to release coin on Shivaji RAIGAD (Maharashtra), March 31 (PTI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said the government would bring out a currency coin to commemorate the coronation of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji 325 years ago. Mr Vajpayee also announced a Rs 1-crore central government assistance for the upkeep of the historic Raigad fort which was Shivaji's capital from 1670 to 1680 and where he was coronated in 1674. He was responding to an appeal by Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane for Central Government assistance to maintain historic forts in the state which were in a deplorable condition. The Prime Minister was addressing a gathering at the darbar hall of the Raigad fort at a function organised by ‘Shivaji Smarak Mandal’ and the Raigad Zilla Parishad to mark the 319th death anniversary of the Maratha warrior. Paying tributes to Shivaji, Mr Vajpayee said he was not just a king who knew ‘raj dharma’ but also one who understood the problems of the masses. He also knew the importance of peace and war and knew "when to fight and for how long", the Prime Minister said. He exhorted the masses to build a strong and modern India by emulating the ideals cherished by Shivaji. Chhatrapati Shivaji stood for unity, harmony, democracy and (self-reliance), Mr Vajpayee said. In his short life span, Shivaji defeated the Mughal rulers to establish "Hindavi swaraj’ (Indian self-rule) here, Mr Vajpayee said. "No one made Shivaji a ruler but he became one entirely on his own merit and due to his success," he said adding that "Some are born as rulers but there are some who change the course of history and Shivaji belonged to the latter category." Earlier, the Maharashtra Governor, Dr P.C. Alexander, said there was no one outside the realm of religion who commanded the respect which Shivaji did. "Rulers here come and go but there has been no parallel to Shivaji in history," he remarked. The Governor said Shivaji had successfully challenged the Mughal rule not only due to his military achievement but also on the basis of "Maharashtra dharma" which enshrined the principles of equality, democracy, compassion, love, unity and integrity. Shivaji, a follower of saint Ramdas and Tukaram, had improved upon the teachings of "Maharashtra dharma" espoused by these two spiritual leaders, he said. Maharashtra Chief Minister
Narayan Rane said Shivaji continued to be a source of
inspiration even after 350 years. |
UP sabhas plan Khalsa march MEERUT, March 31 — As a part of the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth the Singh sabhas of UP will organise a Bhai Dharm Singh Khalsa march from Hastinapur. Mr Tirath Singh, a former MLC and ex-member of the Minorities Commission, who has been appointed the convener of the march, told TNS that the march would start from Hastinapur on April 4 and would be led by Mr Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Minister of Panchayats, Punjab. Mr Tirath Singh further said that Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, Union Minister for Fertilizer, would flag off the march from Hastinapur at 10 a.m. The Singh sabhas of western UP had succeeded to enlist the support of the former SGPC chief, Mr G.S. Tohra, to bless the march. Mr Tirath Singh maintained that both Mr Tohra and Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, MP, would accompany the march from Hastinapur. Bhai Dharm Singh Khalsa march would probably be the first march in which both the SAD representatives and Mr Tohra would be present together. Mr Tirath Singh, however, clarified that the Singh sabhas had nothing to do with the political imbroglio in Punjab and the march was purely a religious one to pay homage to Bhai Dharm Singh, who was one of the Panj Piaras selected by Guru Gobind Singh at the time of formation of the Khalsa Panth at Anandpur Sahib. He further disclosed that Singh sabha had decided to construct a gurdwara in Saifpur village in the memory of Bhai Dharm Singh. The sabhas had already approached the UP Government for requisite grant for building a befitting memorial to Bhai Dharm Singh. Mr Tirath Singh said the
march would halt at Meerut on April 4 and leave for
Saharanpur from there. The march would join other Khalsa
marches at Kiratpur Sahib on April 10 after passing
through Hardwar, Rishikesh, Dehra Dun, Paonta Sahib,
Nadha Sahib and Ropar. |
Taps in Delhi may go dry NEW DELHI, March 31 — The taps in large parts of the Capital could go dry this summer as Delhi and Haryana Governments prepare for a showdown over the supply of raw water. The Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, has accused the Haryana Government of breaching an agreement by not supplying 40 million gallons a day (mgd) of raw water to the Nangloi water treatment plant. However, the Haryana Irrigation Minister, Mr Harsh Kumar, stated that the state Government had made no such commitment. “The treatment plant at Nangloi was constructed by the previous BJP government in Delhi with an understanding that the Haryana Government would supply raw water. The people of Delhi should not be deprived of the water just because the Congress was ruling the state,” Mrs Dikshit said. Denying the allegations levelled by the Delhi Chief Minister, the Haryana Irrigation Minister said, “Delhi never sought any consent from Haryana while planning and constructing the Nangloi treatment plant. Haryana had, at no stage, agreed to supply any additional Yamuna water to the treatment plant and as such the question of back tracking or change of stance did not arise.” The Haryana Government stated that they were supplying 93 per cent in excess of Delhi’s share of 255 cusecs per day as per the Yamuna water accord. Mr Kumar stated that Haryana was supplying 415 cusecs of water per day to Delhi as per the Supreme Court direction. The Delhi Chief Minister had met the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, in this connection, but nothing concrete has so far emerged. The Delhi Industry and Power Minister, Mr Narendra Nath, had earlier said that their government would try to pressurise the Haryana Government to release Delhi’s share of water soon. Warning of an impending water crisis in Delhi, former Delhi Chief Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, blamed Mrs Dikshit for the problem and said “She has been incapable of getting water supply from Haryana due to her ego problem. Why cannot she just talk to her counterpart in Haryana for the release of water.” Accusing the Congress of passing the buck, Mr Sahib Singh said, “The Delhi Government can buy water from Bhakra till the dispute with Haryana is solved.” The Nangloi plant, built with its optimum capacity of 40 mgd of water, which was commissioned recently, was expected to supply potable water to lakhs of residents living in West and South Delhi. However, with a change of guard in the Capital, work at the newly constructed water treatment plant in Nangloi came to a standstill. The Haryana Irrigation Department stopped the test on the grounds that the Delhi Jal Board did not have a formal go-ahead from Haryana to draw raw water from the Western Yamuna Canal in Bawana, sources in Delhi Jal Board said. Since the plant had taken about six to seven years to come up, only test runs could flush the water lines and remove the silt deposited in them over the years, they said. Raw water for this plant had come from a pump house situated in Bawana and a 19-km-long pipeline had been laid between the plant and the raw water pump house for this purpose. Residents of Delhi require
more than 800 mgd of water in the city while the Delhi
Jal Board has only 585 mgd potable water supply to offer.
There are four water treatment plant of varying
capacities which produce about 510 mgd of drinking water.
Along with these, there are tubewells and deep-bore
handpumps which produce about 70 mgd of water. |
INSAT-2E launch rehearsal over BANGALORE, March 31 (PTI) — A 27-hour full dress launch rehearsal was completed this morning, setting the stage for the lift-off of India’s most advanced satellite, INSAT-2E, by European Ariane rocket from Kourou on Saturday. “A full dress rehearsal has been carried out and it took 27 hours. The whole exercise ended at 0900 hours IST”, a spokesman of Indian Space Research Organisation told PTI here. He said the launch rehearsal was conducted with the involvement of all participating ground stations, and all preparations had been completed. “The launch programme will go ahead as per the schedule”, the spokesman said. The launch has been scheduled between 0333 hours and 0423 hours IST on April 3. Hassan (Karnataka): The software onboard the INSAT-2e, would be y2k compliant and there was no cause for any worry, a top official of ISRO has said. “All the mission
capabilities and software will be y2k compliant. Within a
month, we will issue a certificate on the y2k
compliance”, INSAT programme Director, S.
Rangarajan, told a group of visiting reporters from
Bangalore here yesterday. |
PM to open tribal shop NEW DELHI, March 31 — The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation, (Tribed) an organisation committed to serving the needs of the tribals, plans to set up a chain of retail outlets to promote products made or grown by tribesmen. The first such shop in the country named Tribes is scheduled to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, on Mahadev Road on April 9. Sources in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said a nine-member expert committee headed by Mrs Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, has been constituted to guide activities related to the shop. Trifed set up and funded by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment plans to procure organic products grown by tribesmen and art and crafts objects made by them. Similar products grown or made by the disabled tribal people would also find shelf space in these outlets. Trifed has a network of agencies throughout the country for the procurement, processing and marketing of forest and agricultural commodities produced in the tribal areas in the country. Sources said that the initiative would generate self-employment for the weaker sections and create an economically viable programme. Trifed will ensure that the products are strictly environment friendly. Sources said Trifed would make sure that the products are different from those sold in the cottage and state handicrafts emporia and handicrafts shops. To give a distinct identity and a competitive edge to the shop, Trifed would ensure that the products sold in these outlets are unique. The target segment identified by Trifed includes health conscious citizens who are interested in buying organic items and share concern for the conservation of forests. Besides, it would also target foreign nationals by encouraging exports of such products in coordination with embassies abroad. Trifed also proposes to generate awareness on a large scale. Besides, institutional sales to multinational companies, foreign banks and embassies shall also be a major area of focus. To attract the upmarket clientele, qualified designers would be invited to provide design inputs for the upgradation and diversification of the designs. The design inputs shall be made available to the weavers, artisans, tribals, State Tribal Development Cooperative Corporations, government departments in the state and Centre and non-government organisations Trifed also plans to hire the services of a Chief Merchandiser and procurement coordinators in each state on a contract basis. As suggested by the expert
committee, the Chief Merchandiser will look after
activities related to selection of products and other
aspects related to the sale of products through the shop.
The Chief Merchandiser will help the expert committee
implement suggestions made by the expert committee
regarding products, its source, sizes, cost and pricing,
designs, modifications and promotional aspects of the
shop. |
Tripura asks for more forces AGARTALA, March 31 (PTI) — Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has said Tripura needs more security forces to deal with the situation arising from stepped up insurgency in the state. The 25 battalions of security forces, including nine of the BSF, deployed in the state are not enough to tackle the situation here, he told the state Assembly last night. Replying to a debate on rising insurgency in Tripura, Mr Sarkar said a state-level coordination committee, monitoring deployment of forces, had noted that the state required 54 additional companies. Alleging that several
foreign agencies were involved in “instigating a
section of frustrated youths to create problems in
Tripura”, Mr Sarkar said the Centre was apprised of
the matter so that it could be taken up with neighbouring
countries. |
Kerala’s RSP unit splits THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, March 31 (UNI) — The split, in the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) in Kerala was formalised today with the dissident faction announcing formation of a rival state committee with veteran RSP leader Baby John as its Secretary. The dissident leaders, Prof A.V. Thamarakshan and Babu Divakaran, both MLAs, claimed at a press conference here, that they constitute the “real RSP”. Prof Thamarakshan said the
state convention of the RSP workers, supporting Baby John
would be held at Kollam, on May 1 in which the other
members of the committee would be appointed. |
New Delhi MC budget NEW DELHI, March 31 — Presenting a Rs 44 crore deficit budget for 1999-2000, the New Delhi Municipal Council chairman Mr B.P.Misra today said that the budget estimates provided an expenditure of Rs 661 crore against the receipt of Rs 617 crore. The council has decided to raise the rates of property tax for all categories of owners and occupiers except for self-occupied domestic properties who would continue to pay at the same rate as in the previous year, Mr Misra said. Mr B.P.Misra pointed out
that while the Central Government paid service charges
amounting to 75 per cent of the property tax, embassies
had never been asked to pay even service charges. |
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| Chennai saved from water
crisis CHENNAI: A major flood disaster was averted today by the timely sealing a 25-feet wide breach in the sprawling Red Hills lake in the northern outskirts of the metropolis. A crack developed late last night in the 40-year-old pipeline connected to the lake, which resulted in multiple breaches, official sources said here. The water level in the lake, one of the main drinking water sources to the city, was brimming when it developed breaches between Soorapattu village and the Metro water’s treatment plant. — PTI Tanzanian stowaway nabbed Fake currency
racket busted Girl forced to
swallow poison “Life is
beautiful” coming to Capital BJP activist shot |
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