H A R Y A N A

Poll fever grips Kalka
PANCHKULA, Jan 11 — With the announcement of Assembly elections to the 90-member House of Haryana, political activity, has come out in the open and the prospective candidates are busy building a rapport with the public. The Kalka seat is no exception to the rule.

BJP discusses seat sharing with RSS
SONEPAT, Jan 11 — The President of the state unit of the BJP, Mr Om Parkash Grover, accompanied by the former minister, Prof Ram Bilas Sharma, arrived here yesterday and held a meeting with Prof, Bajrang Lal Gupta, organiser of the state unit of the RSS, with whom the Indian National Lok Dal supremo and the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had already discussed the ways and means for seat sharing with the BJP for contesting the Assembly elections jointly in the state.

Move afoot for cancer centre at Rohtak
ROHTAK, Jan 11 — Pandit B D Sharma PGI Medical Sciences proposes to set up a regional cancer centre and poison control centre with assistance from the Union Health Ministry and the World Health Organisation, respectively.

Living under shadow of fear
ROHTAK, Jan 11 — Mrs Reeta Behal (45) is a shattered woman today. She is yet to overcome the trauma of seeing her young unmarried daughter die of acid burn.The police has failed to arrest the culprits responsible for this heinous crime committed about nine months ago.

Teachers take leave en masse
HISAR, Jan 11 — Teachers working in government-aided colleges in the state today went on a day's casual leave en masse in protest against the non-payment of their salaries.

Stir threat by forest workers
SONEPAT, Jan 11 — The Forest Department Workers Union today threatened to launch an agitation against the state government unless it fulfilled its demands by January 20.

Poll fever grips Kalka
By Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Jan 11 — With the announcement of Assembly elections to the 90-member House of Haryana, political activity, has come out in the open and the prospective candidates are busy building a rapport with the public. The Kalka seat is no exception to the rule.

Not only there is an undercurrent of tension in the parties that are fighting it out in the middle, the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine primarily, there is also a tiff over the candidates who are likely to get the ticket ultimately. The other parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Haryana Vikas Party, have adopted a laid back approach and the wait-and-watch policy.

The district BJP which organised a press conference recently highlighted the fact that the party was better placed vis-a-vis, the INLD in the constituency with its larger base. Moreover, party leaders of the district contended that they had scored over the INLD in the previous elections.

The controversy does not end with that. Further, there are nearly 10 contenders from within the party staking claim for the seat. Each one, armed with a bio-data, explained why he deserved the party ticket. The task of giving the ticket had been handed over to the two observers, Mr Jagdish Chopra and Mr Bishan Das, appointed by the party to assess the best candidate. The claim further adds to the uncertainty about the "lucky winner" of the gamble. It also explains the absence of these leaders in the interaction sessions with the public while the INLD and the Congress party workers have been in a flat spin organising programmes of their respective leaders since the poll announcement came.

The troubled waters run deep in view of the fact that the state general secretary of the INLD, Mr Pradeep Chaudhary, has, in no uncertain terms said he wanted to fight the elections from Kalka."The Chief Minister knows that I have preference to fight from here rather than any other constituency. But he is the best judge and will decide whatever is best for the party," he says.

However, he admits he had been all over the constituency and would intensify his programme in the district once his tour of the entire state along with the Chief Minister is complete. He seems sure to get the ticket even though he does not admit the same in so many words, and foresees no problem with the BJP claims of being unsupportive to the cause of winning. "We supported them in the Lok Sabha elections and now it is time for them to come to our help," he says.

Another contender from the same party, Mr Ram Gopal Mehta, the district president of the INLD, is hoping to make in-roads and securing the ticket for himself instead.He added that he had served the party for over 20 years and deserved the ticket but hinted that the only stumbling block could be his weak financial position. However, the Chief Minister, during his visit to Kalka, brought all his efforts to a naught by claiming that Mr Mehta was the most dedicated worker of the party, next only to him, and that he would work in the interest of the party irrespective of who gets the ticket.

Meanwhile, as the two parties try to dodge the ticket-securing problem till the final decision is announced, the Congress’s "winning" candidate, Mr Chander Mohan, is going about organising his programmes on a systematic basis and his ‘nukkad sabhas’ are scheduled to begin very soon. In spite of being apprehensive of a free and fair poll under the present government, he is giving his campaign his best shot and is ready to take on the challenge. However, Mr Chander Mohan's giving up the seat for his father, Mr Bhajan Lal, cannot be ruled out if the latter is pitted against a stronger candidate from his ‘native’ seat Adampur, sources said.

Move afoot for cancer centre at Rohtak
From Jatinder Sharma

ROHTAK, Jan 11 — Pandit B D Sharma PGI Medical Sciences proposes to set up a regional cancer centre and poison control centre with assistance from the Union Health Ministry and the World Health Organisation, respectively.

The PGI Director, Dr S B Siwach, told The Tribune that experts from the Union Health Ministry had already inspected cancer and investigative services available in the institute. With the inauguration of the Surgical Anchology Department, the institute had Surgical, Medical and Radiotherapy Departments — the three needed for the treatment of cancer patients.

He was hopeful that the ministry would approve the proposals and the institute get grants for the purchase of sophisticated equipment needed for cancer treatment.

Dr Siwach said a team of the World Health Organisation (WHO) visited the institute on December 17. It proposed to set up an intensive care unit exclusively for poison control. The Department of Medicine has been recognised by the WHO for study of poisoning agro-chemicals.

The Department of Medicine had entered into a research programme on cardiac arrhythmia with the Bangalore-based Research Organisation of the Ministry of Defence. The organisation would supply the necessary equipment for this study free of cost, Dr Siwach said.

The PGI also proposed to set up a separate intensive care unit (ICU) in the Casualty Department. The space for setting up a 15-bed ICU in the casualty had already been earmarked and tenders floated for the purchase of necessary equipment.

Dr Siwach said the number of beds in the Paediatrics Department had been increased from 57 to 90 as per the MCI norms. A separate unit with six beds had been allotted for children suffering from Thalassaemia, Dr Siwach added.

Living under shadow of fear
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Jan 11 — Mrs Reeta Behal (45) is a shattered woman today. She is yet to overcome the trauma of seeing her young unmarried daughter die of acid burn.

The police has failed to arrest the culprits responsible for this heinous crime committed about nine months ago. In the meantime, the family is facing threats from the accused.

Mrs Behal's 20-year-old daughter Meena who was working as a teacher in a school here was returning home when three youths, including the main accused identified as Ved Parkash, alias "Vedu, allegedly threw acid on her. She suffered about 80 per cent burns and succumbed to her injuries within hours.

The accused, who escaped after the incident, remains untraced. It is leant that Ved Prakash wanted to marry Meena who spurned the offer as the accused did not have a good reputation.

The incident took place on April 16, 1999.

Meena's mother says the accused had begun to harass her daughter and the family when they ignored his marriage proposal. They had submitted an application to a nearby police post about the matter, but no action against the culprit was initiated. She says if the police had taken the complaint seriously, her daughter could have been alive today.

Mrs Behal says the police does not seem to be interested in arresting the culprit who she claims was seen by local residents about a month ago. She says the family has received threats to give up the matter or face death.

The SSP, when contacted, said the accused had been announced a proclaimed offender. Several raids had been conducted at possible hideouts.

Teachers take leave en masse
From Tribune Reporters

HISAR, Jan 11 — Teachers working in government-aided colleges in the state today went on a day's casual leave en masse in protest against the non-payment of their salaries.

A spokesman for the Haryana College Teachers Union claimed here that teaching work in all private colleges in the town and the rest of the state remained suspended due to the casual leave. He said that the salaries of the teachers had not been paid for the past three months. If the salaries were not paid by January 20, all teachers of the state would hold a demonstration in front of the office of the Director, Higher Education, at Chandigarh on January 21.

The union urged the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, to take personal interest in redressing the grievances of the teachers working in aided colleges.

SONEPAT: On a call given by the Haryana College Teachers Union, all lecturers of government-aided private colleges went on a day's casual leave en masse here on Tuesday in protest against the non-payment of salaries from October to December last year.

They also took out a procession through the main bazars of the city. They reached the mini secretariat, where they held a massive demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office. A rally was also held there and it was addressed by the leaders of the union.

Union leaders also announced that if the salaries were not paid by January 20, a massive demonstration would be held at Chandigarh on January 21.

YAMUNANAGAR: A former President of the Haryana College Teachers Union and Zonal Secretary of the North Zone of All-India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisations (AIFUCTO), Prof Harbhajan Singh, said here on Tuesday that the teachers working in aided colleges assembled in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office and submitted a memorandum to him for being forwarded to the Haryana Government.

Their main demands include the release of senior and selection grades, payment of arrears from January, 1998, implementation of the pension scheme and raising of the gratuity limit to Rs 3.5 lakh.

KAITHAL: Hundreds of teachers of private colleges of this district went on a mass casual leave, wore black badges and staged a protest march here on Tuesday. They expressed resentment over the non-payment of salaries for the past four months.

Leaders of various teachers' unions alleged that the funds meant for the payment of salaries to the college staff had been diverted for other purposes. They also submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner.

BJP discusses seat sharing with RSS
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Jan 11 — The President of the state unit of the BJP, Mr Om Parkash Grover, accompanied by the former minister, Prof Ram Bilas Sharma, arrived here yesterday and held a meeting with Prof, Bajrang Lal Gupta, organiser of the state unit of the RSS, with whom the Indian National Lok Dal supremo and the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had already discussed the ways and means for seat sharing with the BJP for contesting the Assembly elections jointly in the state.

Mr Chautala had reportedly called on the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and discussed with him the differences between the INLD and the state BJP leadership over the issue of sharing the Assembly seats. Mr Chautala would also meet the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, in this regard for seeking his intervention in the matter.

The sources stated that the BJP leaders had made it clear to Mr Gupta that they would not be satisfied with less than 35 seats. Any reduction in the number of seats would cause resentment among the party workers which may prove harmful for the alliance partners in the Assembly elections, they added.

The details of the talks have not been made known officially but it is understood that a bargain has been struck and the BJP may get 30 seats.

Stir threat by forest workers
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Jan 11 — The Forest Department Workers Union today threatened to launch an agitation against the state government unless it fulfilled its demands by January 20.

In a press release issued here, it announced that the union would hold rallies and demonstrations and gherao officials.

It alleged that the department had failed to pay the salaries to forest workers for the year 1996 or regularise their services, and had not given the attendance cards or wage slips to them. Instead, it had encouraged the contract system, rendering a large number of workers jobless.

The union also decried against the abolishing of the muster-roll system and charged the department with duping through bogus billing.

It urged the state government to order probe into complaints of illegal felling and sale of trees with the connivance of officials.

It also reiterated its demand for a vigilance inquiry into the purchases of saplings from other states.

Health, nutrition coverage not enough: study
Tribune News Service

HISAR, Jan 11 — Most of the national English dailies have been found wanting in reporting about the issues related to the health and nutrition (H&N). A survey conducted by Prof Saroj Dahiya of the Department of Foods and Nutrition, Home Science College, Haryana Agricultural University, reveals that health and nutrition were not among the priority issues reported in the national English dailies.

According to Prof Dahiya, the readers were very much interested in this sort of news. Most of the readers interviewed wanted adequate coverage on these issues. The urge for information about these issues has grown from the relatively improved consciousness about health and food habits among most of the people, particularly the urban middle class.

The study revealed that 62 per cent of the readers found the reporting about the these issues inadequate. Moreover, the people no longer held the view that the newspaper should be dominated by the political reporting alone. They wanted, these issues be covered on a par with other issues. Moreover, none of the national English dailies had a specialised correspondent or person meant for exclusively reporting about these issues. This is totally in contrast with reporting in western dailies.

However, the study found that urgent issues regarding health were well covered by most of the newspapers. People read these type of stories with keen interest. Particularly awareness about various diseases at a particular time by the English print media was well appreciated by the people.

The study recommended, since the coverage on these issues was inadequate, the newspaper management should encourage such type of reporting. They should also organise special training and orientation courses for the reporters who should be assigned the job of reporting exclusively on health and nutrition issues. Moreover the news and information need to be disseminated in the language of the common man. That is where the general newspaper can make a difference from the research journals already available.

Conversions in protest
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Jan 11 — At least 1055 revenue patwaris in the state who were selected in May last year but not given appointments have announced to adopt Christianity en masse on Republic Day.

Mr Ajmer Singh, president, district unit of the Patwari Sangh, said an assurance regarding employment and due respect would be sought from Christian missionaries before initiating the step.

He said the patwaris had resorted to this unusual step as repeated complaints to the Chief Minister had gone unattended.

Charging the BJP the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal with trying to gain cheap popularity, he alleged these organisations were least concerned about the reasons which forced a person to change religion.

He claimed the patwaris were selected purely on merit during the tenure of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal. But the present government had withheld the appointments without any specific reason.

One killed; cash, jewellery looted
From Our Correspondent

GURGAON, Jan 11 — One person was killed and cash and jewellery were robbed from a house at Badshapur village near here last night.

Assailants entered the house of Ramji Lal, situated on the Darbaripur road last night. Ramji Lal, a retired jawan and his son Satpal were sleeping outside the room.

They hit Ramji Lal and Satpal with iron rods. Blood oozed from Satpal's head and he fell unconscious. However, Ramji Lal grappled with the assailants. They strangled him. Ramji Lal also fainted.

Afterward, the assailants barged into the room where Ramji Lal's wife Sheela was sleeping. They snatched away her earrings injuring her ears. She was also beaten up with lathis.

The robbers then looted cash and the jewellery from the house. Satpal gained consciousness and shouted for help. Neighbours took Ramji Lal and Sheela to a nearby hospital. Ramji Lal was declared brought dead.

SSP S.S. Kapoor visited the house and constituted a team of three officers to investigate the case.

Petrol dealers’ strike
From Our Correspondent

AMBALA Jan 11 — The supply of petrol and diesel from the IOC, HP and IBP supply depots of Ambala was stopped from today for an indefinite period as the almost all 32 officers of these oil companies have joined the indefinite strike for which a call was given by the Oil Sector Association to press for the acceptance to their pending demands.

The strike in the Ambala oil depots will affect the supply of petrol and diesel to Haryana, Punjab, Himachal, Chandigarh and a part of J&K. According to information, the defence supply has been exempted from this strike. The depot has been providing oil to the defence establishment out of their storage tanks.

According to information the impact of the strike will be felt after two days as the pump dealers generally keep supplies for two to three days.

7 held in assault, smuggling cases
From Our Correspondent

SIRSA, Jan 11 — Three persons have been arrested by the district police in different assault cases.

The police chief said today that Beera of Rori village was arrested under Sections 452/323/506,34 of the IPC for allegedly assaulting a woman after forcibly entering her house on January 2.

Uggarsen and Satish of Pelimandori village had been arrested for allegedly attacking Amar Singh on December 22 last year over a two-year-old land dispute.

The police has arrested four persons, including one woman, in different cases of smuggling of illicit liquor and narcotics.

Those arrested include Simaro of Sikanderpur village. Gurcharan Singh of Taruana village, Kaka Singh of Kalanwali village and Mohinder Singh of Rajpura village.

In a separate case, the police arrested Parkash Mehta of local Subhash Basti from village Fatehpuria, Nathu Ram of Kalawali, Prem Kumar, Raj Kumar and Kanhi Ram of Ellenabad under the Gambling Act.

HERC holds meeting on distribution
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 11 — The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) held a public hearing on the grant of regular licences for distribution and retail supply of electricity in the state to Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshini Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) at Panchkula yesterday.

At present the two distribution companies are operating on the basis of licences granted to the HVPN.

No objections were filed to the grant of licences during the notice period of three months.

However, the staff were permitted by the HERC to raise objections as interveners.

The PHD Chamber of Commerce sought more time to raise objections. The chamber was permitted to do so before January 25. The utilities were given time till February 10 to file rejoinders, if any.

The next date of hearing was fixed on February 15.