H A R Y A N A

UHBVN loses 1 crore in squall
SONEPAT, June 5 — The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam  has suffered a huge loss of more than Rs. 1 crore due to a squall, which was preceded by a severe duststorm on June 1 in the city.

Maj-Gen Suhag assumes charge as MDU VC
ROHTAK, June 5 — Providing a transparent and responsive administration and creating a congenial academic atmosphere on the campus are among the top-priorities of Maj-Gen (retd) Bhim Singh Suhag, the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of Maharshi Dayanand University.

High court orders CBI probe
CHANDIGARH, June 5 — The mystery shrouding the disappearance of a housewife from the Karnal bus stand in 1996 trudged towards a solution with Mr. Justice Amarbir Singh Gill of the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordering a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation here.

Haryana Congressmen stage dharnas
CHANDIGARH, June 5 — The Haryana Congress today organised demonstrations at all block headquarters in the State against the “anti-poor and anti-farmer” policies of the Central Government.

Marauders kill 2, injure four
YAMUNANAGAR, June 5 — Unidentified persons murdered two relatives of a Sub-Inspector and seriously injured four others in his house in the early hours today.

C R I M E

Three gangsters arrested One held for forgery Arms licence case: one arrested 2 unnatural deaths in Faridabad One killed 22 proclaimed offenders held

Haryana to promote turmeric cultivation
CHANDIGARH, June 5 — The Haryana Government today decided to promote cultivation of turmeric as about 350 demonstration plots had been established to apprise the farmers of the improved agricultural practices for this crop during the current financial year.

Ambala to have voluntary testing centre to detect HIV
AMBALA, June 5 — In an effort to combat AIDS, Ambala is soon going to have a voluntary testing centre to test for HIV. The voluntary testing centre, which is part of the second phase of National AIDS Control Programme, is likely to become operational soon. 

World Environment Day celebrated
CHANDIGARH, June 5 — On the occasion of World Environment Day, the Haryana Government today announced to bring 25 per cent of the total area under afforestation during the next 25 years.

Protest against water shortage
FARIDABAD, June 5 —Hundreds of people today blocked the traffic for more than an hour at the busy Neelam flyover to protest against water shortage.

Rs 1 crore cheque for CM’s Relief Fund
CHANDIGARH, June 5 — Mr Kuldeep Singh, Chairman of the Haryana Forest Development Corporation, today presented a cheque of Rs 1.01 crore to the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, for the Chief Minister’s relief fund.

DISTRICT DIARY Civic body hit by paucity of funds KAITHAL: The paucity of funds has adversely affected the functioning of the local Municipal Council. It has no funds even to replace fused bulbs and tube lights, civic body staff tell residents who lodge complaints.

Power arrears: tough time ahead for INLD 
From Raman Mohan

HISAR, June 5 — With another deadline for paying arrears of power bills gone, the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) faces a difficult choice of acting tough and eroding its vote bank or going soft and letting the state’s power utilities go bankrupt.

The extended deadline for the payment of arrears expired on May 31. The campaign launched on April 1 met the only limited success. When the deadline was extended late last month, the campaign had yielded only Rs 113 crore by way of arrears. Of these, Rs 50 crore was received from government departments. The official figure for dues recovered by May 31 is not yet available. However, officials estimate that it will not exceed Rs 25 crore. A total of Rs 860 crore was due from all categories of consumers.

In fact, the ruling party is caught in a web of its own making. When in Opposition, it was the most vocal supporter of ‘free power for farmers’ theory, although to be fair to it, other major political parties too backed this demand from time to time. However, the INLD backtracked on the issue after it came to power last year. But by that time, the arrears of bills had mounted to unimaginable level threatening the very survival of power utilities.

The predicament, which the government faces, it evident from the fact that it has neither given any indication of taking stern measures to recover the arrears nor has it announced any extension of the deadline. Consequently, both the adamant farmers and the power department officials are keeping their fingers crossed.

Sources said the government had asked the power utilities to submit to it the details of arrears within a week to help it take a decision. They said the decision would depend on whether the government took a political decision or an administrative one.

It is learnt that while political advisers to the Chief Minister favour a soft approach, the bureaucracy wants him to act tough. The political think tank is stated to be of the view that any tough measures to recover the arrears will bring the government in direct confrontation with the farmers which the ruling party can ill afford. Their line of thought is based on the fact that a vast majority of the defaulters comprises diehard supporter of the INLD.

On the other hand, power department officials say there is no hope of recovering the arrears unless the government implements the provisions of the Land Revenue Act and disconnects supply to the defaulters. In fact, the government had threatened to do so before the current campaign was launched. Senior bureaucrats say that credibility of the government and the administration acumen of the Chief Minister will become suspect, if this is not done.

There are other pressing reasons why tough measures are called for. The power reforms plans are almost entirely funded by the World Bank which insists that it will finance these plans only if the power rates are upped and arrears recovered. It was in this background that the INLD had backtracked on the issue of giving free power to the farmers.

Another influential lobby has suggested a via media. It wants that the ruling party legislators and party functionaries should launch a statewide campaign to educate the farmers and prepare ground for a political initiative by the Chief Minister himself. This lobby says that since the defaulters are the ruling party supporters, they can be convinced only through a political initiative.

Its plans include village touring by legislators and senior party leaders followed by district-level rallies by the Chief Minister at which he should clearly tell the farmers that if the arrears could be waived, he would have done so by now. Since this was not possible, the only choice was either to pay up or face a dark future literally. This lobby is convinced that this is the only way in which the INLD can retain its vote bank and realise the dues.

It has been pointed out that no government in the past has succeeded in recovering the arrears through tough measures. These attempts had only created law and order problems which confounded the problem and the ruling parties concerned had to pay a heavy political price for this.

But there is a catch in this plan. Some of the inexperienced legislators tried to plead with farmers to pay their dues but they had to retrace their step hastily when the farmers reacted strongly and demanded that the party fulfil its promise of free power supply. In these circumstances, it is doubtful if the plan will take off at all. The bureaucracy, too, has its doubts.

Meanwhile, even as the government continues to wrestle with the problem, it has been decided to take stern steps to check theft of power in the state. This will at least make more power available for distribution and the power utilities will also earn additional revenue. The long awaited plan to install electronic meters is finally to be implemented in phases. The government is also planning to make power distribution officials more accountable for line losses.

UHBVN loses 1 crore in squall
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, June 5 — The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has suffered a huge loss of more than Rs. 1 crore due to a squall, which was preceded by a severe duststorm on June 1 in the city.

Giving details of the destruction in the area, Mr Sudhir Rajpal, Deputy Commissioner, told mediapersons here today that the squall had damaged as many as 84 electricity transformers, 170 poles of 11 kv lines, 14 poles of 33 kv lines and 300 poles of LT lines of 440 volts.

He also said the storm wreaked havoc in 145 villages of the district snapping electricity lines which plunged the villages into darkness. The staff of the UHBVN had restored the power supply in 78 villages by June 2 and another 50 villages by June 3. The power supply to the remaining villages had also been restored.

The DC said some HT tubewell lines of 11 kv capacity had also been damaged.

Meanwhile, the city and its adjoining areas were lashed by heavy showers and hailstorm for about half-an-hour yesterday. Several trees, electricity and telephone poles and signboards were uprooted. This led to the snapping of electricity lines and disruption of power supply for about four hours.

The squall flooded many low-lying areas because of defective drainage system. Several motorists were also seen stranded because of waterlogging in several areas. Many people were seen wading through water to reach the destinations. The uprooted trees also blocked traffic at some places in the city leading to chaos.

However, the people got the much-needed respite from the heat with the temperature falling down sharply after the showers.

Maj-Gen Suhag assumes charge as MDU VC
From Jatinder Sharma

ROHTAK, June 5 — Providing a transparent and responsive administration and creating a congenial academic atmosphere on the campus are among the top-priorities of Maj-Gen (retd) Bhim Singh Suhag, the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU).

Although the university was closed today on account of Maharana Pratap Jayanti, General Suhag was accorded a warm reception by teaching and non-teaching employees when he arrived here to take charge of the coveted post.

General Suhag, though new in university administration, is aware of the pitfalls and priorities. He was cautious when newspersons approached him immediately after he took charge.

“My first priority will be to restore discipline on the campus and create an atmosphere that is conducive for higher studies and research”, he said.

He evaded a direct reply when asked about the steps he proposed to take to improve the university finances. “I am taking the budget proposals with me today to acquaint myself with the financial health of the university and will then call journalists to share the action plan”, he said.

General Suhag, who spent 36 years in the Army, hinted that he would take up the issue of the university finances with the Chief Minister.

High court orders CBI probe
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 5 — The mystery shrouding the disappearance of a housewife from the Karnal bus stand in 1996 trudged towards a solution with Mr. Justice Amarbir Singh Gill of the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordering a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation here.

Accusing the police of “trying to shelve the case to favour the accused”, petitioner Sohan Lal of Indri in Karnal district had earlier alleged that a suspect in the case had not been arrested “for reasons best known to the police”.

He had added that two of the three “persons named in the first information report as possible abductors” had already been granted anticipatory bail.

Seeking directions for handing over the investigation of the case registered with Police Station City at Karnal to the premier investigating agency or some other independent investigating agency, the petitioner had also asked for the appointment of an honest and competent officer to “supervise and conduct the investigation in an impartial manner”.

Directing a CBI probe, Mr. Justice Gill also ordered the handing over of all files pertaining to the investigation conducted so far in the case to CBI’s Superintendent of Police. Before disposing of the petition, Mr. Justice Gill also directed the agency to “expedite the investigation of the case”.

Haryana Congressmen stage dharnas
From Tribune Reporters

CHANDIGARH, June 5 — The Haryana Congress today organised demonstrations at all block headquarters in the State against the “anti-poor and anti-farmer” policies of the Central Government.

A spokesman for the party said here today that the AICC had directed the state units of the party to organise demonstrations at block level throughout the country in protest against the massive hike in the prices of essential commodities like urea, diesel, LPG and cut in the subsidy on items distributed through the public distribution system.

He said the Haryana Congress in pursuance of the directive of the AICC organised demonstrations and held day-long dharnas at the block and district headquarters today.

The President of the Haryana Congress, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, led a demonstration organised by the Karnal District Congress Committee and sat in dharna at M.C. Chowk from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Addressing the partymen Mr Hooda criticised the anti-people policies of the Central Government and warned it to either withdraw the price hike or to face serious consequences. Mr Hooda also condemned the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, for his unconditional support to the Vajpayee Government, despite its anti-poor and anti-farmer policies.

The spokesman said the president of the Karnal DCC, Mr Kuldeep Sharma, Mr Ram Pal, former minister, Mr Jai Singh Rana, former MLA, Mrs Prasanni Devi, president of the Haryana Mahila Congress, Mr Lachhman Singh Kamboj, former minister, Mr Surender Mann, Mr Jaipal Mann, Mr Rajinder Singh Kalyan and all office-bearers of the Karnal DCC along with a large number of party workers participated in the demonstration.

YAMUNANAGAR: The district unit of the Congress held a demonstration on Monday in protest against the central and state government’s anti-people policies.

Dr J.P. Sharma, local Congress MLA, and Mr Thakur, president of the legal cell, took part in the protest. They gave a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner to be handed over to the Haryana Governor.

He said on June 28 a state-level agitation would be held at Yamunanagar and Jagadhri. A rally would also be organised on the same day. He added almost all Congress MLAs would participate in the agitation.

KAITHAL: A large number of Congressmen held a dharna outside the old tehsil complex here on Monday. They were protesting against the increase in prices of various commodities under the public distribution system and other items such as fertilisers, diesel etc. They called for immediate withdrawal of the price hike. They were also protesting against the deterioration in the law and order situation in the state. 

Marauders kill 2, injure four
From Our Correspondent

YAMUNANAGAR, June 5 — Unidentified persons murdered two relatives of a Sub-Inspector and seriously injured four others in his house in the early hours today.

According to police sources, Mr Surjeet Kumar, Sub-Inspector, posted at Palwal in Faridabad district, has a house here near Chopra Garden. His relatives were residing in the house while he was away along with his wife.

Sources said three persons entered the house at 3 a.m. carrying lethal weapons. They were reportedly conversing in a UP dialect.

The sources added that seven persons — Surinder, his wife, Rani, Subhash, Tony, Baby, Arun and another child were sleeping when the marauders struck. On entering the house, they demanded that all household items be handed over to them which resulted in a scuffle between the family and the marauders.

A few members of the family were locked in a room and the others were beaten up in the scuffle in which Surinder died on the spot while Rani succumbed to her injuries at a local hospital. Subhash and Tony, who were seriously injured, were taken to the PGI, Chandigarh, whereas Baby and Arun were admitted to a local hospital. Doctors said Surinder and Rani died of head injuries.

Baby said in her statement that the marauders were wearing “kachhas and baniyans”.

The SP, Mr K.K. Sindhu, said the police reached the spot immediately. He said a special team had been constituted under the supervision of the DSP, Mr Paramjeet Singh Ahlawat, and policemen had already been sent to Uttar Pradesh and Karnal to find out the whereabouts of the murderers.

Mr Sindhu said ‘Bawarias’ could be involved in the incident.

Haryana to promote turmeric cultivation
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 5 — The Haryana Government today decided to promote cultivation of turmeric as about 350 demonstration plots had been established to apprise the farmers of the improved agricultural practices for this crop during the current financial year.

The Agriculture Minister, Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, said seeds and other inputs required for the demonstration plots had already been arranged. He said agriculturists interested in the cultivation of turmeric would be provided inputs worth Rs 825 per farmer free of cost. An equal amount would be borne by the beneficiary. The government would also organise training camps from time to time to educate and provide technical know how to farmers to encourage them to take up turmeric cultivation, he added.

Ambala to have voluntary testing 
centre to detect HIV
From Rahul Das
Tribune News Service

AMBALA, June 5 — In an effort to combat AIDS, Ambala is soon going to have a voluntary testing centre to test for HIV.

The voluntary testing centre, which is part of the second phase of National AIDS Control Programme, is likely to become operational soon. The testing centre will be located at the Civil Hospital in Ambala City.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Ambala, Mr Ram Niwas, the voluntary testing centre will be set up for those who suspect that they may have contracted HIV. “It will be a free facility and it is part of the campaign under the aegis of National AIDS Control Organisation,” he said.

The Chief Medical Officer, Dr Patnaik, said that testing at the voluntary testing centre will be voluntary in nature. “The test result will be told only to the person who is tested. Counselling of the person and the family members will be part of the testing centre,” he said.

Dr Patnaik said that counselling will be specialised. “I must emphasised that AIDS is preventable but not curable,” he said. “We are also going to have an all-India effort in which we will be doing door-to-door campaign to identify those who are suffering from STD and RTI as they are comparatively more susceptible to contract HIV,” he said.

According to District Health Officer, Dr Umesh Lamba, who is also the nodal AIDS officer, the voluntary testing centre is part of the second phase. “In the first phase, we did IEC which means information, education and communication. Our effort was to give information to the people about AIDS and how it spreads,” he said.

Dr Lamba stated that voluntary testing centre will be extremely useful. “If a person suspects that he may have in some way contracted HIV, he can go to the centre and have himself tested. After the tests are undertaken, then counselling will be done,” he said.

Counselling will involve telling the person whether the test result is positive or negative. “We would also be asking the person whether he or she wants the test results to be disclosed to their close relatives. We will try and ensure that the affected person does not become panicky on hearing the news of being HIV positive. We will explain how to lead his life without spreading HIV to others,” he said.

Incidentally, a family health awareness campaign under the aegis of National AIDS Control Organisation will be run in Ambala from June 9 to 16. The campaign will attempt to identify the carriers of STD and RTI, who are normally more prone to contracting HIV than other healthy persons.

Dr Lamba said that there is also a plan to provide better quality condoms at very low rates. “Initially, we are going to have 2-3 centres in Ambala where better quality condoms at a low rates will be disbursed by NGO or other social organisation. Looking at the response, the programme may be spread to stations and even big factories where there is a large workforce,” he said.

In Haryana, according to the information available, 79 AIDS cases have been reported out of which 13 have died. The maximum cases have been reported from Rohtak where 36 cases came to light followed by Hisar and Bhiwani both having 10 cases. While Sonepat had four reported cases, Jind had three reported cases, Dr Lamba said.

World Environment Day celebrated
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 5 — On the occasion of World Environment Day, the Haryana Government today announced to bring 25 per cent of the total area under afforestation during the next 25 years.

A State-level function was organised to mark the occasion where the State Governor, Mr Mahabir Prasad, planted a sapling of Chhatim (alstonia scholaris).

The Governor underlined the need to make afforestation a mass movement and make “Green Haryana Campaign” a success. He suggested planting of such trees as peepal. badh and anwala.

The Commissioner and Secretary of Forests, Mr Manik Sonawane, said a plan had been evolved to increase the forest cover in a systematic manner. He said saplings would be planted on panchayat, shamlat and public lands.

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr Banarsi Dass, said about one crore saplings would be planted during the current financial year. He added that an area of 160 hectares in Morni Hills would be brought under the cover of medicinal plants during this year.

Reports of celebrations have come in from Sonepat and Gurdaspur.

Three gangsters arrested
From Our Correspondent

PANIPAT, June 5 — The Samalkha police arrested three members of an inter-state gang yesterday and seized two country-made pistols and two cartridges from them. A stolen Maruti car was also recovered from them.

The police said the gangsters — Vikas, Brijesh and Charan Singh of Bulandshahr district in Uttar Pradesh — were arrested while they were planning to loot a petrol station on the G.T. Road.

The gangsters confessed that they had stolen the Maruti car from Khyala village in west Delhi.

One held for forgery
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, June 5 — The police has arrested Parveen Pawar of Saidpur village on the charge of attempting to withdraw Rs 41,000 from the Punjab National Bank on a stolen cheque.

The SSP, Mr K.P. Singh, told mediapersons here today that the General Manager of the bank had lodged a complaint with the police stating that on May 8, Mohan Lal of Model Town, had opened an account (No 68938) in the bank. On May 12 he deposited a cheque a-mounting to Rs 41,225 with the bank which had been issued by the LIC. Immediately afterwards, Mohan Lal issued a cheque of Rs 41,000 and handed it over to the computer operator. When the papers reached the Assistant Manager of the bank, he got suspicious as the original cheque bore the name of Mohan Lal Gulati. Thereupon, the Assistant Manager asked Mohan Lal to get his signature countersigned from the LIC office, but he did not return.

According to the SSP, the bank authorities sent the cheque to the LIC office and it was found that the cheque was in favour of someone else. On May 17, another person Ashok Kumar Thakran of Malkhalo village visited the bank and tried to withdraw Rs 20,000 through a cheque. When he was asked by the bank officials to give a proof he told them that Parveen Pawar of Saidpur Village had handed over the cheque to him. He also disclosed that Parveen Kumar was an LIC agent and was working under Mr Arun Kumar dogra a development officer.

The SSP said the bank officials had revealed that Parveen Kumar was the main culprit in the case.

One killed

AMBALA, June 5 — One person was killed and four other injured in two separate road accidents here on Monday. According to a police report, Davender Singh a resident of nearby village, died on the Ambala-Chandigarh road near Ambala City when he was hit by a bus. The police has registered a case in this regard.

22 proclaimed offenders held
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, June 5 — The police has succeeded in arresting 22 proclaimed offenders who had escaped from custody in the past about a decade.

Some of them were undertrials who had fled from the judicial complex while being produced in the court.

According to the SSP, Mr P.K. Agarwal, the offenders were arrested under a special campaign launched a few months ago. He said two of them had fled 11 years ago.

Rs 1 crore cheque for CM’s Relief Fund
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 5 — Mr Kuldeep Singh, Chairman of the Haryana Forest Development Corporation, today presented a cheque of Rs 1.01 crore to the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, for the Chief Minister’s relief fund.

Mr Chautala appreciated the gesture of the corporation and urged officers of the Forest Department to check unmindful felling of trees.

Annual urs begins
Tribune News Service

AMBALA, June 5 — The 112th urs of Sufi saint of the Naqshbandi tradition, Hazrat Sain Tawakkal Shah, began at his dargah in Ambala city today.

Recitation of the Holy Quran was made in the morning after namaz-e-fajr. Later, chadar was offered to Mazar Sharif on behalf of the Punjab Wakf Board. The Chief Executive Officer of the Punjab Wakf Board, Mr Akhlaq Ahmed Khan, along with senior officers and devotees took part in the annual urs, a release said.

On the occasion, Mr Khan said that the Punjab Wakf Board spent Rs 1.25 lakh every year on the Dargah Sharif and Rs 2 lakh on the ITI established on the campus of the dargah.

The annual urs of Hazrat Sain Tawakkal Shah is organised every year by the Punjab Wakf Board in which devotees from different parts of the country participate. The urs is celebrated for three days in which langar is served to all the participants and devotees on behalf of the board.

Civic body hit by paucity of funds
From Satish Seth

The vehicle owners not only overload the vehicles but also over charge. They also violate parking norms.