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| Thursday, June 8, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Factionalism ails Haryana BJP CM assures Vigilance inquiry Unique scheme to
collect arrears 2 shot, 12 injured in
family clash Abhay sworn in Power bill defaulters can pay up by June
15 Grover: don’t make English compulsory 21 cr allocated for expanding mandis |
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Rohtak MC chief still not elected Return of newsreels Haryana to have
more MOs, SMOs VSNL users lose Net
hours Summer camps gaining
popularity 3 killed in
road accident Cop arrested Manager shot at,
robbed of 50,000 New tourist complex
at Rai
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Factionalism ails Haryana BJP GURGAON, June 7 — The Haryana unit of the ruling BJP at the Centre will go ahead with elections for its state office-bearers without completing the mandatory elections in all districts and mandals. The inability of the party to complete the elections in the districts and the mandals within the deadline is attributed to factionalism in the organisation. The tentative date for holding elections for the state office-bearers is June 17. The office secretary of the BJP’s central office, Mr Ram Kripal Singh, has been deputed as in charge of the elections in Haryana. The venue for holding the elections is yet to be finalised. There is a move in the BJP to appoint ad hoc committees in the districts and mandals where elections are not held. This is believed to be with a view to give the entire exercise of holding elections semblance of credibility and as a face saving formula to the party. The BJP, which projects itself as a “party with a difference” among its political opponents and among the masses, is caught in a web of factionalism. Earlier, the deadline for completing the entire elections in Haryana was the end of May. However, so far elections in only one-third of the districts, and in about 60 of nearly 154 mandals in the state have been completed. According to sources, many in the think-tank of the party, both at the Centre and the state, feel that it would be expedient to impose a name for the post of the state President from the Centre. There is wide-ranging apprehension that if the state leaders are allowed a free hand, there is a greater possibility of increased groupism and mudslinging. Of course, a semblance of democratic process would be exhibited by allowing the panel of name for the post of state President to be submitted to quarters concerned. The forerunners for the post of President are the party stalwarts, Mr Ram Bilas Sharma, Mr Ram Chander Bainda and Mr Om Prakash Dhankad. There is a growing feeling in the party in favour of a new face from the peasantry class for the post. The party’s rank and file are said to be disillusioned with the recognised leaders. The allegation is that they have brought the party to a sorry state of affairs, where it could only win six seats in the last Assembly elections in the state. According to observers, the groupism in the party had started at the time the party was a partner in the coalition government along with the HVP headed by Mr Bansi Lal. It got momentum after the results of the last Assembly elections. At the time of the HVP-BJP government there were wide-ranging allegations that those enjoying ministerial berths and holding the posts of chairmen of various boards and corporations, had reduced the party to a “B-team” of the HVP. There were also allegations that those enjoying power and status ignored the workers. Also, that a section of the traders in high public posts were being used by Mr Bansi Lal against other senior leaders in the organisation. Moreover, while the leaders and their cronies enjoying power in the HVP-BJP government wanted status-quo, those marginalised wanted a tie-up with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which led to the party’s withdrawal of support to the Bansi Lal government and its eventual fall. During the run up to the last Assembly election in Haryana, a large number of BJP workers were dismayed at the way the senior leaders kept mum at being called names pejoratively in public speeches by the INLD’s chief Mr Om Parkash Chautala. The general impression among the workers was that the senior leaders ridiculed by Mr Chautala did not retaliate publicly to defend themselves or the collective ego and dignity of the party just to ensure that the INLD supremo did not vitiate their chances of getting tickets in the Assembly elections. Now, those in the party, including the MLAs who have direct rapport with the Chief Minister are allegedly enjoying the privilege of getting their works done. There is resentment in various quarters of the BJP that the party, an ally of the ruling INLD, does not have a firm policy or defined approach to the functioning of the government to enhance its acceptability among the masses. The individual leaders in the “cadre-based” party are calling the shots. This is also attributed to a few leaders who had been holding the reins of the party. |
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CM assures Vigilance inquiry KAITHAL, June 7 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, is reported to have assured to hand over the investigation of the abduction case of a local ayurvedic practitioner to the Haryana Vigilance Department. A deputation of Kaithal and Guhla advocates led by Mr Janeshar Dass, President, Kaithal Bar Association, met the Chief Minister on Saturday and submitted a memorandum demanding an impartial inquiry into the case. The recovery of Dr Om Shankar from Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, on June 1 in an injured condition had given a new twist to the case. The family members of Dr Shankar suspected the hand of a local surgeon, Dr S.N. Singla, and two others in his abduction. However, Dr Singla and others against whom an FIR was lodged said the “abduction case was a drama and it was planned to defame them”. The victim was allegedly abducted by some persons from his clinic on the night of May 10 under mysterious circumstances and the police had been under tremendous pressure to trace him. Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association supporting Dr Singla handed over a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Dr Mahavir Singh, and the SP, Mr Prabhat Ranjan Deo, demanding action against Mr Ranjit Raman, an advocate and brother of Dr Shankar, and pressed for the registration of a case against him for “falsely” implicating Dr Singla. Mr Raman and some other advocates said they were not satisfied with the inquiry and alleged that the police was biased against them. Addressing a press conference here recently, the SP said a case in connection with the abduction was registered on May 12. He said family members of the victim, including Mr Raman, informed him about the case but were initially reluctant to register a case. However, when he showed his inability to take action until a case was registered they lodged an FIR in which they suspected the hand of doctor, a property dealer and one more person. The SP said on May 27 , however, the complainant gave in writing that he did not want any action against the persons named in the FIR. But later, Mr Raman said he was pressurised to give the application, a point denied by the SP. The SP said the investigation revealed that the abduction was related to a dispute over the purchase of a plot between an employee of a local doctor who wanted to purchase the plot and Dr Shankar’s family which owned the plot. The buyers had reportedly given a huge amount as advance to the family which allegedly backed out of the deal subsequently. Mr Deo said the police had launched a campaign to trace Dr Shankar and had even distributed posters in the neighbouring districts. The police even visited a number of places of friends and relatives of the victim to find his whereabouts. He said the investigating officer, CIA, Inspector Mohinder Singh Malik, sensed something fishy during the investigation due to some contradictory statements of family members of the victim. Subsequently, he deployed some policemen in plain clothes to watch the movements of the family members and came to know that Dr Shankar was admitted to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. He was brought to Kaithal on Thursday by a police party and was medically examined at the local Civil Hospital. His body bore 14 injuries. The SP said “strangely” the matter regarding the injuries was not brought to the notice of the police. Dr Shankar’s family alleged that the police forcibly got him released from the hospital. The family members said they had managed to rescue of Dr Shankar by paying ransom to the abductors. The SP said investigation revealed that the abduction was managed by the family to “digest” the advance money received for the sale of the plot. |
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Unique scheme to
collect arrears ROHTAK, June 7 — Avoiding direct confrontation with the farmers, the government was contemplating involving panchayats in the recovery of arrears of the electricity bills which have crossed the staggering figure of Rs 750 crore. Although the scheme of waiving surcharge and interest if the outstanding bill was paid by May 31 has met with limited success, the administration does not appear to be discouraged. “Is it not an achievement that over 15 per cent of the defaulting consumers have paid the outstanding bills”, asks the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rajesh Khullar. The propaganda of the Bharatiya Kisan Union activists against the payment of outstanding bills notwithstanding, the erring consumers appear to have realised that there was no escape without paying the arrears of the bills. They seem to be hoping against hope that the government may waive the outstanding bills under some pressure. The Deputy Commissioner, Sonepat, Mr Sudhir Rajpal, told The Tribune that the panchayats might get some commission on the amount collected through them. The modalities, he said, were being worked out and a final decision was likely to be taken in a few days’ time. The Bansi Lal government had also been toying with the proposal to involve the panchayats in the recovery of outstanding bills. Since the ruling INLD commands vast following among the peasantry, it was hopeful that the scheme would prove successful. The commission earned by the panchayats by collecting the bills could be spent on the development of the village, added Mr Rajpal, the author of this novel scheme. The HVPN officials, however, are not very enthusiastic about the success of the proposed scheme. Their argument is that in a majority of the villages, the panchayats comprise of those who are themselves defaulters. The government should, therefore, not expect much from these panchayats, a senior HVPN functionary said on condition of anonymity. The HVPN on the other hand had decided to invoke provisions of the Land Revenue Act to recover the outstanding bills. Under the Act, the outstanding amount of the electricity bill would be converted into arrears of land revenue and then proceedings should be launched to recover the amount. The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has advised the subdivisions (operation) under its jurisdiction to process at least five cases every month for recovery of the defaulting amount against the Land Revenue Act 1970. |
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2 shot, 12 injured in
family clash SONEPAT, June 7 — Two persons were shot dead and 12, including a woman, were injured in a fierce clash between the families of two brothers at Khandrai village, about 45 km from here, yesterday. According to preliminary reports, firearms, sharp-edged weapons and lathis etc. were used freely. The victims have been identified as Mr Zile Singh, son of Mr Nathu and Mr Rohtas, grandson of Mr Inder Singh, son of Mr Zail Singh, the victim, Zile Singh. The condition of the two injured persons is stated to be serious and they have been sent to the medical college hospital at Rohtak for treatment. It is stated that the dispute over money between the two brothers started around 11 a.m. resulting in violence. While Mr Zile Singh died on the spot. Rohtas died at the community health centre in Gohana town. The police has registered a case against the alleged assailants, including Om Parkash, Satbir, Ram Bhaj, Surinder, Sanjay, Om Parkash and Sunil who have absconded. According to some residents, Mr Jagroop Singh, Additional Superintendent of Police, reached the village six hours after the
incident. |
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Abhay sworn in CHANDIGARH, June 7
- Mr Abhay Chautala, was sworn in as an MLA by the
Speaker, Mr Satbir Singh Kadyan, at a brief ceremony at
the committee room of the Assembly building here
today. Abhay, who returned from the Rori seat vacated by
his father by a record margin of more than 86,000 votes,
attributed his spectacular victory to the performance of
the INLD. When asked that his supporters in Rori might
want him to become a minister, Mr Abhay Chautala said that
for the people of Rori he had been like a minister for
the last 15 years as he stood by them during their travails. He said that he had no desire to become a
minister, and added that there were other MLAs who could
be given Cabinet berths in case of an expansion. He said
that as an MLA his most important work for his
constituency would be to ensure supply of water and
electricity in the Rori area. He said that five villages
in the constituency got drinking and irrigation water
because of his efforts. Water logging too is a massive
problem, he said and added that work in this regard has
been initiated which is expected to be completed by June
15 next. A large number of ministers and MLAs, including
Town and Country Planning Minister Dhirpal Singh, Social
Welfare Minister Rishal Singh, Health Minister M L Ranga,
Cooperation Minister Kartar Singh Badhana, Education
Minister Bahadur Singh, Deputy Speaker Gopi Chand Gahlot,
attended the swearing- in ceremony. Hundreds of
supporters, some of whom came along with the ministers,
had turned up for the function. Despite best efforts by
the Assembly staff, a large number of supporters managed
to get inside the committee room and jostled with each
other to have a glimpse of Mr Chautala . The family
members of the MLA, including his mother, wife and sons
were also present in the ceremony. He touched his mother's
feet and sought her blessings soon after he was sworn in. |
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Power bill defaulters can pay up by June
15 CHANDIGARH, June 7 — The Haryana Chief
Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, said here today that
the defaulting power consumers would be given a chance to
settle their bills by June 15. It may be recalled that
the government had earlier fixed May 31 as the deadline
for payment of the pending bills. Mr Chautala, who was
responding to questions during a press conference held at
his residence today, said that while many of the
agricultural and industrial consumers paid the arrears,
large number of domestic consumers did not come forward
to settle their bills. He said that harsh actions such as
snapping of lines might not work against the defaulters
as they would then take recourse to getting connections
from the neighbouring houses. “ We are doing tight
rope walking”, the Chief Minister said and added
that in-built deficiencies in the system had also led to
non-payment by the consumers. The Chief Minister also
added that he was in favour of nationalisation of the
power sector and water resources in the country, and said
that he would reiterate this demand when the next meeting
of the NDA would be held. He said that when he raised the
demand of transfer of these two subjects to the central
list last time during the meeting of the NDA, he was
supported by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr M.
Karunanidhi. “Let them be transferred to the central
list and the Centre may allocate power and water to the
States according to their needs”, he said. Earlier
the Chief Minister talked about the problems in Fiji, and
said that a resolution, condemning the toppling of the
democratically elected government of Fiji, was passed at
a meeting of the INLD legislators and the Independent
MLAs supporting the government, today. Mr Satbir Singh
Kadian and five INLD MLAs also met the Prime Minister, Mr
Atal Behari Vajpayee, at the Chandigarh airport today and
gave him a memorandum expressing concern at the
developments in Fiji, Mr Chautala said. “The
developments in Fiji are not only dangerous for the
Indian settlers, but it will lead to problems for the
ethnic Fijians as well”, he said. Mr Chautala said
that he had already asked the Union Government for
mobilising international opinion and taking other
measures to restore the democratically elected government
of Fiji. He expressed satisfaction at the Vajpayee
government’s decision to send a team of observers to
Fiji. On the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr M.
Karunanidhi’s statement on balkanisation of Sri
Lanka, Mr Chautala said that he should not have talked
about internal matters of another country. He said that
the manner in which Mr Karunanidhi had aired his views
would undermine the unity of the NDA. Mr Chautala said
that in case of a Cabinet expansion, he would prefer to
give young legislators berths in the ministry. He,
however, categorically said that Abhay Chautala would not
be considered for a ministerial berth. |
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Grover: don’t make English compulsory CHANDIGARH,
June 7 — The Haryana BJP today turned a volte-face
on the issue of introduction of English in the state-run
schools from class one. The ruling INLD in Haryana
propose to introduce English as a subject from class one
in the new education policy currently being framed in
tune with its election manifesto. Various leaders of the
Haryana BJP, including its President, Mr Om Prakash
Grover, had in the past opposed the introduction of
English in the schools at the entry level. However, its
leaders, including Mr Grover, former leader of the BJP
legislature group, Mr Ram Bilas Sharma, General
Secretaries, Mr Manohar Lal Khattar and Mr Om Prakash
Dhankar, today clarified that their party was not opposed
to the introduction of English as a subject in the
schools from class one. They, however, said they were
opposed to English as a medium of instruction in schools
from class one. Mr Grover and Mr Sharma, who has been an
educationist, said the BJP also wanted that English
should not be made compulsory in the examinations of
middle, 10th and plus two classes which were conducted by
Haryana Board of Education. Incidentally the INLD or its
government has never talked about introducing English as
a medium of instruction in the schools. Earlier, in the
day when it was pointed out to the Chief Minister, Mr Om
Prakash Chautala, that the BJP was opposed to the
introduction of English as a subject from class one, he
had replied that a final decision was yet to be taken and
he would give due weightage to the sentiments of the BJP.
He also added that though he too was a supporter of
Hindi, the ground reality could not be ignored.
“When we are talking of information technology, can
English be ignored,” he said. All the six BJP MLAs
led by Mr Grover and accompanied by Mr Sharma and Mr
Dhankar met Mr Chautala in the evening and submitted a
memorandum to him. They urged that the decision to impose
various taxes like the Local Area Development Tax, house
tax as per a new formula, establishment tax, entry tax on
vehicles, fire and sanitation taxes, should be
reconsidered. They are believed to have told the Chief
Minister that since all these taxes affected a particular
section of society, a wrong signal had gone out to the
people. The BJP also demanded that all those civic
bodies which were abolished recently and were not in loss
should be revived. The remaining committees should be
given the status of nagar panchayats. Mr Grover said Mr
Chautala assured the BJP delegation that he would convene
a meeting of the BJP leaders along with senior officers
to consider their demands. Incidentally the BJP
legislature group held a separate meeting. It did not
participate in the meeting of INLD legislators and its
supporting parties, including independents. |
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21 cr allocated for expanding mandis CHANDIGARH,
June 7 — The Haryana Government has allocated Rs 21
crore for the development and expansion of mandis to
provide better market facilities to farmers during the
current financial year. While stating this here today,
the Agriculture Minister, Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, said
the setting up of new markets would help the farmers by
efficient regulation of the sale, purchase, storage and
processing of their agricultural produce in state
mandis. The minister said that the government has
already initiated the process for acquiring the land
required for setting up many new grain and vegetable
markets at different places in the state. The new
projects included grain and vegetable markets at Dabwali,
Narwana, Chautala, Narnaul, Pataudi, Babarpur, Bhuna,
Uklana, Siwan, Julana, Nissing and Hisar. The expansion
and development of new vegetable markets at Palwal,
Gohana, Ladwa, Charkhi Dadri, Uklana, Narwana, Sample,
Siwan, Ambala Cantt, Fatehabad and construction of many
new purchase centres were under the consideration of the
government. The minister said that 33 covered platforms
in about 15 new vegetable markets would be constructed to
safeguard the agricultural produce of the farmers from
sun and rain. A sum of Rs 14 crore was estimated to be
incurred on this project. He said that the present state
government had reduced the market fee on 21 agriculture
products, including gram, maize, bajra, jower and
oilseeds from 2 per cent to 1 per cent from January this
year. The reduction of market fee had greatly benefited
the agro-based industries and helped the farmers in
competing with their counterparts in neighbouring states.
Despite the reduction in the market fee, the government
set a new record in the realisation of market fee worth
Rs 105.30 crore in the last financial year. |
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Rohtak MC chief still not elected ROHTAK, June 7 — The president of the Municipal Council of Rohtak has not been elected so far while more than two months have passed since the elections were held to elect 31 members of the council. This has not only been hampering the development works in the town but also causing resentment among members. The Indian National Lok Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party have been making efforts to get their candidate elected as the new civic body chief. It is learnt that certain differences over the issue have been causing an impasse. Both these parties have been claiming that they have 10 or more members in the council and are ready to join hands as they did for the assembly elections. The president of the district unit of the INLD, Mr Balwant Singh Mayna, told mediapersons here yesterday nine members of various wards had announced they would join the INLD. It may be recalled that only the BJP had contested this election on party symbol. The efforts to elect president of the municipal council had failed on May 25 as the required strength (quorum) had not turned up. Mr Mayna said the president of the municipal council was likely to be elected next week. He said the final decision had been left on the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, after a meeting with BJP leaders. On the other hand local Congress leaders have claimed that the majority in the council rested with it and the BJP and the INLD had been making false claims. Congress leaders allege certain INLD leaders and workers have been engaged in luring the members who were inclined towards the Congress or were Independents. They say the delay in electing the president had highlighted the differences between the BJP and the INLD. The two parties wanted to install their man as the new president by employing force. The INLD leaders have denied all such charges and claimed that some of the elected members have come on their own to the party. The INLD has meanwhile claimed that with eight members joining hands with it the party has got cent per cent majority in Kalanaur block samiti which is also due to elect its president soon. |
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Return of newsreels CHANDIGARH, June 7 — People in the age
group of thirty and above will have a sense of deja vu
when they go to a movie theatre in Haryana next time.
Because the newsreels, the wonderful black and white
stuff which used to give visuals of events in the
pre-television days, is making a comeback in the
State. The newsreels made an exit from cinema theatres
in the seventies, and the reason for this is stated to be
a court order. One of the essential conditions for
obtaining licences for movie theatres was that the
newsreel capsules must be screened and further, the
theatre owners must pay 1 per cent as tax to the Film
Division for making the visuals available to them. The
theatre owners challenged the rule in the court which
upheld their petition. The Information and Broadcasting
Ministry did not give up but its appeal was turned down
again by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in an order on
last August 31, 1995. Subsequently, the I & B
Ministry filed an special leave petition (SLP) in the
Supreme Court. It was lucky this time as the SC, in its
order dated July 21, 1999, upheld the validity of
compulsory exhibition of “approved films on
scientific, educational or news or current affair related
events”, and it also okayed payment of 1 per cent to
the suppliers of the films. When a letter written by the
I & B Ministry to the Haryana Chief Secretary for
re-starting the screening of the newsreels was forwarded
to the Public Relations Department, the ever active PR
Department decided that such an opportunity should not go
waste. In the seventies too the State governments
screened news capsules in the theatres and the PRD wanted
to repeat this act. The PRD has a swanky 35 mm movie
camera and an experienced cameraman. Things were soon set
in motion and a 10 minutes capsule was prepared on the
major events during last three months such as the
swearing-in ceremony of ministers, the first Cabinet
meeting, the Budget session of the Assembly and so on.
The film has been sent to Mumbai now for processing and
the whole thing is being accomplished within the
amazingly low cost of Rs 1 lakh only. Nevertheless, the
film has been shot in colour. The film will have a voice
over and all the trappings of the old newsreels. The
officials in the DPR are now waiting for the film’s
return to Haryana so that it can be screened in cinema
theatres, which is likely to be sometime next week.
Before that Deputy Commissioners will be given
instructions to make the screening of newsreels mandatory
in their respective areas. It will be shown either before
the movie or before the movie resumes after the
interval. Since this is being started on an experimental
basis, the 1 per cent tax will not be charged by the
State government, official sources said. If the idea
clicks, the DPR will consider making capsules on a
monthly basis, sources said. |
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Haryana to have
more MOs, SMOs CHANDIGARH, June 7 — The Haryana
Government will recruit 100 medical officers (MOs) and 15
senior medical officers (SMOs) shortly. While stating
this here today, Dr M.L. Ranga, Minister of State for
Health, Haryana, said most of the medical officers would
be posted in the rural areas. Better health facilities
were available in urban areas due to private
super-speciality hospitals. He said 43 medical officers
would be promoted shortly as senior medical
officers. The Minister said that the state government
had earmarked Rs 6 crore during the current financial
year for providing medicines to the people against Rs 5
crore during the previous year. He said that Rs 1.25
crore had been earmarked to purchase the latest equipment
and machinery during the current financial year. |
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VSNL users lose Net
hours AMBALA, June 7 — The subscribers who access the Internet through the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited are having sleepless nights over loss of hours for the past few days. The users also complain of their inability to change password and to send e-mail. This, they say, is besides the frequent snapping of connection which is quite common. In the beginning of this month, the Internet users of Ambala who access the net through the VSNL were in for a shock when they discovered that their user hours were steadily diminishing without their having utilised the hours. Telecom officials say that they are aware of the problem and working on it. They are hopeful that the problem will be sorted out very soon and assure that the users will not lose their user hours. Dr Vinay Malhotra, a college lecturer, suddenly started to lose internet hours in the beginning of the month. "I was shocked to see that despite having not utilised my Internet hours, I have lost nearly 15 hours. Fearing that my hours were being stolen, I tried to change my password, but the computer would not change the password. It is a very worrying situation," he said. Rohit's Internet hours too are diminishing at a fast pace. "On Monday last week I had taken 100 hours through the VSNL. When I opened the account, I found that it was already two hours less. Now I am down to 50 hours without having even once been able to surf the net," he said. He said that the officials concerned have assured that he would not suffer any loss of user hours. "It troubles me a lot that I am losing hours at such a rapid pace. For the past few days, they are saying that they are upgrading. But I wonder how long it take to upgrade a system and I hope that I am not actually losing so many hours," he said. Dr Anil Jain says that he has lost about 15 hours in the past few days. "First I thought that the user hours may have been consumed. But later I learnt that problem was somewhere else." He observed that the loss of user hours is a very serious situation. "After all, the world today is looking towards e-commerce which is purely based on the Internet. If consumers lose Internet hours, one cannot rule out the possibility of someone stealing the credit card number. That would definitely hamper the prospect of growth of e-commerce here," he said. Dr Jain said that VSNL is today facing stiff competition from a number of private providers. "VSNL must take immediate steps to ensure that they do not lose out to competition. They must keep in mind the security aspect especially for e-commerce. While the western world is moving towards shopping through the net, we will face a host of problems if VSNL does not take prompt remedial action," he said. Dr Sushil Kansal, a lecturer, said that he too had lost several hours. "I have been assured that officials are working on the problem and it is going to be sorted out soon. Only then will I be able to surf the net," he said. According to the Deputy General Manager, Mr M. S. Dhillon, the problem is being sorted out. "We are conscious of the problem and are working to solve it. We are sure that it will be solved today itself," he said. Mr Dhillon explained that the problem came up because of the change-over from the old node to new node. "Regarding the loss of user hours, we have already sent a fax to the officials concerned to ensure that the VSNL users here do not lose the hours. We have requested that the hours should be the same from the time that the problem cropped up," he said. Incidentally, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited recently slashed is Internet rates for the monsoon package by 50 per cent and offered free night access. Under the special package, customers will now be
able to access the Internet free from 11 pm to 6 am on
all working days and for full day on Sunday. All
customers registering from VSNL's Internet service during
the special offer period (June 1 to July 31) will be able
to avail themselves of 50 per cent discount and the free
night access for the duration of the VSNL account which
is three years.  |
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Summer camps gaining
popularity AMBALA, June 7 — To keep the children fruitfully occupied, specially during the long summer holidays can be a major problem for parents. The children, too, feel boxed up as there are limited avenues where they can channelise their energy. But there is something to look forward to for parents as well as children since summer camps are being organised wherein the children not only learn, they also have a lot of fun while learning. Summer camps for children are gaining popularity here. Keeping in view the latent talent among children in the age group up to 12 years, a railway official, Mr Ashok Kumar, is running “Chunmun Club”. “Within a short span of time, several children have been introduced to the art of dances like classical, folk, light and western. No training charges are taken by the Chunmun Club and the children have already given programme organised at several places,” he said. Mr Kumar, who is posted in Ambala Division along with his wife, Monika, takes keen interest in the activities for children. “We came up with the idea for a club for children so that they could be imparted training in various dance forms. Till now Chunmun Club used to train the club members and this year to interact with others, the club invited civilian children to occupy their summer vacations by joining free dance workshop,” he said. The dance workshop is going to be run for a period of one month at Rajkiya Primary School, near Subzi Mandi, Ambala Cantonment. “We received about 526 applications belonging to various schools and after screening by experts, almost 85 children were selected for training. The children have now been divided into four groups. Group A classical trainers are Dr Dinesh Verma and Monika Sharma, Group B light trainers are Ms Sunita Kashyap and Ms Ritu Walia, Group C folk trainers are Ms Kavita Sharma and Ms Kanupriya Sharma, Group D western trainers are Mr Ramesh and Ms Niti Saxena,” Mr Kumar, who is also the assistant cultural officer of Northen Railway Officers Club, said. Another well attended summer camp for children is the “Buds to Blooms” camp which concluded recently at the Arya Girls College, Ambala cantonment. According to chief organiser of the summer camp, Ms Mamta Chahal, the 12 days camp was fully packed with various activities to tap and develop talents and interests of the children. “Workshops like creative arts, creative writing, creative speaking, theatre, origamy were conducted with the help of professional faculties,” she said. Special emphasis was given to dance and music and interactive games for promoting coordination skills of children. The parents were also involved in the concluding part of the personality development workshop wherein they were counselled about issues relating to children with the help of experts from pediatrics medicine. Dental checkup was also arranged for the children, Ms Chahal said. The summer camps not
only keep the children occupied but they are also happy
learning something new. What more can a parent want than
the happiness of the child, a parent said. And that seems
to be the essence of the summer camps which are becoming
popular here by the hardwork of their organisers. |
|
3 killed in
road accident AMBALA, June 7 — Three persons were killed and one minor girl injured in a road accident on the Ambala-Chandigarh road, near Sadopur village, here this morning. The minor girl, who sustained serious injuries, was rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh. According to hospital sources, the deceased were identified as Rakesh Kumar, Sonu and Sudesh Rani. The deceased were on the way to Ambala when their car collided with a truck, 2 km away from Ambala. They belonged to Panchkula. Hospital sources said that the deceased were brought dead to the hospital. After conducting the post-mortem the bodies were handed over to their relatives. The traffic on the Ambala-Chandigarh road remained disrupted for two hours. The police has
registered a case against the truck driver. |
|
Cop arrested ROHTAK, June 7 — A Delhi policeman has been arrested on charges of carrying a fake identity card of Haryana Police. According to police sources, the accused, identified as Naseeb Singh, hailing from Jhajjar district and employed in Delhi Police was arrested yesterday. He was reportedly possessing a fake identity card of Haryana Police during a checking at Delhi Road by the police. A case under Sections 419, 420, 468 and 471 of the IPC has been registered. Meanwhile, an unlicensed revolver of 315 bore was recovered from Arun Kumar of Gandhi Camp after a
raid. A case has been
booked. |
|
Manager shot at,
robbed of 50,000 FARIDABAD, June 7 — Three persons armed with country-made pistols shot at manager of a rubber factory this afternoon and looted Rs 50,000 from him. Mr
R.S. Ahuja, manager, had withdrawn Rs 1 lakh from a bank to distribute salary to the employees. As he was disbursing the salary, three persons barged into his cabin and demanded money at pistol point. When he refused, they shot at Mr Ahuja and escaped with the money. Mr Ahuja has been admitted to a private hospital. |
|
New tourist complex
at Rai ROHTAK, June 7 — The Haryana Tourism will inaugurate a tourist complex at Rai shortly. The complex has been designed on 13 acres and is situated 7 km from the Delhi-Haryana border on the National Highway No. 1. Speaking to mediapersons here today, Dr Harbakhsh Singh, Commissioner and Tourism Secretary, Haryana, said the project aimed at providing modern facilities to highway travellers. He said the Murthal, Kundli, Rai and Samalkha areas were developing at a fast pace and a large number of industrial houses were keen on setting up their ventures there. The new complex at Rai would have modern luxurious rooms, fast food, convention hall, bar, restaurant, shopping arcade, public facilities, etc, he said. |
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