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| Tuesday, June 20, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Vocationalise
BA courses: panel
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| Feminine touch to Raj Bhavan CHANDIGARH, June 19 — If the official circles in Haryana are trying to figure out how good Babu Parmanand will be as a Governor, the domestic staff of the Raj Bhavan is worried about Babu Parmanand’s wife. PFA drive against illegal slaughter ROHTAK, June 19 — The Haryana unit of People for Animals (PFA), an organisation set up for the welfare of animals, has stepped up its campaign against illegal slaughter and cruelty to animals. Chautala for 60 pc import duty on milk products CHANDIGARH, June 18 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, today urged the Centre to impose at least 60 per cent import duty on all dairy products so as to safeguard the interests of domestic milk producers, who would be adversely affected as a result of its decision to abolish import duty on such products. School building needs attention KALKA June 19 — A government school is running in a Rest House constructed during the British regime. Neither the railway authorities nor the Education Department, has bothered to pay attention to the poor condition of the building. This school is located near the Railway Station. Govt to charge fee for lab tests SONEPAT, June 19 — The Haryana Government will charge fee for conducting various laboratory tests, X-rays and ECG etc, from patients visiting its hospitals, dispensaries, community and primary health centres and health sub-centres in the state. Domestic rates for MC tubewells FARIDABAD, June 19 — The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam will charge domestic rates for energy used by tubewells of the Faridabad Municipal Corporation. This was announced by Mr Om Prakash Chautala at a meeting of the heads of the local bodies in Chandigarh yesterday. Krishak Samaj threatens protest YAMUNANAGAR, June 19 — The Haryana Krishak Samaj has decided to organise a protest if its demands are not conceded and the enhanced taxes and prices are not withdrawn. Maxi cab owners to stage dharna HISAR, June 19 — Maxi cab owners will stage a dharna, in front of the residence of the Commissioner (Hisar division) here on Tuesday, in protest against the ban imposed on the entry of the cabs within the municipal limits of nagar parishad by the administration.
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Vocationalise BA courses: panel KARNAL, June 19 — A high-level committee comprising the Principals of non-government colleges of the north-east zone of Haryana has recommended to the state government that the “first degree of education” should be vocationalised so that the youth got gainful employment after attaining a degree. The committee, which met under the chairmanship of the Director, Higher Education, in May to consider the introduction of new vocational courses at the college level in order to relate higher education to the changing demands of society, has further recommended that the procedures should be cut short to introduce new vocational courses from the coming academic session. The committee felt that the State was already lagging behind southern states as far as the introduction of vocational courses was concerned. The students from the southern states, had a natural advantage to get jobs in the private sector, whereas the students of Haryana were deprived of this opportunity because the state had not so far been able to draft its new educational policy in consonance with the “globalisation of economy” and the changing demands of work in the world. The committee comprises principals of MLN College, Yamunanagar, SD College, Ambala Cantonment, Dyal Singh College, Karnal, RKSD College, Kaithal, DN College, Hisar, SD College, Panipat, and Arya Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Panipat. Besides, the Director of Higher Education, the Joint Director of Colleges and the Assistant Director (Administration) were also present at the deliberations of this high-level committee. The committee recommended that the non-government colleges should be allowed to start vocational courses recognised by the UGC and other such courses which were now coming up in view of the new information technology policy announced by the Centre as well as the state government. For this purpose a sub-committee comprising Dr Ramesh Kumar, Principal, MLN College, Yamunanagar, Mr Deshbandhu, Principal, SD College, Ambala Cantonment and Dr K.K. Sirohi, Principal, RKSD College, Kaithal, was constituted to suggest the list of courses which should be introduced from the ensuing academic session. The committee was of the view that if speedy steps were not taken to introduce new courses, the state would be at a disadvantage for the placement of its manpower in the national capital where vast new openings and placements were available to the youth. For this purpose the committee wanted that higher education should be made more and more self-sustaining and income generating. The government confined its investment at the elementary stage of education itself. For the government the elementary education should be the priority area, it added. The committee felt that in the past, non-government colleges had not been able to introduce new vocational courses in a big way due to various factors such as limited resources, no fee structure and the absence of massive infrastructure and equipment. The recommendations of
the committee were exclusively made available to the
Tribune today by official sources. The committee wanted
that the non-government colleges, which had the requisite
infrastructure and capacity to invest should be allowed
to start these courses from the ensuring session itself.
For this purpose, the government should issue a directive
to the universities to which such colleges were
affiliated. |
Eight
train passengers
drugged, looted AMBALA June 19 — Eight passengers travelling by the Jansewa train were drugged and looted of their belonging early this morning. The incident came to light when the train reached Ambala cantonment railway station. The eight labourers were found unconscious when the Jansewa train (No 5210) reached here. The railway police immediately called the railway doctor and the labourers were then shifted to Civil Hospital. A labourer, Ravinder, who was just regaining consciousness in the evening at the hospital, said that their group had been served tea. "After taking the tea, I fell drowsy. It is only now that I am regaining consciousness," he said. He said: ''I hail from Bihar and regularly come to Punjab searching for work. I was going home after earning money for my family after about a year." Still feeling groggy, he kept on swaying from side to side. He said: "I had heard that such things happen but now my hard work has been lost. The rest of the persons are yet to regain consciousness The doctor on duty, Dr Satish Kumar, said that it would take some time before they regained complete consciousness. "It is a case of drugging," he said. This is the second such incident this year. A few months back, several labourers were found drugged and looted of their belongings. The labourers then had told the police that they had been served tea and had also been given biscuits. The labourers at that
time had also informed the police that soon after taking
tea and biscuit, they had fallen unconscious and only
regained senses at the hospital. |
VSNL
monsoon
package users cheated AMBALA June 19 — The users who access the internet through Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) here have not been able to avail of the recently announced monsoon package. While telecom officials say they are aware of the problem and that it is being sorted out, the VSNL users feel that for no fault of theirs they are being let down. The VSNL users point out that as per the VSNL's offer via e-mail, all subscribers who have got their accounts renewed after the reduction in the internet rates by the VSNL are entitled to have their validity period increased from one year to three years. Dr Sushil Kansal, a lecturer at SD College, said that his account information showed the validity was still for one year. "As per the VSNL announcement, a monsoon package, which became effective on June 1, 2000, is being denied to subscribes of the internet from Ambala," Dr Kansal stated. He stated that in all printed documents relating to fresh internet connections or renewals, the VSNL rates had been mentioned and followed since the service became operational in Ambala. The General Manager, Telecom, Mr G.S. Dharia, said that they were conscious of the fact that the VSNL users here had not been able to avail of the monsoon package. "We have already taken up the matter with the officials concerned so that, besides the internet users of Ambala, all the users of the VSNL in the SSAs too can avail of the monsoon package at the earliest," he said. Mr Dharia said that all efforts were being made by the telecom department to ensure that the VSNL users could avail of the recently announced monsoon package. "Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited is offering its services through us and we also collect payments from the subscribers. Regarding the monsoon package, we are yet to receive formal intimation about the slashing of the rates and also the increase in the validity," he said. He said that the telecom department was keen that the problem got solved at the earliest so that people could easily avail of the new package. This is the second time this month that the VSNL users are facing problems. Earlier this month, the internet users complained of losing internet hours, their inability to change password and to send e-mail. This, they say, is besides the frequent snapping of connections 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 said that the problem came up due to shift to a newer technology and the change of nodes. They said that the matter had since been sorted out. Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited recently slashed its internet rates for the monsoon package by 50 per cent and offered free night access. Under the monsoon
package, customers will now be able to access the
internet free from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on all working days
and for full day on Sunday. All customers registering
with the VSNL internet service during the special offer
period (June 1 to July 31) will be able to avail of 50
per cent discount and the free night access for the
duration of the VSNL account which is three years. |
Manchanda is front-runner CHANDIGARH, June 19 — Mr Atam Prakash Manchanda, a former Additional Advocate-General of Haryana, has emerged as the front-runner for the post of President of the Haryana unit of the BJP, for which election will be held on June 21. The nominations will be filed tomorrow, though the tradition in the party has been of unanimous elections. Besides Mr Manchanda, the name of Mr Om Prakash Dhankar, General Secretary of the Haryana BJP, is also making rounds. The party wants to give a position of responsibility at the national level to Mr Ram Bilas Sharma, who is considered to be the tallest among the Haryana BJP leaders and is a good orator. Since the BJP is supporting the Chautala government from outside, the question who leads the party for the next three years has assumed added importance. The party leadership wants that the new party Preside should be able to not only check the downward slide the Haryana BJP has been facing for the past several months but also broadbase its fold, without coming into a direct clash with the ruling INLD. The Chautala government has a majority of its own in the House. The INLD has five MPs to support the Vajpayee government at the Centre where the BJP is dependent upon its allies to remain in power. Prima facie the BJP needs the INLD more than the latter needs the former in the state. Still the BJP support to the Chautala government is crucial in the state known for mercurial temperament of its MLAs. The BJP support to the Chautala government is an effective check on ambitious and adventurous MLAs, if any, of the INLD. It is also true that the Haryana BJP finds itself caught in a cleft. Neither it has sufficient say in the affairs of the state to call itself a ruling party nor it has the guts (because of compulsions at the Centre) to play the role of an Opposition party. The BJP has real or imaginary reasons to believe that to a large extent the INLD is responsible for its poor performance in the last Assembly elections. By appointing Babu Parmanand as the Governor of Haryana without consulting the Chief Minister, as the custom is, the BJP leadership has tried to send a message to its ally in the state that it should take the BJP seriously. After several months of sulking, the BJP leaders, who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Babu Parmanand here today, were beaming with joy. Left to Mr Chautala, he would have preferred another tenure for the outgoing Governor, Mr Mahabir Prasad. There is a section in
the Haryana BJP which feels that to complete the message,
the post of party President should go to a Jat leader and
that too to Mr Chautala’s bete noire, Mr Kishan
Singh Sangwan, MP from Sonepat. But the BJP top brass may
not like to ruffle the INLD feathers too hard at this
juncture. It is here where the mild-mannered Manchanda
scores over the others. |
Feminine touch to Raj Bhavan CHANDIGARH, June 19 — If the official circles in Haryana are trying to figure out how good Babu Parmanand will be as a Governor, the domestic staff of the Raj Bhavan is worried about Babu Parmanand’s wife. Ms Sudesh Kumari, Babu Parmanand’s wife, is quite amiable and hardly looks intimidating. But she makes one thing very clear, that she is going to take active interest in the household affairs. “I like cooking and I am also interested in looking after other household things, I am going to take care of these things here as well”, says the Lady Governor while fondly caressing her grand daughter. And that is precisely what the domestic staff are worried about. There are two kitchens in the Raj Bhavan, including a personal kitchen for the Governor. The kitchens are manned by a staff of four comprising two cooks and two helpers. There is also a controller of household, a senior officer, who looks after the interior of the Raj Bhavan as well as cleaning and other staff. As the outgoing Governor Mr Mahavir Prasad was a widower and his predecessor Mr D.L. Mandal too was a widower, the household staff virtually had a free hand in the domestic arena for the past 10 years. “ We are a bit nervous because a lady obviously is not going to to let us get away with any sloppy work”, say some members of the Raj Bhavan’s household staff. Ms Sudesh Kumari, however, has got jobs to do outside her home as well. The Lady Governor is the chairperson of a number of voluntary organisations such as the Red Cross Society, the Hind Kushth Nibarani Sabha, St Johns Ambulance Society, the Jain Welfare Society and so on. Besides, she is also invited as the chief guest in numerous functions. While, Mr Prasad and Mr Mandal had took it upon themselves to grace the offices of the voluntary organisations, organisers of the dog shows and flower shows had to search for a substitute chief guest in the absence of a First Lady of Haryana. Ms Sudesh Kumari, who was a teacher in Jammu Government Girls School till she retired in 1995, says that this is not something new for her as she is used to accompanying her husband to various functions. Born in Jalandhar some 63 years back, her marriage with Babu Parmanand took place in 1961. For her the job of teaching was as important as being the Lady Governor. Their two sons, one a doctor in Delhi, and the other an engineer with the J & K Government in Jammu, are the examples of the Lady Governor’s success as a teacher as it was she who looked after the two boys’ education while Babu Parmanand was busy in politics. The Lady Governor is
confident about her new role. “I am sure that I will
be able to handle both my domestic and external
duties”, she says with confidence. |
PFA drive against illegal
slaughter ROHTAK, June 19 — The Haryana unit of People for Animals (PFA), an organisation set up for the welfare of animals, has stepped up its campaign against illegal slaughter and cruelty to animals. The chairman of the PFA’s Haryana unit, Mr Naresh Kadian, said here yesterday that his organisation had been striving to get all illegal slaughter-houses in the state closed and provide better facilities for the care of unattended animals. Although an awareness campaign had been launched, cooperation from various sections of society was needed to highlight the issue. The methods used by a majority of slaughter houses were not proper, he claimed. He said an acid released in the stomach of an animal if slaughtering was done in front of it. Besides, the meat of injured animals was not good for consumption. He alleged that a majority of meat shops in the urban areas were not following norms and regulations and the authorities had not been taking any action against the violators. Expressing concern over growing use of ‘oxitocin’ injection for getting better yield of milk from milch cattle in various parts of the state, he said severe health problems could confront the consumers if the use of such a drug was not stopped. While the Haryana Government had either withdrawn the licences or cancelled the permission for manufacturing of oxytocin drug in the state, the illegal sale of ‘oxytocin’ had been going on and it needed to be checked with a heavy hand. He said there was a need to set up ‘enclosures’ for stray animals with help from people to look after them in a proper manner. He said the Union
Minister, Ms Maneka Gandhi, who had founded the PFA, had
taken special interest in expanding the activities of the
organisation in Haryana. He said an ambulance service for
animals and helpline (9632186073) of the Haryana, had
been launched recently. |
Chautala for 60 pc import duty on
milk products CHANDIGARH, June 18 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, today urged the Centre to impose at least 60 per cent import duty on all dairy products so as to safeguard the interests of domestic milk producers, who would be adversely affected as a result of its decision to abolish import duty on such products. Mr Chautala pointed out that this decision of the Centre would result in heavy imports of cheap milk and milk products. He pointed out that most of the milk producers were small and marginal farmers and landless persons, including women. The Chief Minister described India as the largest milk producing nation and Haryana as one of the leading milk producing States in the country. More than 1.24 crore litres of milk was produced in Haryana per day. The milk production had been increasing gradually. This had become possible due to the efforts of rural milk producers, many of whom were landless, small and marginal farmers, including those living below poverty line.
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ITBP medical conference
begins RAMGARH June 19 — A two-day super technical medical conference of the doctors of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) got under way at the Base Hospital here today. The aim of the conference is to interact and exchange clinical experience acquired from medical activities carried out among troops and civilians in far-flung areas of Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh where the force is posted. The conference was inaugurated by Mr Gautam Kaul, Director-General, ITBP. Addressing the participants, he said no such conference had been organised in the past decade and it was his endeavour to hold one every year without fail. In the past there was not tradition of annual accountability and stock taking. The medical staff had no interaction with their civilian peers and hence could not keep track of the latest developments in the field of medicine. But now a format had been drawn up and would be scrupulously followed. The conference would be held on schedule no matter whether there was a Director-General or not, he added in a lighter vein. The Director-General also expressed his concern at the lack of initiative taken by some staff members to keep themselves abreast of the latest in their field. This was very unfortunate since this would affect the quality of medicare being given to the patients. Mr Kaul emphasised on the importance of sharing one's experiences with their peers outside the force and learn the latest techniques from them. Mr Kaul earlier inaugurated a tread mill test (TMT) machine on the occasion. he was accompanied by Dr Samantray, Director, Medical, ITBP. On this occasion, Prof Yogesh Chawla, Head, Department of Hepatology, gave a lecture on the management of elevated liver enzymes, while Dr Anil Bansali, Department of Endocrinology, PGI, made a presentation on errors in the management of type-2 diabetes malletus. Each presentation was followed by a group discussion. Some common and typical cases found in the hilly border where the force is posted were also presented in clinical details by Dr M.V.K. Rao, Commandant, Base Hospital, Dr N. K. Yaduvanshi, CMO, and Dr A.K. Mukhopadhyay, medical specialist of the hospital. The ITBP has two
25-bedded base hospitals at Delhi and Ramgarh. |
School building needs attention KALKA June 19 — A government school is running in a Rest House constructed during the British regime. Neither the railway authorities nor the Education Department, has bothered to pay attention to the poor condition of the building. This school is located near the Railway Station. When Englishmen used to go to Shimla or Chail, they used it as a resting place before proceeding towards the hills. Though it is the property of the Railways, the school is being run by the Haryana Government. As the Railways had leased it out on a nominal rent to the Education Department of Haryana the railway authorities have little interest in it. The Education Department too is not paying attention and the worst affected are the students. More than 200 students
are enrolled in this co-educational school. Since the
rooms in the school are less, classes are being run under
the open sky. During the rains and summers, students of
two or three classes are accommodated in one room. Due to
shortage of rooms, there is no staff room for
teachers. |
Govt to charge fee for lab tests SONEPAT, June 19 — The Haryana Government will charge fee for conducting various laboratory tests, X-rays and ECG etc, from patients visiting its hospitals, dispensaries, community and primary health centres and health sub-centres in the state. According to official sources, the state Health Department has already fixed the charges between Rs 10 and Rs 250 and a circular to this effect has also been issued to all Civil Surgeons in the districts. The state government has, however, decided not to charge any fee from the persons living below the poverty line and such people would continue to get free treatment. Until now, free
laboratory tests were being carried on in these hospitals
and the state government was spending crores of rupees
annually for the purpose. |
Domestic rates for MC tubewells FARIDABAD, June 19 — The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam will charge domestic rates for energy used by tubewells of the Faridabad Municipal Corporation. This was announced by Mr Om Prakash Chautala at a meeting of the heads of the local bodies in Chandigarh yesterday. The decision of the Chief Minister fulfils the long-standing demand of the corporation which was in the mid of a serious financial problem. It would result in a big saving to the civic body which was paying Rs 5 crore annually to the nigam as electricity charges on commercial rates for running 315 tubewells in the city. Mr Chautala also said
the completion fee would now be collected by the
corporation and not HUDA. The rennywell scheme for
augmenting the water supply here would be implemented in
a time-bound manner. |
Krishak Samaj threatens protest YAMUNANAGAR, June 19 — The Haryana Krishak Samaj has decided to organise a protest if its demands are not conceded and the enhanced taxes and prices are not withdrawn. The spokesman for the Haryana Krishak Samaj, Mr Satpal Kaushik, said here today that a meeting of the executive committee of the samaj was held on June 16 under the chairmanship of Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala in Delhi. The meeting expressed resentment on the increase in the rate of interest by the cooperative banks while the rates were being decreased for the industry and the business community. The meeting demanded that the rates of interest being charged from farmers and weaker sections of the society should be brought down to 7 per cent and crop insurance be enforced. Mr Tejinder Singh Maan,
Mr Nirmal Singh, Prof Chhatarpal Singh, Mr Kirpa Ram
Punia, Mr Hira Nand Arya, Mr Dharmvir Yadav, Mr Bhale
Ram, ex-MLA, Gohana, Choudhry Hawa Singh Binjhol, Mr
Balwan Singh, Choudhery Dharam Pal Chhot and many other
leaders took part in the meeting. |
Maxi cab owners to stage dharna HISAR, June 19 — Maxi cab owners will stage a dharna, in front of the residence of the Commissioner (Hisar division) here on Tuesday, in protest against the ban imposed on the entry of the cabs within the municipal limits of nagar parishad by the administration. A decision to this
effect was taken by the Max Cabs Commander Union at its
meeting held here today. |
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