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| Tuesday, July 18, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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SC rejects Dangi’s bail plea Traders resent
levying of taxes, threaten stir Website on Haryana’s
culture well received Show-cause notice to
DIG for rule violation PANCHKULA, July 17 — Poultry farmers of northern India are up in arms against the machinations of a cartel of traders based in Delhi, which had been controlling the egg market of the region for the past about three decades. LIC official robbed of Rs 10.5 lakh |
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| Move to lift ban on NPA ‘unwarranted’ SONEPAT, July 17 — The Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) today opposed the state government’s move to lift ban on private practice by medical officers posted in government hospitals, dispensaries, community and primary health centres of the state and described it as unjust and unwarranted. Haryana BJP to
meet at Sonepat Houses washed away in
rain Rain causes waterlogging 3 killed in mishap
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SC rejects Dangi’s bail plea NEW DELHI, July 17 — The Supreme Court today rejected the anticipatory bail plea of the former Haryana Revenue Minister, Mr Anand Singh Dangi. The order was delivered by a division bench comprising Mr Justice M.B. Shah and Mr Justice S.N. Phukan. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had already dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of the former minister on July 8. The high court dismissed the plea of four petitioners in the case on the grounds that none of them were entitled to the concessions of anticipatory bail in view of the peculiar circumstances of the case. The state Vigilance Bureau, Ambala, on April 8, had registered a case against Mr Dangi and others under the Prevention of Corruption Act for the misuse of his official position as a public servant. The FIR alleged that during the period January 1, 1995 to June 21, 1996, Mr Dangi, the then Revenue Minister, sent for various files and by misusing his position and influence he got land allotted to various persons without even verifying their claims, some of whom were dead, thus causing huge loss running into crores of rupees to the state. In most of the cases, immediately after the file was sent by Mr Dangi, Mr Jagdish Sharma issued the allotment chit within 24 to 48 hours. It was discovered that in a large number of cases the claims were processed through attorney holder, the FIR said. While in 10 cases, Mr Ishwar Chand was the attorney holder, in another case, Mr Narinder and his brother Mr Harish had attorneys in their favour. The entire exercise was carried out by Mr Dangi in conspiracy with Mr Didar Singh, Tehsildar, Jagdish Rai, Tehsildar, Narinder Kumar, Ishwar, Harish Kumar, the FIR said. While causing huge loss to the State, the accused persons succeeded in making wrongful gains for themselves and others. The Advocate General of Haryana submitted that many irregularities had been discovered in the official files which were necessary to be investigated and for which custodial interrogation of the petitioner and others was essential. Stating that there was no political motive behind the case, the counsel submitted that during the tenure of Mr Bansi Lal as Chief Minister, the matter had been got investigated through the Commissioner, Ambala Division and large scale bungling had come to the notice of the government. Mr Mahender Mittal, another accused in the case had stated that he used to give Tehsildar Jagdish Rai Rs 1000 and Rs 5000 per acre to Mr Dangi for procuring such allotment. At that time, anticipatory bail pleas were filed by Mr Narinder Kumar and his brother Mr Harish as well as Rajinder Krishan, co-accused.
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Traders resent
levying of taxes, threaten stir ROHTAK, July17 — The Haryana Beopar Mandal has given a call for a state-wide bandh on July 25 to protest against the introduction of form 38 and imposition of taxes on the trading community. The Beopar Mandal Chief, Mr Lakshmi Chand Gupta, told newsmen after a meeting of the state executive that the traders resented the introduction of form 38 and levying of new taxes. The traders, he said, were also perturbed over the reports about the re-imposition of octroi. He alleged that the district administration was pressurising the municipal committees to adopt resolutions demanding reimposition of octroi. Another beopar mandal headed by Mr Bajrang Dass Garg has also threatened to call statewide bandh if the government failed to abrogate its decision on introduction of form 38 and withdraw new taxes imposed in the wake of abolition of octroi. The Halwai Union of Haryana has also decided to observe complete bandh on July 25 to protest against the imposition of professional tax on them. Disputing the government decision to introduce form 38, Mr Garg yesterday told reporters at Jind that as per the prevailing rules, the traders were required to submit various forms about the sale and purchase of goods. These forms are ST-12, 12A, 23, 23-A, 24 and 24-A. He then questioned the need for introducing the form 38. The Faridabad Small Industries Association has also said that introduction of form 38 will be a set back to trade. The association’s general secretary, Mr Rajiv Chawla has said small industries and traders would feel the pinch because of lack of office staff and infrastructure to maintain the same. Mr Chawla said the Sales Tax Department had conducted opinion poll about the introduction of form 38, and there was 100 per cent opposition to it. Yet, the forms were introduced, he said. The industry association has also questioned the wisdom of the state government in imposing local area development tax on the imports to their respective municipal areas reportedly to compensate the loss due to abolishment of
octroi. |
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Move to lift ban on NPA ‘unwarranted’ SONEPAT, July 17 — The Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) today opposed the state government’s move to lift ban on private practice by medical officers posted in government hospitals, dispensaries, community and primary health centres of the state and described it as unjust and unwarranted. Dr D.B. Rawal, president, HCMSA, told mediapersons here today that the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had earlier announced the grant of non-practising allowance to medical officers (25 per cent of the basic pay) and this allowance was to be treated as pay for all practical purposes. But now the Chief Minister had backed out of his earlier announcement and hinted that the state government was contemplating to lift the ban on private practice by government doctors. He pointed out that the ban on private practice of the medical officers was imposed by the state government about 28 years ago. Since the non-practising allowance (NPA) was inadequate and this tempted some doctors to resort to private practice. Dr Rawal urged the Chief Minister not to lift ban on private practice by doctors but to grant the NPA on the central pattern. The move of the state government, he said, was also against the direction of the Medical Council of India which had asked the state government not to allow private practice to government doctors. He warned that the lifting of the ban on private practice by government doctors would affect the health programme launched by it for the benefit of the poor people. Dr Rawal demanded the immediate transfer of administrative and financial control of the ESI hospitals and dispensaries to the Health Department for bringing efficiency in these institutions. He also demanded the reservation of seats for the ESI doctors in the postgraduate courses in the PGIMS at Rohtak. |
Website on Haryana’s
culture well received FATEHABAD, July 17 — The website on Haryana’s culture designed by a computer engineering student Sawan Deswal has been well received here. The website hariyana.webjump.com was launched on the freeserver of the Net on Wednesday.
Mr Sakat Mehta, a computer genius, said he liked the site very much. He said the site provided all information about the Haryanvis, their culture and their way of life. He said the site provided an insight into what common Haryanvis feel, think and know about themselves. Dr H.C. Dehiya, a physician of the town, said in the present-day hectic life, Haryanvis were forgetting their own culture. The website, he said, would give all information about Haryana and the Haryanvis. Mrs Leela Jaswal, Principal, Mother Teresa School, said being a relatively new to Haryana, she did not know much about the state, till she watched the hariyana.webjump.com on the Internet. She said the site gave all information that one needed about the people of Haryana and their culture. She said the site offered a look into the wit of Haryana for which the Haryanvis were widely known. Mr J.L. Thakkar, a lecturer in English, KM College, said the website opened up vistas of information about the state and sought to explore the avenues that were hitherto unfrequented. Mr Nupinder Munjal, director of a private school at Bhattu Kalan said the site was very impressive. He said the people of Fatehabad felt proud that a boy who had been associated with the town till last year had created a site on the Haryanvi culture and tradition. |
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Show-cause notice to
DIG for rule violation CHANDIGARH, July 17 — Directing the payment or recovery of fine for traffic rules’ violation from the driver or the officer allotted the government vehicle”, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has also issued notice to show cause why proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act should not be initiated against a Deputy Inspector-General of Police “if he was travelling in a vehicle” which failed to stop at the police signal.
Pronouncing the directions in traffic regulation and pollution control case, Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar also issued notices to the drivers, registered owners or allottees of two other vehicles for their failure to stop. Taking a serious view of the offences, Mr Justice Kumar directed that the “notices be served by the UT Superintendent of Police (Traffic)”. The Judge also directed the Station House Officer concerned to ensure the service of the notices. In his detailed order, Mr Justice Kumar observed: “It is stated that in one of the cars, an Inspector of Punjab Police was sitting which was having black film and red light. It was not carrying the permission sticker for such use. An Ambassador car, which indicated stars showing that at least a person of the rank of a DIG was sitting inside, also did not stop despite the signal by the police”. The Judge also observed: “This car did not stop and the driver continued to drive at a high speed causing threat to the police officials stopping the vehicle. The third car was having black film without permission”. Regarding the recovery of fine, the Judge observed: “It is unfortunate that first senior officers indulge in violation of law and then make the general public and tax payers pay for their misdeeds.. It will be proper for the government concerned to ensure that the general public or a common tax-payer is not held liable to pay the fines for traffic offences committed by the government vehicles”. The Judge added: “Such fines should be paid or in alternative be recovered only from the government officer concerned or the driver as the case may be”. Mr Justice Kumar also asked the Chief Secretaries of the two states, along with the Adviser to the Chandigarh Administrator, “to issue instructions in this regard”. Earlier during the proceedings, counsel for the state of Haryana stated that steps were being taken to avoid accidents on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway. Appearing before the court, counsel stated that a dual carriageway would be completed at the earliest and the “small bridges would be completed within a short time thus avoiding diversions on the road”.
Order on distillery
reopening stayed Staying the operation of lower court’s orders directing the Associated Distillery Limited, which is linked to the son-in-law of Haryana’s former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, Mr Justice V.K. Jhanji of the High Court today issued notice of motion for July 19. In its petition, the Haryana Pollution Control Board had earlier stated that the Hisar’s Civil Judge (Senior Division) and the Additional District and Sessions Judge had committed a grave error in directing them to reopen the unit as it was not conforming to the norms laid down. The distillery had, in its petition before the Judge, stated that orders directing the unit’s closure had been issued due to political vendetta. Counsel had added that the orders were passed at the instance of the Chief Minister as Bhajan Lal’s son-in-law was having interest in the company. |
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Poultry farmers take on cartel PANCHKULA, July 17 — Poultry farmers of northern India are up in arms against the machinations of a cartel of traders based in Delhi, which had been controlling the egg market of the region for the past about three decades. The cartel used to declare the daily rates at which the farmers had to sell their produce in the market. The net price a farmer used to get was usually 10 paise per egg lower than the price declared by the cartel. The northern region was the only area the poultry farmers of which were dependent upon the Delhi cartel for the prices of their produce. In the rest of the major egg-producing centres like Godavari, Vijayawada, Namakkal and Hyderabad, the prices are fixed by the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), a national-level body of poultry farmers. Sick of the dictates of the cartel, which crashed prices from Rs 154 per 100 eggs to Rs 85 per 100 eggs in March-April last, the poultry farmers of the region have formed an association and have decided not to abide by the rates announced by the Delhi egg traders. The association had decided to declare its own daily net rates of eggs at which all its members will sell their produce to the traders. Sources in the poultry industry say that the crash in March was engineered by the cartel of eight traders for their own selfish interests. March-April is the period when eggs are kept in cold stores for the rainy season. The cartel almost halved the prices and once their stores were brimming, they raised the prices to Rs 130 per 100 eggs. The sources say in view of the heavy demand for eggs from UP this year, the stores of the traders became empty much earlier than expected. The traders lowered the prices from Rs 130 to Rs 124 per 100 eggs on July 14 despite a rise in market demand. That set the alarm bells ringing. The resolve of the poultry farmers to take on the cartel is clear from the fact that they have decided to contribute Re 1 per bird. Already over Rs 1 crore has come to the kitty. Another about Rs 50 lakh is in the pipeline. The association, which will be run by a committee of 15 persons, will declare the daily rates and use the funds to help those farmers who are unable to hold the production. The NECC has sent its Chief Executive, Mr Ajit Singh, from Hyderabad to assist the North India Poultry Farmers Association, which held the first meeting of its executive here today. India has emerged as the fifth largest egg producer in the world with about 10 crore eggs produced every day. North India accounts for about two crore eggs per day. The major market for North India is the Delhi-UP belt which lifts about 50 per cent of the production. A large population in the Delhi-UP belt, a huge concentration of Muslims and the lack of poultry farms in adequate number makes the belt one of the major consumption centres of eggs. The association has announced Rs 117 (net) per 100 eggs as tomorrow’s rate. |
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LIC official
robbed of Rs 10.5 lakh ROHTAK, July 17 — As many as four unidentified car-borne youths reportedly robbed an LIC official of nearly Rs 10.5 lakh at gunpoint at Bahadurgarh, 40 km from here, today.
According to information, a Deputy Manager of the LIC, accompanied by a peon, was going in the official jeep (HR 5L-14) to Central Bank of India to deposit the amount. He was intercepted by a Maruti car (DDC-2538) at nearly 11.30 a.m. The youths in the car snatched the bag carrying cash at gunpoint and escaped. The police has registered a case but no arrest has been made so far. In a separate incident, four unidentified car-borne youths intercepted a Cielo car near Jind bypass here and fired two shots at the driver last night. However, the assailants missed the target and the driver of Cielo managed to escape. Rambir of Kishanpura locality here said he was going to Jind with his friend Satish around midnight. His Cielo was intercepted by a Maruti. Two assailants alighted from the Maruti and fired two shots at the driver, who hurriedly reversed the vehicle and escaped. |
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Haryana BJP to
meet at Sonepat ROHTAK, July 17 — The first two-day meeting of newly constituted state executive of the BJP will be held at Sonepat on July 21 and 22.
Stating this here today, Mr Gulshan Bhatia, state office secretary said Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, President, Haryana BJP, would preside over the meeting and Mr Narendra Modi, national General Secretary and in charge of party affairs in Haryana, would specially address the party workers. All MPs, MLAs, presidents of state units of morchas and prakoshthas and presidents and general secretaries of district units would attend the meeting. Political developments in the state, organisational elections in the party and future course of action would reportedly be discussed at the meeting. |
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Rain causes waterlogging AMBALA July 17 - The incessant day-long rain today caused water-logging in parts of Ambala Cantonment and Ambala City, disrupting normal life. The district administration is constantly monitoring the water level of the rivers flowing through Ambala and till now, there are no reports of flooding. The Ghaggar river level is being closely watched as 85,000 cusecs of water has been released. People had a difficult time in travelling through the water-logged areas. Many could be seen preferring to walk through the dirty water rather than risk their two-wheeler coming to a stop in the middle of the road. Among other places, the water-logging problem was particularly evident in Jagadhari Gate, Nahan House, Model Town and Nadi Mohalla of Ambala City and in Mahesh Nagar, Gobind Nagar, Sadar area and Housing Board colony in Ambala Cantonment. Mr M.C. Gupta of ward 20, said water had begun to accumulate in the streets since the time rain started. “Now, people in the area are unable to reach their houses and dirty water is everywhere. The sewerage problem is very acute,” he lamented. “The first major rainfall of the monsoon has disrupted normal life. It is a curtain-raiser of the things to come, when the monsoon reaches its peak,” a local resident stated. Mr Virender Kapoor, President of Haryana Punjabi Pratinidhi Sabha and a Nadi Mohalla resident, said water-logging was an old problem here. “Every year, during the monsoons, we have water-logging in the area and nothing seems to have been done in this regard,” he said. Acting Deputy Commissioner of Ambala, Mr Mohinder Kumar, said there had been water-logging reports from a few places. “But till now, there is no report of flooding from any part of the district. We are keeping a close watch and the water levels of various rivers is being constantly monitored,” he said. He said 85,000 cusecs of water had been released in Ghaggar river. “We have issued a warning to all those who were living on the river bed to immediately move out as water has been released,” he said. Mr Kumar said a control room had been set up to keep a track on rising water level so that the district administration could immediately swing into action, wherever there was a need. The Subdivisional Magistrate of Ambala, Mr Satbir Saini, said pumps had been put into use to clear the water from the areas where there was a problem of water-logging. “Pumps have been used in the Jagadhari Gate as well as Nadi Mohalla area,” he said. He said teams of labourers had been asked to clear those drains where bottle-necks were caused due to plastic bags. “It has been noticed that polythene bags get stuck in the drains and water is not able to flow. So we are clearing up all those points where polybags get stuck, leading to overflow of the drains,” he said.
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Houses
washed away in rain KALKA July 17 — Continuous rain has caused a lot of damage to houses in the town. Three houses of Khatik Basti were washed away and members of the affected families were rescued. The houses belonged to Hukam Chand, Makhan Singh and Kalapati. Besides, this, a number of houses are also facing danger after the soil has been eroded by the water. The SDM of Kalka, Mr M.K. Ahuja, along with the Tehsildar and municipal committee president, Mr Sushil Garg, rushed to the affected basti and arranged to move the affected families to Dharamsala. In Ward No. 5, some houses which have been declared unsafe have been got vacated. The municipal committee president said all embankments along Sukhna Nadi have been washed away. |
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3 killed in mishap HISAR, July 17 — Three persons, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed and eight persons, including five women, were injured when a Jeep carrying them collided with another vehicle coming from the opposite direction between Gaibipur and Dhani Prem Nagar villages on the Hisar-Tohana road yesterday. According to information here today, the Jeep was on its way from Uklana to Barwala while the four wheeler was going to Babua village from Kuleri. Two of the victims has been identified as Billu (12) of Babua village and Praveen of Sainipura, Hansi. |
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