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| Thursday, October 5, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Farmers face bleak future Case registered against
five Ambala traders A ‘power test’ that no one fails
Army, Air Force vehicles violating HC orders
Paddy growers ‘not’ getting due |
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Haryana to beef up jail security WTO: Haryana,
Punjab to have joint report Tatkal scheme for
tubewell power connections 2 killed, 15 hurt as bus overturns
2 get life term for killing two DC directed to give
damaged roads’ list 2 Jeeps recovered,
thief held Beware of robbers, if
your hands get dirty! 3-day seminar
for teachers Tacoria removed
from post
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Farmers face bleak future MAHENDRAGARH, Oct 4 — With farming fast becoming untenable in Mahendragarh subdivision, thousands of farmers and their families are at their wits’ end. Frustration and skewed social behaviour, conspicuously among youths of the area like other parts of south Haryana, are the concomitant spin-offs. These are manifested in the increasing rate in violence and rise in crimes in Mahendragarh district. With farming as the main source of livelihood becoming precarious, salaried job is the last resort. Ironically, with industries not coming up in the district, this option also appears to be taking a battering. The district has, perhaps, the highest ratio of retired and serving personnel in the armed forces. Although, armed forces still continue to hold charm for the doughty men here, getting entry into them is also not that easy. Consequently, the spectrum of unemployed youths continues to become more diversified. The paradox is that although the residents are hard working and have toiled enough to make the land fertile, there is not much water for irrigating the land. The wide-ranging allegation is that even the available water in the state is not distributed equitably and their share is being given to the areas like Hisar and Sirsa. On account of the diversion of water, farmers of five districts of the state — Sirsa, Kaithal, Karnal, Fatehabad and some parts of Jind — are facing the problem of waterlogging in their fields. Coupled with the problem of shortage of canal water, is the erratic supply of electricity. Farming has also become expensive. One reason being that with the water table low, farmers consume more electricity, inflating their bills. Also, the digging up of tubewells has become costlier on account of the fall in the water table. Consequently, farmers have come to depend more on rain. But weather has its own vagaries, like this summer when there was scanty rain. All villages in the district, particularly the Mahendragarh subdivision, face severe water shortage. Most of the wells have gone dry, while in some the water level has gone down. What is worse is that the water table is alarmingly going down and political parties allegedly pay only lip service to the cause. All political parties enter into competitive bid to raise the water issue and the completion of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal project, only during the elections. The proposed canal was meant to bring the Ravi-Beas water to south Haryana. This is where the residents here feel that they were being led up the garden path by leaders of various political parties. “Why don’t they give our share from the already available water?” is the common refrain. The president of the Haryana Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, Mr Naresh Yadav, who has decided to organise a protest march (“padyatra”) from Nangal Choudhary here to Delhi from November 1 to highlight the water issue, summed up the mood by saying: “The leaders have vested interests in keeping the area perpetually without water.” Residents of this area are known for their culture of hard work and simple living. The folklore has it that even the errant ones are sucked in this culture, especially from the inspiration of their family members who are in the armed forces. It is on account of the high resistance elements in their chemistry that they transformed the barren land into an arable one after Haryana was carved out as an independent state from Punjab in 1966. The governments initially contributed immensely by drawing up new schemes for irrigation, like the drip irrigation system. The people allege that the watershed came in 1977 when the then government in the state diverted the share of water for south Haryana to other parts of the state. After that, all ruling parties remained “apathetic” to the problem of the people. Water problem is so acute that even cattle do not have enough water to drink. |
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A ‘power test’ that no one fails HISAR, Oct 4 — No one ever fails in this test. The ‘answersheets’ duly stamped and signed are available for a price and the ‘examiner’ never has a look at the ‘answer’. Yet you pass it. And, the safety of your house, family and costly government-owned equipment depends on this test. This is what a Test Report — the most important document for getting a power connection — has been reduced to over the years. Junior engineers of the two Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigams issue the test reports which certify that after a site check, the power load is correct and all electrical fittings, including wires and switches, meet the desired standards. This is done to ensure that the electrical fittings do not endanger your lives and property on one hand and costly transmission equipment on the other. However, in practice, the exercise does exactly the opposite. The two nigams are supposed to supply the AA form free of cost to the consumer. The blank test report is a part of this form. Nevertheless, the form is openly sold outside nigam offices at a price fixed by the vendor. It may sound, unbelievable, but the blank test reports are duly signed and stamped in advance by an electrician approved by the Chief Electrical Inspector of Haryana, an officer of the rank of superintending engineer. After the consumer files his application, including the test report, the junior engineer concerned is supposed to personally visit the premises and certify that the facts given in the test report regarding load and fittings are correct. This, however, is never done. The JEs just affix signatures and official seals without verification. Perhaps that is why hardly any test reports for a domestic connection have been rejected. The JEs concerned allegedly get a cut from the price of the form. There have been instances when power connections were released for premises with no electrical fittings at all. Senior power engineers say that in the rural areas, even the main switch, earth leakage circuit breakers and miniature circuit breakers or fuses are not provided in 90 per cent cases though test reports indicate otherwise. In urban areas, owners of the premises provide the equipment but the load and the quality of fittings is mostly different from what has been stated in the test report. Engineers say that understated load and poor quality fittings are the main causes of fires caused by short circuits. They say authorised electricians rarely execute all the work themselves. The work is generally entrusted to inexperienced trainees. They seldom adhere to the norms because of ignorance and the tendency to save labour. For instance, power points for geysers and air-conditioners are rarely drawn directly from the switchboard. Likewise, no electrician now uses the lead fuse wire, which blows off in case of excessive load and short-circuiting. Untrained electricians provide thick copper wires for the fuses, defeating their very purpose. This is a major cause of fires caused by electrical faults. Thus, electrical disturbances caused by faulty fittings are finally passed on to the transmission system, resulting in overloading and burning of transformers and transmission cables which too are in poor health for similar reasons. The cost of all this, which runs into hundreds of crores a year, is finally passed on to the consumer through increased tariff. Yet, unfortunately, no one fails this test. |
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Paddy growers ‘not’ getting due SONEPAT, Oct 4 — The President of the All-India Youth Congress, Mr Randeep Surjewala, has criticised the Haryana and Punjab Governments for adopting an “indifferent” attitude towards paddy growers and alleged that government procurement agencies have failed to buy paddy at the support price from the growers, thus forcing them to sell their produce at prices less than those fixed by the Central Government. Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, Mr Surjewala lashed out at the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, for not protesting against the hike in the prices of petroleum products. He recalled that on a previous occasion, Mr Chautala had threatened to withdraw his party’s support to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, but this time, he had chosen to keep mum on the issue only to remain in power. He alleged that Mr Chautala had squandered public money on the birthday celebrations of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal. Referring to the appointment of the President of the Haryana Youth Congress, he said a unanimity had been reached regarding the choice and the name would be announced immediately after the organisational election in November. He said neither Mr Bhajan Lal nor Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda had recommended any one for the post of the President so far. He announced that the party would gherao the UP Vidhan Sabha on October 18. |
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Tatkal scheme for
tubewell power connections CHANDIGARH, Oct 4 — The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) have introduced a new “tatkal own your transformer scheme” for the early release of tubewell connections. A spokesman for the power utilities said those who had submitted their applications up to June-end would be covered under the new scheme. The transformers would be provided by the respective nigams for which the applicants would have to pay. The entire expenses on the release of the connection would be borne by the consumer. Maintenance and replacement of the distribution transformer would also be done by the consumer. He said a consumer opting for a connection under the new scheme would be required to deposit Rs 60,000 for a connection involving five spans upto 350 metres on an 11 KV line. This would exclude the cost of the transformer. For every additional span on an 11 KV line, the consumer would have to deposit Rs 7,000 per span for the release of the connection. Applicants desirous of getting a connection under the scheme would have to deposit Rs 25,000 up to October 12. After demand notices were issued to them, they would have to submit the test reports along with the second instalment of Rs 25,000 and the defaulting amount, if any. The final list would be prepared on the basis of the date of the deposit of the final amount and the connections would be released accordingly. The connections would be released as metered connections only, the spokesman added. |
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Army, Air Force vehicles
violating HC orders AMBALA In this regard Superintendent of Police Navdeep Singh Virk has written an official letter to the Sation Commander, PH, HP sub area, Ambala Cantonment and the Air Officer Commanding, Ambala Cantonment recently. Mr Virk has stated in the letter that it seems that the military authorities of Ambala Cantonment have no knowledge of the directions of the high court, because it has been observed that a large number of black Ambassador cars and other vehicles of the Army/Air Force are plying on the road with black films or tinted glasses on the windows and also red lights on the top, which is not legal, since the state government’s notification in this regard does not have any mention of these Army/Air Force officers enabling them to use them. In this regard if any instructions issued by the central or state government is available with your office then it may kindly be supplied to us for perusal.” The police authorities have also asked the Army authorities to follow the court directions on the school buses used for carrying the students. Mentioning some of the important directions of the court in the letter, the SP said that every vehicle — bus, van or any other transport should be permitted to carry school children only if it holds a proper permit within the meaning of Section 66 of the Act. No senior Army or Air Force officer was available to comment on the issue. |
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Case registered against
five Ambala traders AMBALA Police and the Health Department authorities conducted raids throughout the city at several shops and collected their samples. Civil Surgeon Dr R.K. Patnaik, told that the samples have been sent to the State Laboratory at Karnal. He said that initially, it could not be established what was adulterated in the flour.But it seems that some poisonous article was mixed in the flour. He added that all the patients admitted in the hospital last night had been discharged. Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police Navdeep Singh Virk, said that one of the traders, during interrogation, disclosed that the flour was purchased from a wholesale dealer of Rohtak. Some of the shopkeepers of different markets opposed the raids conducted by the administration. The shopkeepers of Baldevnagar area downed their shutters to protest against the raids. In old Anaj Mandi area, the shop keepers also opposed the raids. Deputy Commissioner Ram Niwas, said that the Administration had taken precautionary measures so that such incidents might not be repeated in future. Last night, nearly, 100 people were taken ill and hospitalised after eating ‘kuttu’ flour, during the navratras fasting. |
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Haryana to beef up jail security CHANDIGARH, Oct 4 — The Haryana Government today decided to beef up security in and around all jails in the state. Presiding over a meeting to review the functioning of jails, the Haryana Chief Minister directed that all troublesome prisoners should be lodged in separate cells. A log book should also be maintained to identify the movement of prisoners when they go out from the jail. He asked jail officials to check the smuggling of prohibited items into jails. Mr Chautala asked jail officials to construct two barracks in each big jail to lodge 1,600 prisoners. He sanctioned Rs 6.75 crore for this purpose. He also suggested that a new jail should be constructed at Yamunanagar to train prisoners in making wooden crates and brass items. He directed the filling of all 115 vacant posts of supervisory staff and warden in the jails. “A requisition to fill these posts should be sent to the Haryana Staff Selection Commission immediately,” the Chief Minister said. Mr Chautala also directed that workshops should be organised in jails with a view to imparting training in various trades. |
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WTO: Haryana,
Punjab to have joint report CHANDIGARH, Oct 4 — The Haryana Government has clubbed its four-member committee, constituted to study the impact of the WTO on Haryana, with the expert committee of Punjab headed by Prof Y.K. Alag, a former Union Minister for Planning and Power and Chairmain of the Agriculture and Industrial Costs and Prices Commission. Following the clubbing of the two panels, which is also a rare instance of cooperation between the two neighbouring states, a joint report will now be prepared on the WTO’s impact on the agricultural and industrial sectors in Punjab and Haryana. The members of Haryana are Mr M.K. Miglani, Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Cooperation Department, Mr Naseem Ahmed, Commissioner and Secretary, Agriculture, Mr S.N. Roy, Director, Industries and Prof K.P. Singh, Department of Genetics, College of Basic Sciences, CCS
HAU, Hisar. |
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2 killed, 15 hurt as bus overturns JIND, Oct 4 — Two passengers were killed and about 15 others injured when a Haryana Roadways bus overturned on the Jind-Karnal road near Hasanpur village, about 20 km from here, today. According to a report, eight passengers received serious injuries and were admitted to the local general hospital. Later, two of the injured were referred to the Medical College and Hospital at Rohtak. The deceased have been identified as Rameshwar of Jind and Brij Mohan of Assandh in Karnal district. The bus was going from Jind to Karnal and it overtuned reportedly due to some technical defect. |
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2 get life term for killing two FARIDABAD, Oct 4 — The District and Sessions Judge, Mr Pritam Pal, has sentenced two youths to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of two teenaged boys here last year. The accused — Shyam (20) and Harinder Kumar (19) — have been convicted by the court for stabbing to death two brothers in a park after the accused had developed enmity with the father of the victims over some issue. While Shyam is a resident of Sarai Khawaja near Sector 37 here, Harinder is reported to be a resident of
Ghaziabad. The accused have also been asked to deposit a fine of Rs 1,000 each. |
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DC directed to give
damaged roads’ list SONEPAT, Oct 4 — On a directive of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, the state government has asked the Deputy Commissioner of Sonepat to submit a list of damaged roads in the district, particularly in the towns of Sonepat, Gannaur, Gohana and Kharkhauda. According to official sources, the step has been taken following public complaints received by the Chief Minister in this regard. |
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2 Jeeps recovered,
thief held ROHTAK, Oct 4 — The police arrested a youth and recovered two stolen Jeeps from his possession last night. According to police sources, a Jeep (HR-06-B-8892), owned by Mr Sukhbir of Bahu Akbarpur village, was stolen from the the local bus stand on September, 29. Following a tip-off, a police party raided the house of Jagpal alias Kala of Dugarkhan in Jind district last night and recovered the vehicle. According to the sources, during police interrogation the accused confessed to having stolen three other Jeeps also, one of which was recovered by the police from his possession. The suspect was later produced in the court of Judicial Magistrate (First Clsss), Ms Madhu Khanna, who sent him on a three-day police remand. |
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3-day seminar
for teachers KAITHAL, Oct 4 — A three-day seminar for teachers began under the chairmanship of Mr Ram Ayodhya Pandey, coordinator, All-India Primary Shikshak Sangh, here today. The president of the state unit of the sangh, Mr Jeet Ram Dalal, informed the teachers from various blocks that the state government had been informed about their demands but it had not yet accepted them. The teachers discussed ways to improve the standards of education at the primary level and proposed that the examination up to Class V should be conducted at the BEO level also 40 per cent of the sports fund should be allowed to be used at the discretion of school heads. |
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Beware of robbers, if
your hands get dirty! AMBALA Mr Surendra Goel, a resident of Rani
Bagh, learnt the lesson, the hard way, when a packet containing Rs 65,000, kept in his car, was stolen. Mr Goel, who has his office on Mall Road, had done the day’s collection and kept the cash in a packet. He had gone to a confectionary shop at Subzi
Mandi. After opening the central locking system of the car, when he touched the handle of the car, something dirty and greasy stuck to his hand. Not suspecting anything, he went inside the confectionary shop to wash his hands. Then, he left for home. Later he realised that the packet containing money was missing. Initially, he went to his office, thinking that he might have left it there. He then went back to the confectionary shop, where he was informed that a 15-16-year-old boy had run away after taking out a packet from his car. A few rehriwalas had given chase to the boy but they lost track near a local school. A local resident, aware of the incident, said that a similar incident had taken place with a
scooterist. Apparently, grease had been smeared onto the handle bars and the scooterist left to wash his hands. When he returned, he found to his dismay, that goods kept in his scooter had been stolen. |
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Tacoria removed
from post CHANDIGARH, Oct 4 — The Haryana Government has dispensed with the services of Additional Advocate General R.S. Tacoria here today, according to official sources. Mr
Tacoria, joined the post, shortly after the formation of Chautala government in August last year. When asked to comment on the development Mr Tacoria said, “reason is not with me. It is a formal order and I don’t know the reasons of dispensing away with my services, and added I am a disciplined soldier of Mr Chautala for the past 20 years and will remain so in future also.” |
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