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| Saturday, October 7, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Arhtiya-miller-official nexus draws flak Slow paddy purchase irks farmers Haryana postings, transfers Traffic panel report given go-by Sharma expelled for
anti-party activities DC sends runaway boy back |
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I am not a
proclaimed offender: Dangi Third child: civic
chief faces disqualification Illegal meat shops on the rise J & K students’
admission to REC cancelled CM inaugurates school Jindal denies asking
CM to stop grant Traffic blocked over
trader’s murder 6,007 cases of power
theft detected Governor, CM greet people Units told to check
pollution
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Arhtiya-miller-official nexus draws flak PEHOWA, Oct 6 — Despite claims made by the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, regarding the purchase of paddy, distress sale of the commodity in various grain markets of the state is continuing. So much so that farmers in different towns are up in arms against the purchase by the government agencies. A survey undertaken by this correspondent of different grain markets in Kurukshetra and Karnal revealed that the exploitation of the farmers was total as far as the price was concerned. Officials of the procurement agencies could be seen acting like dictators and rejecting the paddy of the farmers as per their whims. The claims of the government prove hollow as the procurement agencies are purchasing only up to 40 per cent of the total produce coming to the markets. Besides, there seem to be an axis between influential arhtias as well as millers and officials of the purchasing agencies to buy paddy as per their choice. The farmers have mostly been left in the lurch. The situation could be gauged from the resentment prevailing among the farmers. In Asandh Grain Market, the Haryana Kisan Sabha and the workers of the CPM along with hundreds of farmers blocked traffic for the third day yesterday. They raised slogans against the anti-farmer policies of the government. The farmers also threatened to go on strike on October 8 when all the markets in the districts would be kept closed and the farmers would not bring their produce to the markets. The situation in some parts of Haryana is violent. For instance, angry farmers in Tohana yesterday blocked traffic on Jind-Tohana railway line and did not allow the trains to move. The blockade continued for over one-and-a-half hours. The farmers accuse the official agencies of exploiting the farmers and rejecting their produce on flimsy grounds. The situation is reported to be tense there and the administration is reported to have called police reinforcement to check any untoward incident. Reports from Naraingarh in Ambala also show that the farmers are on a confrontation course against the procurement agencies. The farmers, have alleged that the influential rice-sheller owners were hand in glove with officials of the procurement agencies. That was one reason that the produce was being purchased at between Rs 50 to Rs 100 less than the support price of Rs 540 per quintal. A visit to Pehowa mandi today revealed that the farmers there were extremely anger. The market is full of stocks of paddy and there is no more place left for the farmers to unload their tractor trailers full of produce. Even the roads leading to the grain market are full of heaps of paddy. HAFED, the main procurement agency in the grain market, has not been able to lift the stocks. At one time, the situation had come to such a pass that the SDM (Civil) had to stand on guard in the market to ensure proper auctioning of paddy. The Deputy Commissioner of Kurukshetra, Mrs Jyoti Arora also had to rush to the grain market to ensure that the produce was auctioned and lifted by the procurement agency. But unfortunately, the situation continues to be the same except that there has been marginal improvement in purchase rates by the millers. For about a fortnight, the millers had been buying paddy as per their own whims and the rates which suited them. Mr Devender Singh, a farmer of Sainsa village, stated that the produce of the farmers was being rejected on flimsy grounds by the procurement agencies. The farmers were left with no alternative except to sell their produce to the millers and arhtiyas as per the rates decided by the latter. Another farmer alleged that procurement agencies purchase paddy as per the signals given by certain arhtiyas. For this the arhtiyas allegedly grease the palms of these officials. That officials of procurement agencies are seen in posh hotels and restaurants every evening dining and wining, despite the high prices and their small pay-packets gives credence to these allegations. The sentiments of the farmers were supported by Mr Ved Prakash Singla, President of the Ladwa Grain Traders Association. Mr Singla admitted that the agencies were procuring only about 40 per cent of the produce while the rest was being purchased by private traders. He disclosed that till October 5, about 3,20,952 quintals of paddy had reached the market. Out of this, HAFED bought 1,06,410 quintals and the FCI 13,000 quintals only. The rest of the paddy, i.e. 2,01,542 quintals, was bought by millers and private traders. Mr Singla further complained that HAFED has not been making regular payments to the arhtiyas. Only those in league with HAFED and FCI oficers were allegedly getting the payment. The problem of lifting paddy was also there. He said that he had brought the matter of non-payment to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Jyoti Arora (Kurukshetra), who assured him that the payment would be expedited. |
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Slow paddy purchase irks farmers SONEPAT, Oct 6 — Paddy growers of the district have been forced to sell their produce at a low price or divert it to the nearby Narela market of Delhi where the price is higher than in the local mandis, due to the alleged indifferent attitude of government’s procurement agencies, the State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) and Food and Supplies Department. Many paddy growers complained that officials of the
government procurement agencies were allegedly working in connivance with traders and owners of the rice shellers for their vested interests. An official of the HSAMB told this reporter today that the alleged non-cooperative attitude of traders and owners of rice shellers and an undue haste on the part of paddy growers to sell their produce were responsible for the mess. He advised the paddy growers to have patience and wait for the auction of their produce. Meanwhile, representatives of various farmers’ organisations have warned the state government of serious consequences if the interests of the paddy growers were not guarded. KAITHAL: Activists of the Bharatiya Kisan Union blocked the traffic on the Cheeka-Kaithal road for more than two hours near Cheeka grain market yesterday. They
were protesting against the alleged attitude of officials of the government procurement agencies in procurement of paddy. They blamed the government officials for delaying the procurement process and adopting a pick and choose approach. |
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Haryana postings, transfers CHANDIGARH, Oct 6 — The Haryana Government has given additional charge as Commissioner and Secretary, Food and Supplies, to Mr Bhaskar Chaterjee, Chief Electoral Officer, and Commissioner and Secretary, Election Department, during the absence of Mr Dharamvir, who is along with the Chief Minister on a foreign tour. Mr S.S. Dhillon, MD, Tourism Corporation, has been given additional charge as Director and Joint Secretary, Hospitality Department, against a vacant post. Mr K.K. Khandelwal, MD, Hartron, and Joint Secretary, Information Technology, has been given additional charge as Director, Information Technology. Mr D.D. Gautam, Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chief Executive Officer, DRDA, Panchkula, has been given additional charge as Chief Executive Officer, Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board, Panchkula, relieving Mr Sandeep Garg of the said charge. Mr Vivek Dhankar, HCS, City Magistrate, Sirsa, has been posted as Under Secretary, Haryana Raj Bhavan, vice Mr Hakam Singh, who has proceeded on leave. Ms Ritu, Executive Magistrate and Estate Officer, Urban Estate, Sirsa, has been posted as Joint Director, Panchayats, against a vacant post. Mr H.C. Sharma, City Magistrate, Panchkula, has been given additional charge as Secretary, Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board, Panchkula, relieving Mr Dharam Pal Singh of the said charge. Mr P.D. Verma, General Manager, Haryana Roadways, Jind, has been posted as Estate Officer, Urban Estate, Karnal relieving Mr Bhupinder Singh of the said charge. Mr Vikas Yadav, SDO (Civil),
Sirsa, has been given additional charge as Estate Officer, Urban Estate,
Sirsa. Mr Shiv Parshad, SDO (Civil), Ratia, has been posted as Secretary, Haryana Education Board, Bhiwani, vice Mr Jagdish
Sihag. Mr Ishwar Singh Dahiya, City Magistrate, Fatehabad, has given additional charge as SDO (Civil),
Ratia.  |
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Traffic panel report given go-by HISAR: The recommendations of the Traffic Suggestion Committee, appointed by the district administration to help improve traffic conditions in the town, have been gathering dust for the past one and a half years. Owing to their non-implementation, the main roads have become choked with vehicles of all kinds and important crossings have turned into death-traps. The main markets, including Rajguru Market, and areas falling in the walled city have also become congested with traffic. The district administration had constituted a committee two years ago for suggesting ways to improve the flow of traffic in the town. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate Mr Balraj Mor, was chairman of the panel, which included senior officers of various departments concerned and a few non-official members. After studying traffic conditions, the committee submitted detailed report to the Deputy Commissioner. The committee strongly recommended that the entry of heavy vehicles to the main roads should be banned from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It also recommended that encroachments should be removed from the main markets to provide more space for the traffic. It suggested construction of three roads on the outskirts of the city for reducing vehicular traffic on the Bus Stand-Dabra Chowk section of Delhi Road. It also suggested construction of a new road between the Mill Gate and Urban Estate II. At present, the residents of the Mill Gate area have no choice but to use Delhi Road to go to Urban Estate II, a distance of 15 km. The proposed road would reduce this distance to just 2 km. The panel recommended introduction of one-way traffic inside the walled city and Rajguru Market from Nagori Gate. The committee also suggested creation of three parking lots near Rajguru Market, behind Neelam cinema and Krantiman Park. It suggested that three-wheelers going to Mill Gate from the Bus Stand via the walled city should go via the Auto Market. The district authorities had announced after the submission of the report that the recommendations would be implemented by April 1 last year. However, the administration is yet to do so. Some time back the district authorities allowed buses inside the town after banning the entry of maxi-cabs. Owing to this decision, trucks and tractor-trolleys have resumed plying on the main roads leading to traffic jams and an alarming increase in the number of road accidents. Due to overcrowding, the main crossings like Red Square Chowk, Dabra Chowk and Camp Chowk have become “killer” chowks. Three persons lost their lives recently at Red Square Chowk when a bus ran over them. The traffic lights at the crossings often remain out of order for days together while the traffic staff posted there make little effort to control the flow of traffic. Traffic jams have become a regular feature now. The administration could not construct the new roads due to lack of funds. Though the administration launched a drive to remove encroachments in the main markets on orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court last month, but shopkeepers have encroached on the area again. The areas earmarked for parking lots continue to be garbage dumps. The administration deployed traffic policemen at Nagori Gate and Talaqui Gate to enforce one-way traffic but they were withdrawn after a few days. Dr
Inderjit, one of the non-official members of the committee, says that he and other members have met the authorities several times with the request that the panel’s recommendations be implemented but nothing has materialised so far. He is of the view that the flow of traffic cannot be improved without fully implementing the committee’s report. When contacted the SDM said he would take up the matter with the Deputy Commissioner soon. The report could not be implemented fully because of assembly elections and transfer of Deputy Commissioners. He said funds for laying new roads would not be a problem once the administration decided to implement the recommendations. |
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Sharma expelled for
anti-party activities BHIWANI, Oct 6 — The state president of the Sonia Gandhi Association, Mr Rishi Ram Bishnoi, has expelled its vice-president Shankar Dass Sharma from the post. His membership has also been abolished with an immediate effect. This was disclosed to the press through an official communique signed by its zonal president. According to a press note Mr Sharma indulged in anti-party activities and was misusing the name of the association for his own benefit. It further said the district committees falling under the banner had been dissolved except women wing and the state General-Secretary, Ms Kusum Sharma, had been asked to form a new body. Mr Bishnoi further said around 9,500 activists were enrolled in youth and women wings of the association. He further told that a working president would be appointed by the end of December. He said that office-bearers for the three wings would take charge by the end of December. Mr Bishnoi said he would tour the state to strengthen the party base. The rules, he said, would strictly be followed and no one would be allowed to use election symbol of the Congress on the visiting cards or letter heads. Anyone found breaching the conditions would have to face disciplinary action. He said the main aim of the association was to serve the nation on the RSS pattern. |
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DC sends runaway boy back FATEHABAD, Oct 6 — A boy studying in class IV has landed up here after he decided to run away from his house in Agra. Baba Navjeet Sharan, a sadhu from Bhirdana village in this district, found the nine-year-old boy wandering at the Mathura railway station yesterday. When he asked the boy about his parents, he began to weep. The boy, according to the sadhu, told him that he was a resident of Agra. His father had died in an accident while his mother had abandoned him and gone away with another man. The sadhu felt pity for the boy and brought him here. Later, he handed him over to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anil Malik, who in turn left him with his reader Mr Ram Phal. When the boy was asked about his antecedents, he revealed that his name was Vijay and his father Laxmi Chand Chowhan worked in a shoe factory in Agra. He was the only child of his parents. On Saturday last, he did not want to go to school. His mother, however, beat him and asked him to go to school. Instead of going to the school, he fled from the house. He said he did not remember the locality where they resided, but it was near the Agra Fort railway station. He said the story he told the sadhu was concocted. The Deputy Commissioner’s office tried its best for two days to locate the parents of the child by seeking help from the Agra police but to no avail. The Mantola police station in Agra, under which the area fell, told the Deputy Commissioner office over telephone that there was no one by the name of Laxmi Chand Chowhan in the area nor was there any FIR registered regarding the missing child. The boy, however, said he could locate his residence if he was taken to the Agra Fort railway station. The Deputy Commissioner today sent Mr Ram Phal and the Project Officer, Bal Bhawan, Mr M.L. Sharma, to Agra along with the child. |
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I am not a
proclaimed offender: Dangi ROHTAK, Oct 6 — Reacting to the news report today, Mr Anand Singh Dangi, former Revenue and Rehabilitation Minister of Haryana, claimed that the special court of Ambala had not declared him a proclaimed offender. The Congress leader told this correspondent that the court had asked him to appear before it by February 5. He clarified that he could be declared a proclaimed offender if he failed to appear in the court till the stipulated date. The state Vigilance Bureau had registered three cases against the former minister in connection with the land allotment scam. The prosecution started proceedings regarding declaration of Mr Dangi a proclaimed offender in the first case registered at Ambala on April 8. Mr Dangi alleged that the order pronounced by the Additional District Judge, Ambala, Mr Lakshman Sharma, was published in a distorted manner. Third child: civic
chief faces disqualification HISAR, Oct 6 (PTI) — A local Municipal Councillor has filed a petition before the Deputy Commissioner here for the removal of Hanuman Prashad from the post of President and from being a member of the Hisar Municipal Council on the ground of becoming father of a third child. The petition filed under Section 13-A (C) of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973, has also demanded to restrain him from functioning as President and member of the council. The petition stated that on the date of filing nomination paper and on the date of election and declaration of the result Mr Prashad had two children. The petition maintained that according to the said sanction, a member of the Municipal Council incur a disqualification if he has more than two living children after one year of the coming into force of the said amendment in Section 13 A of the Haryana Municipal Act. |
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Illegal meat shops on the rise HISAR, Oct 6 — The district administration has failed to find a suitable site for the meat market and slaughter house following the closure of the old market and slaughterhouse located near a theatre two years ago. This has led to the growth on illegal meat shops all over the town. In the absence of a proper slaughterhouse, meat sold in the city is not certified as fit for human consumption. It is sold illegally and all butchers are operating without licences. The Municipal Council does not even have a veterinarian to issue these licences and supervise their work. Meat shops are now situated on the Telian Pul, Mill Gate Road, Red Square Market, Patel Nagar, Thandi Sarak and Model Town. Meat sellers say that they had applied for licences a year ago but they have not been issued licences so far. According to sources, the council has failed to issue licenses as there is no official slaughterhouse or the meat market in the town. The old slaughterhouse and meat market were located in front of a theatre near Jahaj Pul. They were closed down after the residents of nearby colonies objected to its location. The district administration closed the slaughterhouse and the meat market and could not find a suitable alternative place to shift them. The officials had selected two sites for the market but none of these could be finalised. Later, the council selected a place on the stud farm road and constructed a building for the purpose. However, due to unknown reasons the council officials decided to construct, the market in a park in the Mill Gate area a year ago. |
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J & K students’
admission to REC cancelled KURUKSHETRA, Oct 6 — The admission of 48 Regional Engineering College Srinagar, students, who were admitted to the local Regional Engineering College (REC) after their migration, stands cancelled. A notification to this effect was issued by the college authorities here today. Confirming this, sources said the Board of Directors of the college at a meeting held in Chandigarh on September 29 did not approve the admission. Twenty-three
and 25 REC students who migrated from Srinagar were admitted to B.Tech (I) and II courses, respectively, last month. |
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CM inaugurates school BHERA (Bhiwani), Oct 6 —A modern school complex was inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, here on Monday. The school was founded in 1995 by the Colonel Amin Lal Memorial Charitable Trust headed by Maj-Gen Risal Singh (retd). He set up the trust in memory of his brother, Col Amin Lal, and his father, Jag Ram. The first phase of the project, which included construction of a school complex, has already been completed. The school has now been renamed as Jag Ram Memorial DAV Public School. The trust aims at providing educational and health care facilities in this backward area. The trust plans to add one class every year. At present, the school has about 60 students in five classes. The trust chairman said the building for the health centre had been completed and it was being furnished. In the next phase, the trust plans to set up a women’s vocational training institute, a public park, a library and a stadium in the village, depending upon the availability of funds. |
Jindal denies asking
CM to stop grant HISAR, Oct 6 — Mr O.P. Jindal, Congress legislator from the Hisar constituency, today denied that he had asked the Chief Minister to stop government grant to Agroha Medical College. In a statement issued here, he said that Chautala government had issued a grant of Rs 3 crore to the college. He said he had met the Chief Minister in June to request him to release the grant. Mr Chautala, he claimed, assured him that the grant would be paid regularly to the college. Mr Jindal said it was after this meeting that the grant for this year was released. |
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Traffic blocked over
trader’s murder ROHTAK, Oct 6 — Shopkeepers of various markets closed their shops and blocked vehicular traffic in the Bhiwani Stand area here today for nearly seven hours in protest against the murder of a shopkeeper last evening. According to information, three motorcycle-borne youths robbed Amit of nearly Rs 6,000 while he was returning home with his uncle after closing his shop. When Amit tried to protest, robbers stabbed him in the neck. Amit later succumbed to his injuries at the local Medical College Hospital. Agitated traders and shopkeepers blocked traffic today in protest against the incident. |
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6,007 cases of power
theft detected CHANDIGARH, Oct 6 — In an ongoing campaign against power pilferage in the state, the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam checked 6,057 connections last month, detecting 6,007 cases of power theft and lodging 598 FIRs. The Chairperson of the Haryana Power Utilities, Mrs Meenaxi Anand Chaudhary, said penalties totalling Rs 4.33 crore were imposed and Rs 1.81 crore was recovered from the erring consumers. |
| Governor, CM
greet people CHANDIGARH, Oct 6 — The Haryana Governor, Babu Parmanand, and the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today greeted the people of the state on the eve of Dasehra, which falls tomorrow. In his message the Governor urged the people to celebrate the festival with a sense of communal harmony, brotherhood and national spirit by following the teachings of Lord Rama. Mr Chautala gave a clarion call to the people to wage war against social evils by following the high ideals of Lord Rama. |
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Units told to check
pollution YAMUNANAGAR, Oct 6 — The Haryana Government is determined to provide a pollution-free state, Mr H.S. Bains, Chairman, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, said. Addressing members of the Yamunanagar-Jagadhari Chambers of Commerce and Industries here today, he said he was touring the state to find out the level of pollution and the measures to curb it. He appealed to industries to play a leading role in installing equipment to check pollution. He said he had motivated small-scale as well as other industries at Faridabad and Panipat to have a common effluent treatment plant. He sad he had already urged the Haryana Urban Development Authority to provide localised industrial plots. He also said there were more than 8,000 small and medium industries that had been directed to adopt pollution control measures immediately to avoid action by the board. |
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