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October 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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College staff flay autonomy
move ‘Banned’ autos spew
poison Divali gift for poor students Students act as
nurses Charity funds ‘misused’ Cultural extravaganza
marks school function Pay arrears, CM urges
people Demolition of temple criticised |
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Villagers throng CM’s open
darbar
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College staff flay autonomy
move YAMUNANAGAR, Oct 22 — The staff of 20 short-listed colleges of Haryana which have applied for autonomous status are resentful of the step. Professor TP Singh, President YamunaNagar zone of Haryana College Teachers Union vehemently opposed the concept as being against the interest of higher education. He said here today that teachers of these colleges opposed the move as it had already failed in the colleges in which it was in operation and if the scheme was still implemented both students and teachers would suffer. Staff salaries, service, security and retirement and other benefits are not listed in the scheme leaving teachers worried about their future. In the existing autonomous colleges the governing bodies have overriding powers of hire & fire. Autonomous colleges also have to generate their own resources, so their fee structure is likely to be high and arbitrary. Teachers working with the affiliated colleges say they have been struggling for years to improve their service conditions and emoluments. Now that the existing system of affiliated colleges was working satisfactorily over the past many years there was no need to change it. Professor Harbhajan Singh, zonal secretary, AIFUCTO claimed that the persons at the helm of affairs would use the cover of autonomy to serve their own ends rather than the cause of higher education. Prof. Anil Oberoi, Secretary, MLN College, Yamunanagar talking to newsmen said the authorities would use their powers for manipulation of admissions and the results of students.
He said that no government college had applied for the ‘black scheme’.
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‘Banned’ autos spew
poison PANIPAT, Oct 22 — Due to the indifference of the Transport and Pollution Control Department citizens of the district are forced to inhale poisons emitted by condemned vehicles. According to information, the district has over 1600 three-wheelers most of which were condemned by the Delhi Government as not roadworthy after they completed 15 years on the roads. These found their way to neighbouring Sonepat and Panipat districts at throwaway prices. Some of these three-wheelers are now running on a mix of diesel and kerosene and are a major source of carbon monoxide (CO). Moreover, these three-wheelers are usually overloaded. As a result their engines spew noxious fumes. Maxicabs, which mostly operate without permits and are also overloaded race each other on the roads, with similar results. It is alleged that most of the maxi-cabs, are owned by police personnel. As a result checking staff are tempted to look the other way. The other big source of pollution are tractor trailers used as urban transport. Estimated at around 1250 in the city and its periphery most of these are without number plate. Designed for agriculture they happily move about in the city transporting commercial goods, flouting traffic rules and creating traffic jams, particularly at road crossings. They, can’t even be challaned as they have no registration number. Nor do they need to pay for permits, road tax, goods tax etc or come under the purview of the Pollution Control Act as they are intended for use in agriculture. It is alleged that officials of the Transport Department ‘collect money unauthorisedly’ from the polluters in the process they leave the citizens of Panipat at the mercy of these smoke machines. On condition of anonymity a three-wheeler driver told this correspondent that they rather than have requisite papers they prefer to pay a Rs 100 month “entry” at every major crossing on their route. The driver also claimed that by paying Rs 600, a copy of the ration card and three photographs a person could get a driving licence. Thus if at any time the licence is impounded by the traffic police it is simpler to get a new licence rather than pay the penalty. |
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Divali gift for poor students GURGAON, Oct 22 — The World Punjabi Organisation (WPO) has decided to provide financial support to 120 students for their education. This was announced by the WPO here last evening during a Divali function organised in Bristol Hotel. The WPO has taken a pledge that its members will not exchange gifts on Divali and use the money saved for providing financial help to the needy students. According to the President of WPO, Mr Bhupinder Singh Johar, aid will be provided to boys and girls with ancestral roots in Punjab but resident anywhere in the world. The Divali celebrations which were inaugurated by the Editor, The Tribune, Mr Hari Jaisingh, were organised by the WPO in conjunction with the managing authorities of Bristol Hotel with the avowed aim of “keeping alive the consciousness of the composite culture and heritage of the country for the younger generation in the jet age”. The decision to provide financial help to indigent students was in tune with the spirit of the celebrations. The altruistic gesture is perhaps the first such move in northern India, which, if replicated could go a long way in reforming society. On the occasion the audience was entertained by notable musical troupes Joshilay, Dynamie and DJ Golj and folk singers. Notable personalities S.S. Chhatwal, former Ambassador and Chairman of Union Public Service Commission and Mr Kulwant Singh Kohli, former Sheriff of Bombay were honoured on the occasion. The Union Minister for Sports and Mines, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa was also present. |
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Students act as
nurses TAORU(Mewat),Oct 22 — In Mewat, where health consciousness is considered to be poor, it is refreshing to hear Hemlata,a student of class X, conjuring up the image of Florence Nightingale,who became a byword for her nursing talents during the Crimean War. Hemlata, along with her school mates and staff members, have taken upon themselves to nurse the indigent and destitute patients who have undergone surgery at an eye camp. The mood of the students and staff members of Janata Uchya Vidyalya here, that has organised the week-long eye camp along with a Vaishya Aggarwal Sabha, is upbeat on account of the opportunity to serve the needy. A number of the patients who have undergone surgery,74 in all, do not have family members as attendants. Mr Mahavir Goyal, member of the management committee of the school, said the female students were motivated to take up the task because of values and moral education imparted in the institute. Kamaluddin (75), a resident of nearby Nizampur village, who has had a free-of-cost surgery for cataract averred that the sensitivity and enthusiasm of the girl students towards the patients made up more than their lack in formal education in the nursing course.Of course, members of the local government hospital are there at the camp. Incidentally, this is the first such camp at Taoru. The development has greater dimensions and may be construed as a changing wind considering that people of Mewat are illiterate and struck by rampant poverty. In the male-dominated society, women are more often than not treated as chattels. According to various reports and studies conducted by international agencies and voluntary organisations active in Mewat, the health consciousness among women is pathetic. A large number of them suffer from anaemia. A former Prime Minister, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda, a couple of years ago, had come to Mewat amidst reports of thousands of deaths following an outbreak of waterborne diseases. He made a public observation that the haemoglobin level among the residents was very low. The holding of such a camp is a successful exercise in the joint venture of a voluntary organisation and the government on a basic issue such as health. The Health Department provided doctors for the surgeries and the school provided for the boarding and food of the patients in its campus. The expenditure on medicine is borne out by the two. The altruistic streak among the students, staff and management of the privately run school,which is active in the area in various kinds of social works, makes sense in the light of the fact that the government,through the Mewat Development Agency, is making efforts to lift the standard of the Mewatis. The Deputy Speaker of the Haryana Assembly, Mr Gopi Chand Gehlot, while inaugurating the eye camp on October 17, urged upon locally based social organisations to supplement the efforts of the government in the larger interest of the society. |
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Charity funds ‘misused’ SONEPAT, Oct 22 — The President of the Haryana Pradesh Janata Dal (U), Mr Ved Parkash Vidrohi, today criticised the alleged forcible collection of funds in the name of the Red Cross, Child Welfare Council and the Olympic Association by officials of various government departments in the state. He alleged that the amount collected on this account is being misappropriated as proper accounts are not made by any department. In a statement issued to the press here, he demanded immediate imposition of ban on such collections. He urged the Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, to intervene in the matter and asked for scrutiny so that the money received from the public does not go into the pockets of officials but is used for the purpose for which it is collected. He also criticised the tendency of the bureaucrats to go to foreign countries on the plea of the promotion of sports. He further criticised the state government for sending a large number of bureaucrats to the Sydney Olympic meet where the performance of Indian players and athletes was disappointing. Mr Vidrohi suggested that the presidents of sports organisations should be appointed from among sportsmen only and not bureaucrats as it breeds heart burning and sports events are not properly promoted due to lack of knowledge on the part of the bureaucrats. The JD leader also expressed concern over the non-payment of support price of paddy to the farmers and said that the government had failed to safeguard the interests of the paddy growers. He criticised the Chief Minister for the plight of the farmers as he had not taken effective steps to ensure that farmers got the right price for the paddy, cotton and other kharif crops. He asked the partners of the NDA government at the Centre to end the anti-farmer policies being pursued by the Vajpayee government, otherwise they would face the wrath of the farmers in the coming general elections in the country. Cultural extravaganza
marks school function AMBALA, Oct 22 — A cultural extravaganza was presented by the students of Chaman Vatika School on the annual day function held here last night. The Chief guest, Chief Secretary of Haryana, Mr Vishnu Bhagwan, said these school children had shown that there was golden future for India. The guest of honour, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Mr R.S. Chaudhry, felicitated the chairman of the school, Mr Rajinder Nath. Presenting the school annual report, the Principal said, “Our school is the first residential public school in India to get ISO 9002”. He said the Class XII result were excellent. He stated that inter-house competitions were given importance to promote the spirit of challenge in a highly competitive world. “We try our best to bring out the hidden talent of each child. We encourage our students to pursue their hobbies,” he said. The mood for the cultural evening was set by the school orchestra, which got everyone’s feet tapping with the evergreen number “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam”. This was followed by the Bollywood blockbuster “Kaho Na Pyar Hai” and the theme song of Hollywood hit movie “Titanic”. Dancers from the middle school section, did Saraswati Vandana. The tiny tots presented “Dance of peace”. With the bust of Mahatma Gandhi in the background, the kids danced with gay abandon. The children danced to Gandhiji’s favourite bhajan. A play — “The toy box” — told the story of a young girl who comes to the toy store and becomes so engrossed in the beautiful toys that she gets locked for the night in the toy store. During the night, the toys come to life and she thoroughly enjoys herself. She is later discovered in the morning in a happy frame of mind. The school children presented “Bouquet of dance”, starting with tribal dance, which was followed by a portrayal of jungle life, a folk dance, and culminating with Arabian dance. A space dance was also performed by the children. A taekwondo demonstration was also held. A gymnastics show was presented by the students. “Bhangra”, had the audience swaying. “Satyabhama” was another attraction. The students did a skating performance. The evening culminated with the dance of thanks, followed by the prize distribution ceremony.
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Pay arrears, CM urges
people HISAR, Oct 22 — The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, has urged people to pay the arrears of their electricity bills. Addressing a public meeting at Narnaund last evening before hearing the grievances of the people in ‘‘Sarkar aapke dawar’’ programme, he said it was essential to pay electricity bills as Haryana owed Rs. 1,300 crore to the Centre and if this amount was not paid it would not be able to supply power to the state. He revealed that committees comprising seven to nine members would be formed by the gram sabhas in the villages. The members would include a sarpanch, a panch, a former sarpanch, an ex-serviceman, a woman member and other prominent people of the village. He said all development works in the villages would be done by these committees and engineers would only monitor the technical aspects of the work. The Chief Minister said the state government was aware of the needs of farmers and it had decided to repair water courses at government expense. He said where necessary, new water courses would be constructed. Mr Chautala said the government had decided to fill vacant posts of teacher within 15 days. The newly appointed teachers would have to serve in villages for at least five years. He said the teachers who were working in cities and had not yet served in villages, would be transferred to the villages for five years. |
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Demolition of temple criticised FARIDABAD, Oct 22 — The president of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Mr Ashok Singhal, has condemned the demolition of a temple at Sector 28 here by the authorities. He announced that the temple would be reconstructed at the same site and sadhus were prepared to fight for that. Speaking at a meeting of the Akhand Paramdham Samiti here today, Mr Singhal lambasted the Chautala government for demolishing religious structures of Hindus in the name of anti-encroachment drive. He said the sadhus would not leave the site till a new temple was constructed there. The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) had demolished the temple a few days ago, stating that it was built on HUDA land valued at about Rs 2 crore. The sadhus led by the Akhand Paramdham Samiti Head, Swami Parmanand, took out a torch light procession in Old Faridabad last night and held a demonstration today which led to a traffic jam in protest. Window panes of a Haryana Roadways bus were also damaged due to pelting of stones by some persons. |
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Villagers throng CM’s open
darbar FATEHABAD, Oct 22 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, organised an open darbar here today in which Finance Minister Sampat Singh, INLD legislators Leela Krishan, Nishan Singh, Vidya Beniwal and Jarnail Singh and district-level officers. Deputations of village panchayats appeared before the Chief Minister with problems of their villages. Most of the complaints pertained to the construction of streets, repair of roads, shortage of potable water, improper supply of power and chaupals for Scheduled Castes and backward classes. Mr Chautala took some decisions on the spot, including increasing their grants. The local MLA, Mr Leela Krishan Chowdhary, placed some demands of the town before Mr Chautala, who accepted to most of them. The demands included the construction of a stadium at Fatehabad, digging of the Rangoi drain to save Fatehabad from floods, construction of a new building for the Government College for Girls, development of a park by the Haryana Urban Development Authority and repair of all roads in the town. Earlier, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of the District Revenue Record Room near the local Mini Secretariat Complex. |
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Vikalang sangh flays
govt decision JHAJJAR, Oct 22 — The president of the Haryana Vikalang Sangh, Mr Joginder Singh Hooda, has condemned the state government’s decision to transfer 3 per cent of the quota reserved for the physically handicapped to sports- persons for recruitment to the police.
He today ctiticised the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, for the move.
He demanded the retention of the reservation for the handicapped. |
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Beheaded body found from well JHAJJAR, Oct 22 — Beheaded body of Raj Kumar of Sheria village was today found from a well in Davla village in the district, said the police.
Raj Kumar had been jailed for molesting a girl of the same village in 1987. However, her father had allegedly hired assassins Jagdish and Naresh who beheaded Raj Kumar and threw his body in the well. A case has been registered and Jagdish and Naresh have been arrested. |
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