H A R Y A N A

13,000 more telephone connections for Sonepat
SONEPAT, Jan 20 — Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Haryana, will provide 13,000 new telephone connections during the current financial year in Sonepat district.

Rohtak-Delhi calls to be local
ROHTAK, Jan 20 — Conceding the long-standing demand of residents of the city, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has decided to convert the telephone service between Rohtak and Delhi into local with effect from January 26.

Govt ‘bows’ to religious body’s demand?
FARIDABAD, Jan 20 — The Haryana Government has reportedly agreed to hand over about 21,000 sq ft of land to the Sidhdata Ashram Trust here on which the HUDA authorities had demolished some of the structures of the ashram as part of the anti-encroachment drive on December 8, last year. 

“Demands day” in Haryana on Jan 24
SONEPAT, Jan 20 — The Haryana Committee of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions has decided to observe January 24 as “demands day” in the entire state.

Arya Samaj chief denies charges
HISAR, Jan 20 — Mr Hari Singh Saini, a former minister and president of the local Arya Samaj, today denied that he had usurped the office in contravention of the samaj’s constitution.

Work in GJU comes to a halt
HISAR, Jan 20 — Work in the offices of Guru Jambheshwar University here came to a halt today as most of its employees did not attend office in an attempt to force the authorities to enforce a five-day week.

HVPN explains load calculation mode
FATEHABAD, Jan 20 — The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam has sought to dispel misgivings about the mode of calculation of load being adopted by its teams during the power theft detection campaign in the district.

Traders flay govt for imposing taxes
SIRSA, Jan 20 — “The Chautala government has belied its promises by imposing taxes on the business community,” said Mr Madan Lal Kapoor, president of the Punjab State Vyapar Mandal, while addressing a gathering of businessmen here yesterday.

Dismissed cops’ morale takes a beating
FARIDABAD, Jan 20 — Morale of Haryana police constables whose services stand dismissed following the recent judgement of the Supreme Court has taken a beating. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in quashing the recruitment of 1,600 constables.

S.D. College wins running trophy
SHAHABAD, Jan 20 — A two-day inter college musical and poetry recitation contest organised by the local Markanda National College concluded here yesterday. The running trophy in the musical contest was won by S.D. College, Ambala, while in the recitation contest, it was won by Government College, Ambala.

1 killed, 5 hurt in road mishap
AMBALA, Jan 20 — One person was killed and five others were injured, one of them seriously, when a Haryana Roadways bus collided with a canter on the Ambala-Chandigarh road near Ambala City today morning.

13,000 more telephone connections for Sonepat
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Jan 20 — Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Haryana, will provide 13,000 new telephone connections during the current financial year in Sonepat district.

Mr Chander Shekhar, Telephone District Manager, told mediapersons here today that the nigam had provided 6,500 new telephone connections and the remaining connections would be given by March 31 next.

The nigam also has a plan to open six telephone exchanges in the district. Three have already been opened.

The Nigam would also expand 22 rural exchanges by 152 lines each the four rural exchanges of Saidpur, Mehlana, Palri and Jakhauli by 1,000 lines each. New telephone exchanges would be opened at Rindhana, Busana, Jagsi, Chhatera, Bhanwar, Nuran Khera, Madina, Ahulana and Umedgarh, he added.

Referring to the difficulties being faced by the telephone subscribers for depositing telephone bills, he said that arrangements have been made to collect the payment of telephone bills in the Syndicate Bank in Sector 14 at Sonepat and more banks will be added for this purpose.

The nigam has also introduced the India Telecom Card (IT card) scheme. Such cards are available in the denomination of Rs 105, Rs 210, Rs 525 and Rs 1,050 from the telecom centres at Sonepat and Gohana and from the offices of the SDEs at Kundli, Ganaur and Kharkhauda towns. Local STD/ISD calls can not have the STD facility. The charges for the calls would be debited to the IT card and no bill would be borne by telephone from which the call has been made. These calls can be made by dialling 160233, he added.

The first Internet dhaba had been opened in Sector 14 of this city to bring revolution in the field of information technology. The BSNL, would open such internet dhabas in each block of Haryana, he informed.

Rohtak-Delhi calls to be local
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Jan 20 — Conceding the long-standing demand of residents of the city, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has decided to convert the telephone service between Rohtak and Delhi into local with effect from January 26.

Mr A.K. Jain, General Manager, Rohtak Telecom, today said the pulse for Delhi would be extended to 2 minutes in place of the existing 15 seconds. The tariff would remain unchanged throughout the day.

Mr Jain said the telephone service between Rohtak and Hisar, Jind, Narwana, Rewari, Mahendragarh, Faridabad and Gurgaon telecom centres would also be made local and a call between these stations would be extended to 2 minutes.

Besides, he said a 30-second call would be registered from Rohtak to Fatehabad, Sirsa, Firozepur Jhirka, Palwal and Ambala telecom centres.

However, the rent in rural areas in Rohtak SDCA has been increased from Rs 137.50 to Rs 150 with effect from February 1, 2001. The rent in urban areas would remain the same.

The subscribers would now be able to avail the facility between the said stations by using “95” in place of “0” in the STD code of the respective station.

Govt ‘bows’ to religious body’s demand?
From Our Correspondent

FARIDABAD, Jan 20 — The Haryana Government has reportedly agreed to hand over about 21,000 sq ft of land to the Sidhdata Ashram Trust here on which the HUDA authorities had demolished some of the structures of the ashram as part of the anti-encroachment drive on December 8, last year. This is seen as the second “defeat” of the government as earlier also it had first demolished the structures and later on agreed to hand over the land in view of protests.

The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who himself had visited the site of the demolished temple in Sector 28 here in October, last year, had announced to give the disputed plot comprising 1200 yards to the trust, whose temple was demolished by HUDA authorities. Protest and pressure from certain influential persons and organisations reportedly made the CM accept the demand of the trust to give the plot to it. The plot was HUDA property and kept for auction for a nursery school. But an agitation and move, which also involved a Union Minister, made the CM visit the spot and announce its handover” to the religious body.

Now again after three months, a near similar situation had arisen with the government again “bowing” to a similar demand. Although the district authorities have been making tall claims that the demolition of some structures at Sidhdata Ashram on the Surajkund road here was appropriate as it was an encroachment and the trust had no documents to prove that it was not an encroachment. The district authorities even announced the imposition of Section 144 with a view to tackling the situation.

The ashram trust has announced to hold a rally at Ballabgarh on January 21, which coincides with the “sarkar apke dwar” programme of the Chief Minister.

According to sources in order to avoid any “awkward situation” or a clash between the administration and the devotees the CM has reportedly directed the authorities to take up the demand of the ashram sympathetically and “allot” it at the minimum possible rates. It is stated that this has been done to quell the agitation.

But on the other hand this strategy has not only confused the minds of local residents, but it has put a big question on the anti-encroachment drive of the government which has claimed that there will be no discrimination in the campaign, commented a social activist.

“Demands day” in Haryana on Jan 24
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Jan 20 — The Haryana Committee of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has decided to observe January 24 as “demands day” in the entire state.

Mr S.N. Solanki, president of the state unit of CITU, told mediapersons here yesterday that all units of the party would organise rallies and demonstrations on that day in protest against the price rise, privatisation, lay-offs, lockouts and retrenchments in industrial units and non-payment of wages in accordance with the Minimum Wages Act.

He regretted that the state government had failed to enforce the Minimum Wages Act and other labour laws effectively in industrial units. Instead, the authorities of the Labour Department were in league with the employers and they always adopted anti-worker attitude in resolving the labour disputes.

Mr Solanki also criticised the new economic policies of the government and alleged that it had been encouraging the multinational companies to operate in the country.

He warned that if the government failed to accept the demands of the workers, the union would have no alternative but to launch a statewide agitation. He also extended the party’s support to the on-going agitation of the workers at Panipat.

Arya Samaj chief denies charges
From Our Correspondent

HISAR, Jan 20 — Mr Hari Singh Saini, a former minister and president of the local Arya Samaj, today denied that he had usurped the office in contravention of the samaj’s constitution.

Replying to the allegations levelled against him in his context by the local Congress legislator, Mr Om Parkash Jindal, Mr Saini said he had been unanimously elected president in the elections held on October 25, 1998. He said the election had been ratified by the chief of the Sarvdeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha. Subsequently, a local civil court had dismissed a suit filed against his election. The same court had even refused to stay the election.

Referring to the allegation of bungling in land sales, he said his predecessor had agreed to sell a piece of land belonging to the samaj of Rs 4 lakh. However, when he became president, another customer offered Rs 8 lakh for the same plot and it was sold to him. The agricultural land at Hansi, he said, had been sold to the cultivators who had been cultivating it for more than six decades. The Samaj was spending more on the land litigation than the income from this land. It was, therefore, decided to sell the land and get rid of the recurring liability.

Regarding Mr Jindal’s allegation that the Samaj was not submitting its income statement, Mr Saini said the accounts were duly passed by the statutory bodies. He claimed that the annual income from all sources was in the range of Rs 10 lakh. He offered to hand over the management of the samaj to Mr Jindal if he signed an agreement for giving the samaj Rs 3 lakh per annum. He said Mr Jindal could keep the rest of the profits with him if he so desired.

Mr Saini said Mr Jindal had been misguided by vested interests and appealed to him not to introduce an element of casteism in the functioning of the samaj since it was a purely social organisation.

Work in GJU comes to a halt
From Our Correspondent

HISAR, Jan 20 — Work in the offices of Guru Jambheshwar University here came to a halt today as most of its employees did not attend office in an attempt to force the authorities to enforce a five-day week.

Only a handful of assistant registrars and other officials were present in the office. The Vice-Chancellor, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar went around the campus in the morning in an attempt to coax the employees to attend to their duties.

Later it was officially stated that the absentees would face disciplinary action, including a cut in pay, break in service and departmental action.

HVPN explains load calculation mode
From Our Correspondent

FATEHABAD, Jan 20 — The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) has sought to dispel misgivings about the mode of calculation of load being adopted by its teams during the power theft detection campaign in the district.

Mr V.K. Singla, Executive Engineer of the Fatehabad division of the HVPN, told mediapersons on January 18 that some vested interests were spreading rumours that the HVPN had been imposing heavy fines by showing wrong load.

He said according to the procedure adopted by the HVPN, whenever a vigilance team of the nigam detected a case of power theft, it calculated the total load and considered only 15 per cent of it as the actual consumption for 24 hours. In this way the HVPN considered that the whole load was used for only 3.5 hours per day. He said even out of this the actual bills paid by the consumer were deducted.

The balance amount was doubled to calculate the fine to be imposed on the consumer. He said the HVPN assessed a load of 1 KV for three power plugs, 40 watts for three plugs, 60 watts for an electric bulb or tube.

Traders flay govt for imposing taxes
From Our Correspondent

SIRSA, Jan 20 — “The Chautala government has belied its promises by imposing taxes on the business community,” said Mr Madan Lal Kapoor, president of the Punjab State Vyapar Mandal, while addressing a gathering of businessmen here yesterday.

Mr Kapoor criticised the Punjab and Haryana government for backtracking on the promises made to this community. He said that in Haryana, though the government had abolished the octroi, it imposed ST 38 form whereas the Punjab Government had not kept in promise of withdrawing the octroi.

He also condemned the Haryana Government’s decision to impose a 4 per cent entry tax on items like beverages and sweetmeats.

Dismissed cops’ morale takes a beating
From Our Correspondent

FARIDABAD, Jan 20 — Morale of Haryana police constables whose services stand dismissed following the recent judgement of the Supreme Court has taken a beating. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in quashing the recruitment of 1,600 constables.

Hundreds of constables met yesterday and decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court. They also resolved to convene an emergency meeting at Rajghat in New Delhi on January 23.

They said they were innocent and were selected on the basis of merit. They had completed five years of service.

The apex court has, however, said some weightage should be given to the dismissed constables. They are about 550 constables from the region, including 330 from Faridabad, 150 from Gurgaon, 30 from Rewari and 29 from Narnaul district.

Meanwhile, the police authorities have withdrawn arms from the dismissed constables. They will perform those duties where no arms are required.

S.D. College wins running trophy
From Our Correspondent

SHAHABAD, Jan 20 — A two-day inter college musical and poetry recitation contest organised by the local Markanda National College concluded here yesterday.

The running trophy in the musical contest was won by S.D. College, Ambala, while in the recitation contest, it was won by Government College, Ambala.

The following are the results:

Hindi poetry — Kuldeep Singh, Government College, Ambala (1), Renu Sholkhe, University College, Kurukshetra, and Laxmi, Arya College, Panipat (both 2).

Urdu poetry — Sukhjinder, Government College, Ambala (1) and Sushma, M.D.S.D. Girls College, Ambala (2).

Punjabi poetry — Anuradha, Government College, Ambala (1) and Manjit, D.N. Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Kurukshetra (2).

Group song — S.D. College, Ambala (1), Parshuram College, Kurukshetra, and Arya Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Shahabad (both 2)

Bhajan/Shabad — Sunil Baggan, S.D. College, Ambala, and Dushyant, Parshuram College, Kurukshetra (both 1).

Geet Ghazal — Vikas Government College, Hisar and Sunil Baggan, S.D. College, Ambala (both 1)

Dangi’s plea for better facilities fails
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Jan 20 — A special court today rejected an application seeking better facilities moved by former minister and senior Congress leader Anand Singh Dangi, who is lodged in the District Jail here.

However, the court granted permission to his elder brother, Mr Dharam Pal Dangi, to supply eatables to the undertrial.

The petitioner had sought better facilities in the jail on the plea that he was a graduate, an income-tax payee and a former Cabinet Minister of Haryana.

However, Special Judge Shiva Sharma rejected the application, stating that better facilities “cannot be allowed to those involved in offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act”.

3 get life term for rape
From Our Correspondent

PANIPAT, Jan 20 — The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mrs Raj Rahul Garg, has awarded life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 each to three accused of gang-rape. Three other accused in the same case have also sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 each.

The wife of Lal Chand, a resident of Raja Pur village was gangraped on February 5, 1999 by Ramesh, Ajmer and Veer Bhan. Three others — Bagicha, Suraj Bhan and Raju — were also present there and kept on threatening the victim.

On a complaint of victim’s father, a case under Sections 376, 506, 148 and 149 of the IPC was registered against the accused.

Ramesh, Ajmer and Veer Bhan have been awarded life imprisonment while Bagicha, Suraj Bhan and Raju sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment.

Residents’ meeting convened
From Our Correspondent

PANIPAT, Jan 20 — A meeting of the prominent residents and representatives of various business organisations of the city to discuss the law and order situation was held here yesterday.

Superintendent of Police P.R. Dev presided the meeting. He asked the industrialists to provide I-cards to their employees. President of the Yarn Dealers Association Dalip Dua expressed concern over the increasing incidents of thefts and the alleged failure of the police to curb this menace.

The industrialists of Siwah region demanded police patrolling in the area as the incidents of looting were increasing.

Cinema owner, Sanjay Punani suggested that in order to ease traffic congestion at Lal Batti Chowk and on the Assandh road, the heavy vehicles should be diverted through by-pass linking Gohana and Assandh roads.

Young entrepreneur Sunil said the incidents of theft were on the rise in the godowns in various areas in the city. He also complained that even after a month, the police has not registered a case of theft which took place at his house.

1 killed, 5 hurt in road mishap
From Our Correspondent

AMBALA, Jan 20 — One person was killed and five others were injured, one of them seriously, when a Haryana Roadways bus collided with a canter on the Ambala-Chandigarh road near Ambala City today morning.

The driver of the ill-fated bus Aswani Kumar died in the mishap. One person, identified as Sandeep Yadav, was admitted to the local Civil Hospital in a serious condition. The other injured were discharged after providing them first aid.

According to the police, the bus was going towards Chandigarh from Ambala when it collided with a canter near the Haryana-Punjab border near Ambala City. The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital for postmortem. The police registered a case in this regard.

Four booked for rape
From Our Correspondent

FARIDABAD, Jan 20 — A married woman was allegedly gangraped by four persons at Nangla Ashandpur village in the district yesterday.

The victim had gone to fields when she was allegedly forcibly abducted and raped. A case under Section 376 and 506 of the IPC has been registered against the accused, identified as Jaidev, Haroon, Jumma and Mamman. No arrest has been made so for.

Meanwhile, Jaikishan, alias Jackie, of old Faridabad succumbed to his injuries at Escorts Hospital. He was injured in a road accident.

Governor releases Dr Joshi’s book
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 20 — Haryana Governor Babu Parmanand released a book of poems — “Sahil tak ka safar” — written by Dr Pramod Joshi at Raj Bhavan here yesterday.

Releasing the book, the Governor praised the contents of the book.

Acharya Vimal Muniji Maharaj, who was present on the occasion, underscored the need for preserving ‘‘our culture and national language.’’