 |
| Friday, February 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
|
Haryana BJP pledges Rs 50 lakh relief Warehousing corpn donates over 13 lakh Donors fear taxes, curtail donations Haryana to adopt quake-hit villages Surajkund Mela opens sans fanfare Polio cases ‘decline’ by 90 pc in India Centre indifferent to Haryana: Hooda |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Haryana creates post of DTO Yamuna Jal Samiti starts agitation
|
|
Haryana BJP pledges Rs 50 lakh relief AMBALA, Feb 1 — The Haryana BJP President, Mr Ratan Lal Kataria, said today the state unit had decided to contribute Rs 50 lakh as a relief measure for those affected in the devastating earthquake in Gujarat. After holding a meeting of the district unit to plan the relief measures, Mr Kataria said a state-legal emergency meeting was held in Panipat yesterday. “The meeting was held in the light of the earthquake in Gujarat which has claimed several thousand lives. We have received a message with regard to contributions towards the relief fund from Mr Bangaru Laxman,” he said. At the national level, he
said, the party had decided to contribute Rs 25 crore for Gujarat by February 12. “Although the state target for us is Rs 50 lakh, including in kind, we plan to raise Rs 50 lakh monetarily,” he stated. Mr Kataria said all elected representatives who drew salary, including ministers, MPs and MLAs were going to contribute a month’s salary. “While each BJP worker is going to contribute Rs 10, the state and national executive members are going to contribute at least Rs 100”, he said. He said a fund called the Haryana BJP Relief Fund had been created which would be monitored by, among others, Mr Om Prakash Dhankad, Mr Puroshottam Deshmukh, Mr Pradeep Jain and Mr Srinivas Goel. “Following the emergency meeting in Panipat, I have directed all district units to immediately hold meetings with regard to the Gujarat relief and the activists have been asked to go to each village, institutions and other places to raise money,” he said. Mr Kataria said at today’s meeting, Rs 51,000 had already been collected while the target for Ambala was Rs 5 lakh. “I have left all other work and I am devoting my time exclusively for raising funds during the next 10 days,” he said. “All party activities, barring the raising of funds have been suspended till February 12,” he added. He said the party had decided to observe February 6 as the Gujarat “shok divas”. “On that day, we will also be remembering Rajmata Scindia,” he added. Mr Kataria said the state unit had already despatched Rs 7 lakh worth of blankets to Gujarat and a truck containing tents was ready to leave from Faridabad. “We are sending all our relief material to the BJP office in Gandhinagar”, he said. |
|
Warehousing corpn donates over 13 lakh CHANDIGARH, Feb 1 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, was today presented with a cheque for Rs 11 lakh by the Chairman of the Haryana Warehousing Corporation, Mr Niranjan Lal Bansal, for the Haryana Chief Minister’s Relief Fund in aid of the earthquake victims of Gujarat. He also presented a cheque for Rs 2 lakh collected by the head office of the corporation. Mr Bansal made a donation of Rs 10,000 out of his personal fund. The Managing Director of the corporation, Mr Sajjan Singh, was also present. The president of the National Adventure Club, Mr Ram S. Verma, presented a cheque for Rs 1 lakh to the Chief Minister for the earthquake victims. Employees of the Haryana Directorate of Food and Supplies, the Haryana State Seed Certification Agency, the Haryana Sahitya Akademi and the Haryana Punjabi Sahitya Akademi donated one day’s salary for the victims. Employees of the Haryana State Social Welfare Advisory Board decided to donate one day’s salary for the cause. The Director of Animal Husbandry appealed to the employees of the department to donate liberally for the affected people. Class I and other officers of equal rank have been asked to donate Rs 1,000 each, veterinary surgeons Rs 500 each, superintendents Rs 400 each, deputy superintendents Rs 300 each, assistants Rs 200 each, clerks and equivalent Rs 150 and Class IV employees Rs 100 each for the cause. The Deputy Commissioner of Yamunanagar, Mr Rajiv Sharma, flagged off two truckloads of essential commodities for people in the quake-hit areas. The items included utensils, blankets, durries, medicines, milk powder and 90 quintals of gur. The Naib Tehsildar, Mr B.R. Malik, also led a team of electrical technicians, beldars and plumbers to Gujarat. They left in a mini bus of the state Health Department. The Yamunanagar Central Cooperative Bank presented a cheque for Rs 88,000 to the Deputy Commissioner. A cheque for Rs 51,000 was presented by the Jagadhri Municipal Committee. The Chemists Association of Yamunanagar donated a large quantity of medicines. A camp was also inaugurated by the Deputy Commissioner to collect blood for the injured. |
|
|
Donors fear taxes, curtail donations HISAR, Feb 1 — The Prime Minister’s revelation that Indians should expect a heavy dose of taxes in the wake of the Gujarat quake has inadvertently forced people to tighten their purse strings and curtail donations to the quake relief fund. Most of the donors have now decided to cut their planned donations by more than half because they say they have to keep provision for paying new taxes. This has disappointed the good Samaritans engaged in collecting funds and relief material for the quake-hit. Several local philanthropists told The Tribune today that since the new taxes too were to be utilised for providing relief to the victims, they would have to divide their planned donations to take care of both aspects. All of them, however, appreciated the Prime Minister’s gesture saying that he could have easily kept mum and imposed the taxes after the donations were collected. Instead, he chose to be truthful. However, the fund-raisers have been disappointed. A veteran social worker who is devoting all his time these days to collecting money for the quake-hit said most of the people who had asked him to collect a certain amount from them were now reneging on their promise and giving only half of what they had committed. His organisation has accordingly cut orders for relief material byhalf, fearing a cash crunch. Inquiries from other parts of the state painted a similar picture. The cancellation of orders for relief material has upset trade circles. Many of those who had received the orders had already paid heavy amounts to the manufacturers in advance. However, many such manufacturers contacted by this correspondent said they would not impose any penalties for cancelled or shortened orders because the material was meant for victims of a national calamity. Many of them said they were supplying the materials at cost price only. Despite the presence of a large number of organisations collecting funds no attempt has been made by the state government to streamline fund collection. As a result, the illiterate and rural donors are still waiting for someone to come and collect their donations. It was found that while newspaper readers were able to select organisations with credibility the illiterate and rural people wanted to pay it to government agencies only. Mr Subhash Godara, a local advocate, said many of his clients from the rural areas came to him looking for guidance. He suggested the district administrations should arrange for rotational tours by government officials to villages as well as towns with prior information to the public so that people could pay and get receipts for their donations. He said this would boost collections as there was hardly anyone who did not want to donate for this cause provided the donor was certain that the money would be utilised properly. Meanwhile, the Local Bodies Minister Mr Subhash Goyal said here today that on the suggestion of the Gujarat Government Haryana had adopted the Randhanpur area near Bhuj for relief operation. |
|
|
Haryana to adopt quake-hit villages SIRSA, Feb 1 — The Haryana Government has decided to adopt earthquake-ravaged villages in remote areas and interiors of Bhuj area of Gujarat and the state government would continue to send relief material to the affected area till the rehabilitation of the people there. This was stated by Mr Abhey Singh Chautala, MLA from Rori Assembly, while talking to mediapersons at Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa last evening. Mr Abhey Singh saw the material being loaded in trucks in the Dera and expressed his good wishes to volunteers going along the convoy. He praised the efforts of the Dera in providing relief material for the quake victims. A team of doctors had also been sent for providing treatment to those injured in the quake-affected areas. The convoy of nearly 50 trucks started from local Dera Sacha Sauda around midnight on Wednesday. Each truck contained material worth Rs 1.3 lakh. According to a spokesman of the Dera, 100 more trucks carrying relief material and volunteers would be sent to Gujarat today and tomorrow from here. Besides, the Chemists Association had also donated medicines worth Rs 1.8 lakh and a team of doctors from the local Civil Hospital who volunteered to work in the quake-affected areas also accompanied the convoy. The District Red Cross Society had contributed 30 quintal roasted grams and clothes worth Rs 10,000 for the victims. Two Haryana civil service officers, Mr R.S. Doon and Mr H.C. Bhatia, are leading the convoy to the Rapur-Randhanpur area located, about 120 km, from
Bhuj. |
|
|
Surajkund Mela opens sans fanfare FARIDABAD, Feb 1 — The 15th Surajkund Crafts Mela was inaugurated by the Governor, Babu Parmanand, here today. However, the inauguration lacked the usual fanfare due to the earthquake tragedy in Gujarat. There were no music and dance programmes this time and those present at the inaugural function observed a two minute silence to pay homage to those killed in the earthquake. The Governor, who was accompanied by his wife, Mrs Sudesh Kumari, chose not to address the gathering and visited the Surajkund museum and went around several stalls and talked to artisans and weavers. They took special interest in the art and craft of Goa, which has been made the theme state this time. Over 100 artisans and artistes from Goa are taking part. A majority of them have been here for the first time. Officials of the Surajkund Mela Authority announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the victims of Gujarat tragedy. The managing Director, Haryana Tourism, Mr Vijay Vardhan, said the amount would be given to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. Artistes from Gujarat have come here to take part in this mela as usual. However, the mela authority has decided to cancel all cultural functions and sound and music programmes this time. Usually, “ragint” singers and “nagara” players welcome the guests during the inauguration. The mela officials have put donation boxes at several places to collect relief for the quake victims. The attendance of local residents and visitors was also short of expectations this time. Over 350 artisans and weavers from different states are participating in the 15-day mela jointly organised by the Union Ministry of Tourism and Haryana Tourism. Mr M.P. Bezbaruah, Secretary, Union Ministry of Tourism, who is also the Chairman of the Surajkund Mela Authority, and senior officials of Haryana Tourism and the district administration were present on the occasion. |
|
Polio cases ‘decline’ by 90 pc in India ROHTAK, Feb 1 — Polio cases in India have declined by over 90 per cent since the launching of the pulse polio programme. This was disclosed by Dr Harish Verma, Surveillance Medical Officer of the WHO, at the WHO-sponsored seminar on “Current status of polio and future strategy” organised here yesterday. Over 40 doctors, including Dr Satish Sharma, President, Indian Academy of Paediatrics, Haryana, and Dr R.K. Chaudhary, President, IMA, Rohtak, participated in the seminar. Dr Verma disclosed that nearly 190 countries had achieved “zero polio level”. To give the final push to the polio eradication programme in 2001, there was an urgent need for following the routine polio immunisation programme along with pulse polio drops whenever such campaigns were organised, he said. Dr Sharma said the success of the polio eradication programme could be measured from the number of polio cases in Haryana. As against 140 polio cases reported in Haryana in 1998, the number had come down to just 8 in 2000. Of these eight cases, four were in Panipat and one each in Faridabad, Kaithal, Fatehabad and Gurgaon districts. He disclosed that 15 suspected cases of polio were reported from Rohtak district last month. The samples of these cases were sent to the WHO for examination. The WHO, he said, had reported that none of them was a polio case.
|
|
Centre indifferent to Haryana: Hooda PANIPAT, Feb 1 — The Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) President, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has criticised the Chautala government for centralising the powers saying that “it is the rule of father and sons”. Mr Hooda was talking to mediapersons here yesterday during his short visit to meet Congress leaders for raising donations for the earthquake victims of Gujarat. He alleged that the BJP-led Central Government had adopted an “indifferent attitude” towards Haryana by not releasing the paddy package whereas Punjab had already been given the package. He threatened that if the Central Government lowered the procurement price of wheat, the Congress would gherao and block all roads leading into Haryana from Delhi. Later, he held discussions with the local Congress leaders regarding the party’s efforts in raising donations for the earthquake victims. The Congress MLA from the Panipat constituency, Mr Balbir Pal Shah, was not present at the meeting. When Mr Hooda’s attention was drawn towards the MLA’s absence, he clarified that Mr Shah had gone to Chandigarh. |
|
Haryana creates post of DTO CHANDIGARH, Feb 1 — The Haryana Government has created a new post of District Transport Officer (DTO) today. Mr Nar Hari Singh Dhull, Secretary, Regional Transport Authority (RTA), Ambala, has been posted as DTO, Ambala and Panchkula. Mr Dalip Singh, Secretary, RTA, Yamunanagar, will be the DTO of Yamunanagar and Kurukshetra. Mr Chhatar Singh, Secretary, RTA, Gurgaon, has been posted as DTO, Gurgaon and Jhajjar. Mr Jagdeep Singh, Secretary, RTA, Faridabad, goes as DTO, Faridabad and Sonepat. Mr M.P. Sangwan, Secretary, RTA, Rewari, will be the DTO, Rewari and Mahendragarh. Mr Sanjay Rai, Secretary, RTA, Hisar, has been posted as DTO, Hisar and Fatehabad. Mr Ramesh Kumar Kajal, Secretary, RTA, Sirsa, will be the DTO, Sirsa. Mr V.S. Joon, Secretary, RTA, Jind, has been appointed DTO, Jind and Kaithal. Mr Jaibir Singh Arya, Secretary, RTA, Rohtak, will be the DTO, Rohtak and Bhiwani. Mr D.P.S. Yadav, Secretary, RTA, Karnal, has been posted as DTO, Karnal and Panipat. Meanwhile, Mr Sanjay Kothari, Commissioner and Secretary, Coordination, Member-Secretary, HBPE, and Secretary of the newly created Cell for Proper Utilisation and Disposal of Government Property, has been given additional charge of Commissioner and Secretary, Rehabilitation, relieving Mr A.N. Mathur of the said charge. Mr P. Raghavendra Rao, Director and Joint Secretary, Food and Supplies, has been given additional charge of Joint Secretary, Rehabilitation-cum-Chief Settlement Commissioner. Mr Anurag Aggarwal, Administration, HUDA, Gurgaon, has been given additional charge of Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chief Executive Officer, District Rural Development Agency, Gurgaon, vice Mrs Neerja, who has proceeded on leave.
|
|
Yamuna Jal Samiti starts agitation JHAJJAR, Feb 1 — The Yamuna Jal Sangharsh Samiti launched its agitation yesterday under the aegis of the Arya Samaj demanding an immediate solution to the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in the larger interests of the farming community in south Haryana. The samiti organised a demonstration and staged a dharna at Jhajjar. Later, the demonstrators took out a procession led by a former state minister, Mr Om Prakash Beri, to the Deputy Commissoiner’s office and handed over a memorandum of their demands to the DC. Earlier, addressing the demonstrators, Mr Beri said farmers in south Haryana were suffering a loss of thousands of crores every year due to the dispute over the link canal. He asked the Centre to work out the Haryana-Punjab water dispute in tune with the Cauvery settlement and warned to launch a “jail bharo andolan” if meaningful steps were not taken in this direction immediately. He said the estimated cost of the 212 km-long SYL project had gone up to Rs 1,000 crore as compared to its initial estimated cost of Rs 66.47 crore in 1976. He put the blame for the non-completion of the project on Haryana politicians, particularly those in power. He demanded a White Paper on canal water distribution in the state, alleging that water was being distributed on political basis instead of requirement basis. |
Immunisation for Haj pilgrims CHANDIGARH, Feb 1 — The Haryana Haj Committee today said that those who were going on Haj from Ambala, Yamunanagar and Kurukshetra districts should get themselves immunised against Japanese encephalitis at the office of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Ambala on February 3 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. They have also been asked to obtain a certificate to this effect from the
CMO.
|
|
|
Petrol pump
robbed AMBALA The incident took place at about 9.40 pm when four masked men came to the petrol station and demanded the cash from salesman Naresh Rajput at gunpoint. The salesman handed over about Rs 26,000 to them. The looters then escaped in a vehicle. A case has been registered at Naggal police station. A few weeks ago, a petrol station was looted on the GT Road. Similarly, a country liqour vend at Naneola was looted. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
