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| Tuesday,
April 3, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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WTO pact
to hit farmers: CPM Bhajan
objects to closure of units Bhajan Lal’s rally mismanaged: Hooda
Saha centre to start soon CM to
launch computer scheme |
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Delay in
survey leaves farmers uncertain Crop
damage: Cong seeks relief Wheat
price: HPCC threatens to gherao Delhi Accused in
NDPS case innocent: villagers No
governing body even after a year Shorewala’s
remand further extended Man gets
life term for burning wife 2
engineering college students booked for murder Lighting
scheme to cover 6,000 families Mass
marriages solemnised 1 killed,
12 hurt as Sumo overturns Labourer
killed by fellow worker Attempt
to sell ‘math’ land Governor
unveils Balmiki’s statue Five
booked on complaint of DTO Two
youths robbed Rs 1.48 crore
for data centres
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WTO pact to hit farmers:
CPM Rohtak, April 2 The party state secretary, Mr Inderjit Singh, said the interests of Haryana and Punjab were bound to suffer the most as the developed countries would dump all sorts of agriculture produce in the Indian market. The farmers in Haryana, he said, were on the verge of becoming pampers and would be least capable of competing with the highly subsidised farming of the rich countries which stand to gain a lot through providing a “level playing field” as professed by the Union Commerce Minister while announcing the NDA governments Exim policy on Saturday. This is ironical that the self-proclaimed “messiah” of farmers, Mr Om Prakash Chautala heading the state has becoming a tool in the hands of the Vajpayee government and has failed to put pressure and express concerns on impending challenge from the WTO but on the contrary has tried to allay the fears generated from lifting the QRs the CPM said. Mr Inderjit Singh said that Mr Chautala’s stance was least surprising if seen in the context of his endorsement of Mr Vajpayee’s sermons to the farmers of Haryana to switch over to flower cultivation replacing wheat, rice and other food crops while addressing a rally at Kurukshetra last month. The party is worried over allowing unhindered import of milk, cheese, butter, powdered milk, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, spices, meat and poultry products from a huge list of consumer goods. Thousands of poor farmers and landless labourers, particularly in the districts around Delhi meeting needs of eatables of daily use would bear the impact in the changed scenario as their meagre earnings would be at stake. How will these self-employed and their families survive in the wake of the already dismal employment scenario, the party asked. “A negligible growth rate in agriculture as found in the pre-budget economic survey presented to Parliament by the Union Finance Minister goes to reflect the magnitude of crisis and one could be least hopeful with the rhetoric like agro-export policy or creation of agro-export zones etc, the CPM said. India’s food security would be jeopardised if the existing cropping
pattern was altered in consonance with the demand of G-6 and other developed countries, Mr Inderjit Singh warned. Unfortunately, the warnings of many farm scientists and outstanding personalities, including the green revolution icon like Dr M.S. Swaminathan, against blind liberalisation not in keeping with the concrete conditions within the country have been totally ignored, the party said. The party said that many national-level organisations were up in arms in the backdrop of declining prices of crops and enhancing of production cost as a result of continuous cuts in subsidies. Scarcity of irrigation canal water is leading to more and more dependence on under-ground water was proving expensive with water table in large areas of Haryana going down on the one hand and enhancing power bills on the other, Mr Inderjit Singh said. The crucial policy of the Centre in procuring the crops on minimum support price and making it available to consumers through PDS has virtually been given the go by. The Centre would henceforth procure only a minimum basic quantity while the states have been asked to undertake the colossal task of procurement and distribution, the party said. The abdication of its role towards sustaining food security by the Centre was a part of overall policy package under liberalising the domestic agriculture sector in tune with the WTO, the party alleged. |
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Bhajan objects to closure of units Chandigarh, April 2 The former Chief Minister admitted that during the Congress regime also a proposal had been made for closing down the units. However, he added that the proposal was not carried out as the government was not able to find alternative employment for the staff. Mr Bhajan Lal said units such as Confed were playing a pivotal role in villages and the state government should have continued with the units on a no profit, no loss basis. “The state government could have also tried to make the loss-making units viable. And in any case if the units were to be shut down, the government should have accommodated the employees in other departments”, the Congress leader said. “The problem of excess employees should have been tackled at the time of giving appointments,” the CLP leader said. He added that more than 4000 persons had lost their jobs because of the government decision to close down certain public sector and cooperative sector units. On the issue of the expose by the Tehelka website, Mr Bhajan Lal said some central investigation agency like the CBI could have been called to assist the judicial probe ordered into the matter. He added that after revelations by the website, the BJP had lost the moral highground it maintained on corruption. He also expressed surprise that the Union Government did not file any FIR after Mr Bangaru Laxman and Ms Jaya Jaitley were shown “taking illegal gratification” from decoy arms dealers. Mr Bhajan Lal also expressed doubt whether the Union Government would take any action against the persons found guilty in the course of the probe. “ The Union Law Minister Mr Arun Jaitley, as well as the Home Minister, Mr L. K. Advani, have already expressed doubts about the authenticity of the videotapes, so how can one expect that the guilty persons will be punished after the probe?” the former Chief Minister asked. While saying that the prowess of the Bofors guns, the purchase of which came under a cloud during the Rajiv Gandhi regime, was amply displayed during the Kargil war, Mr Bhajan Lal said the shady defence deals of the BJP-led government exposed by Tehelka would be a psychological blow to the soldiers guarding the frontier. |
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Bhajan Lal’s rally mismanaged: Hooda Ambala, April 2 Mr Hooda, who arrived here to address a workers’ meeting, while talking to mediapersons said people were looking forward to the rally. “We are expecting a large turnout. The rally is against the government, specially on the Tehelka revelations,” he said. He observed that the rally organised by Mr Bhajan Lal had been mismanaged. “The hooting which took place at Bhiwani is not part of the Congress culture. It was preplanned”, he said. “I have already asked for a complete report on the incident from the rally convenor by April 10”, he added. Mr Hooda stated that people had lost faith in the NDA. “We are going to challenge the government in the rally. This will spread to other parts of the country. The future course of action on how to remove these governments will be taken in this rally,” he said. Among others, Ms Mohsina Kidwai, Mr Natwar Singh and Mr Mukul Wasnik are expected to attend the rally. He said the district and block-level rallies were already taking place. “The next phase will start after April 15,” he said. To a query, Mr Hooda said yesterday was a black day for farmers and the small industrialists. “The government had gone for the WTO treaty without exercising all options available,” he said. He said the government had not got a procurement policy. “We have told the farmers that they should only sell when they get the minimum support price. If they are forced to sell at a lower rate, then the Congress will agitate for them and do gherao in Delhi,” he said. Among others, Mr Balwant Gupta, Mr Nirmal Singh and Mr S.K. Sharma were present. |
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Saha centre to start soon Ambala, April
2 The Ambala Cantonment MLA, Mr Anil Vij, said, “The growth centre will not only give a
flip to the local industry, it will also strengthen the local economy”. He said “I have suggested that the industries which are leaving Delhi
Mr Vij said the centre will go a long way in developing this area, which is strategically located. According to the new expenditure plan for the year 2001-2002 the Government of India had planned to set up 100 growth centres in the 8th five year plan throughout the country. Till now 70 growth centres have been allocated to various states and union territories. Two growth centres were allocated to Haryana, one at Bawal in Rewari district and other at Saha in Ambala district. Under the scheme, it is proposed to provide infrastructure facilities at par with the best available in the country, particularly in respect of power, water, telecommunications and banking. The Government of India ‘has proposed investment of Rs 25 to 30 crore on each growth centre for creating infrastructure. As per the financing pattern of the scheme, The Central Government will provide Rs 10 crore as an equity for each centre and the state government will provide Rs 5 crores. Rest of the funds will be arranged through financial institutions, nationalised banks and market borrowings. The amount when sanctioned will be placed at the disposal of the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation as it is the implementing agency of the project. The state government has already released Rs 15 crore and Rs 10 crore as has come as Central share for the setting up of growth centre at Bawal. The state government has acquired approximately 400 acres of land for the growth centre at Saha. The Government of India approved the growth centre project on October 31, 1997. The total cost of the Saha project will be Rs 66.58 crore. The Central Government had released its share to the tune of Rs 200 lakh and the state has also released its share of Rs 25 lakh. A total provision of Rs 3.25 crore has been proposed for this scheme during the year 2001-2002. The Senior Vice-President of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr N.C. Jain, said the Saha growth centre is important, specially for the local industries. “with the development of the growth centre, the local industry will get an opportunity to work from a well-developed environment which will enable greater growth”, he said. |
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CM to launch computer scheme Chandigarh, April 2 The government had given the contract for computer education to Tata Infotech, which would charge a monthly fee of Rs 80 per student. He said 20 per cent of the Scheduled Castes students of a school would get 50 per cent discount in the fee. Mr Chaudhery said the service provider would impart computer education both in Hindi and English and provide bilingual software wherever possible. The preferential medium of communication in rural institutions would be Hindi. The service provider would also train 10 teachers per institution every year free of cost. At least 90 hours of training would be imparted to the students. Lotus, Windows, Smart Suit and other software would be covered during the training. Computer education, would shortly be introduced in 57 colleges and 192 industrial training institutes and vocational education institutes in the state. |
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Delay in survey leaves farmers uncertain Rohtak, April 2 The Congress, the BJP and the Rashtriya Lok Dal have surveyed the affected villages where no government agency has visited so far to assess the loss. The farmers whose standing crops of wheat and mustered were damaged are in a dilemma whether to harvest the crops or to wait for the survey. The HPCC chief, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, surveyed the affected villages in this district and demanded a compensation at a rate of Rs 10,000 per acre. Mr Krishan Murti Hooda, a former minister, has also demanded the same. Meanwhile, a team of the Rashtriya Lok Dal today surveyed different villages. Mr Balbir Singh Grewal, president of the Haryana unit of the Dal, said the team visited Bohar, Baliana, Bhalaut, Rurki, Kiloi, Aasan, Polangi, Jasrana, Gumana, Ladhaut, Makrauli etc and found that the standing crops of wheat and mustered were damaged up to 75 per cent. He said the district administration should conduct a survey at its own level to enable the farmers to harvest the crops and to sow the next crop. He demanded compensation at the rate of Rs 5,000 per acre. |
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Crop damage: Cong seeks relief Hisar, April 2 Addressing mediapersons here last evening, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) said that crops in most parts of Haryana had been destroyed completely. Criticising Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala he said though Mr Chautala claimed to be a pro-farmer leader but he had not announced any relief for farmers so far. The affected farmers were greatly perturbed over this issue. He demanded that the government to announce compensation immediately. Mr Hooda also demanded that the government should remit power bills of the farmers. After damaged to crops farmers were not in a position to pay power bills. He alleged that the Centre and the state governments were implicating Congress leaders in false cases to browbeat the opposition. He criticised lathi charge on Youth Congress workers, which resulted in injuries to the president of Indian Youth Congress Randeep Singh Surjewala at Chandigarh recently. Mr Hooda said after the tehelka expose the NDA government had lost the moral right to continue in office. It was shameful for the president of the ruling party to accept bribes. He said indiscipline in the Bhiwani rally was against the Congress culture. The party has asked Mr Dharamvir, a legislator and organiser of the rally, to submit a report in this regard by April 10. After this the state unit would take strict action against the guilty, he added. Commenting on Mr Bhajan Lal’s inability to participate in the Panipat rally on April 8, the state Congress chief said that he wanted all senior leaders of the party to participate in the rally. Earlier addressing party workers he said the Congress would announce its course of action against the Chautala government at Panipat on April 8. |
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Wheat price: HPCC threatens to gherao Delhi Kaithal, April 2 He was addressing a meeting of district Congress workers, in the local Congress Bhavan here today in connection with the proposed state-level Congress rally at Panipat on April 8. Mr Hooda said that the Centre and Haryana government had failed to safeguard the interests of farmers. Mr Hooda demanded suitable compensation for the farmers of Rohtak, Sonepat and other districts, whose crops have suffered extensive damage in the recent hailstorm. Mr Hooda claimed that the proposed ‘lalkar rally’ at Panipat would be historic. Mr Hooda described the ‘Sarkar Apke Dawar’ programme launched by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala a big hoax and said that there was no budgetary provision for the expenditure to be made on the schemes announced by the Chief Minister in such programmes. He said that in spite number of announcements made by the Chief Minister conditions of roads was poor. There was shortage of power and canal water did not reach the tail ends. He alleged that recruitment of constables was not made on merit and the candidates now applying for recruitment as constables were asked to pay Rs 500 per form, which was unfair. Mr Hooda said that murders, robberies, dacoities and rapes were on the increase and the government has no plan on it. The former Minister Tejinder Mann, Jai Parkash MLA, Dillu Ram, Satinder Rana ex-MLA’s and Mr Sudhir Mehta and Randhir Rana member HPCC state executive were present on the occasion. |
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Accused in NDPS case innocent: villagers Fatehabad, April 2 While the residents allege that the police has implicated innocent persons under fake charges, the police maintains that the accused were arrested after it got information that they were indulging in poppy husk smuggling. It had recovered 40 kg of the contraband from each of these accused. The police, it may be recalled, had arrested Beg Raj Chauhan, a resident of Mehmara village in this district, on March 31. It had claimed it recovered 40 kg of poppy husk from his possession. On the same day, the police arrested another villager, Maluk Singh, a resident of Sardarewala village. The crime branch of the district police registered both cases under the Rattia police station. Incidentally, both villages are notorious for poppy husk trafficking. The controversy started when a group of 250 villagers came to the office of the
Superintendent of Police, Mr Hanif Qureshi today and alleged that the police had
implicated innocent persons in the case. The villagers, including several women, alleged that the two were called to the police station by the crime branch. They were made to sit there for the whole day, and finally implicated. The villagers denied the police claim that poppy husk was recovered from their possession. The villagers maintained that Maluk Singh was mentally handicapped who was injured in an accident last year. The SP when contacted, said he had ordered a probe into the case by DSP Ashok Sheoran. He would submit his report by April 5. He said the Bhiwani police had arrested some drug traffickers with 151 kg of poppy husk. They revealed that the two accused had purchased the contraband from them. He said he had ordered an inquiry into the matter only to satisfy the villagers. |
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No governing body even after a year Panipat, April 2 The BJP had emerged as the single largest party with 12 councillors followed by the Congress with 10 councillors and the remaining nine owing their allegiance to the ruling INLD. There was an understanding between the INLD and the BJP to forge an alliance and the president of the council would be from the BJP. However, soon after the election, differences started surfacing between leaders of the INLD and the BJP over the post of the president. According to information, the INLD wanted its own councillor or a BJP dissident as president. This was opposed by a majority of the BJP councillors who reportedly wanted to elect Mr Sanjay Bhatia, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, as president. In the past, at least three attempts were made to elect the president and the vice-president, but due to one reason or the other, the election was postponed. The BJP and the INLD leaders have failed to sort out their differences, as a result the election has been kept pending. This situation has caused resentment among the councillors and residents. The local MLA, Mr Balbir Pal Shah, alleged the governing council could not be constituted due to the indifferent attitude of the Chautala government, adding that it was interested in re-election. Councillor Jyoti Baweja held both state government and the BJP responsible for the stalemate. Councillors Shyam Sunder and Harish Sharma said had the councillors sincerely tried, the election to the governing council could have been completed. Mr Rajinder and Mr Rohtash Jaglan, both councillors, held the BJP responsible for the delay. Some of the BJP councillors, on condition of anonymity, alleged that the INLD had reneged on its promise of giving the post of president to the BJP. At present, the councillor’s working is being administered by the City Magistrate. The delay in the information of the governing body has invited criticism from the residents and shopkeepers. They said what was the use of elections. If elected representatives were not allowed to run the council affairs as per the aspirations of the people. |
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Shorewala’s remand
further extended Kaithal, April 2 According to information the prosecution had sought the extension of police remand on the ground that Mr Shorewala was not cooperating with the police and “misguiding” it in the recovery of some documents relating to the purchase of some immoveable properties. Mr Shorewala was taken to Ambala and then to Jagadhri for the recovery of the documents as he had told the police during investigation that the documents were lying with one of his relatives. However, the police came to know that the person mentioned by Mr Shorewala had expired in 1998. |
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Man gets life term for burning wife Fatehabad, April 2 The victim, Jasandeep Kaur, was married to Baljeet Singh on January 27, 1997. According to the prosecution story, Baljeet Singh and his two mothers allegedly sprinkled kerosene on the victim and set her on fire on March 13, 1999. The victim was brought to the local General Hospital with 90 per cent burns on her body. She was shifted to Safdarganj Hospital in Delhi where she succumbed to her injuries on March 17, 1999. The accused, according to the prosecution, had been harassing the victim for bringing insufficient dowry. The court found the husband guilty of the murder and acquitted the mothers-in-law. In another case, the Judge granted bail to a villager accused of murderous attack on his brother. The court rejected the bail application of another accused in this case. The accused Ram Singh and Devi Lal are alleged to have attacked their brother with a sharp-edged weapon. The court accepted the bail application of Devi Lal and rejected the application of Ram Singh. |
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engineering college students booked for murder Kurukshetra, April 2 According to police sources, Vikas Tomar was the only son of his parents, residents of Sector 13, Urban Estate, Kurukshetra. His father Mr Om Pal Tomar told the police that his son had left for college on March 28 last but did not return home till Friday last (March 30. However, Mr Tomar was informed by the police about his son’s body which was recovered from near the Railway crossing near Palwal village near here on the evening of Friday last. It is learnt that Vikas had a dispute with some students of his college, a couple of days before the Holi festival but later, they reached a compromise. This case has been registered on the suspicion expressed by the father of the deceased and after receiving medical report from Medical College, Rohtak. However, the medical report being not clear, the deceased’s viscera had been
dispatched to Forensic Laboratory, Madhuban, Karnal for analysis. No arrest has been made so far. |
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Lighting scheme to cover 6,000 families Chandigarh, April 2 An official spokesman said here today that various programmes were being implemented to tap and channelise the non-conventional and renewable energy sources in the state. The target was to cover 7000 families under the solar lantern scheme during the current financial year, for which a subsidy of Rs 1.05 crore would be provided. The department would also install 200 SPV streetlighting systems this year. The cost of the project would include Rs 20.05 lakh as Central share. The cost of one such system was about Rs 20,500. Besides a State subsidy of Rs 5,000, the Central Government would provide 50 per cent subsidy at the rate of Rs 10,250 per system. The remaining cost would be borne by the panchayat or the beneficiary. |
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Mass marriages solemnised Shahabad, April 2 The marriages were conducted in the Markandeya temple complex by Mr Prahlad Sharma, the head priest of the temple. All members of the marriage parties were served tea and lunch. Beds blankets, clothes, utensils, stoves and other articles of daily use were given to the girls on the occasion. Mr Kesar Dass stated that this was the 14th mass marriage
function organised in the temple complex. |
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1 killed, 12 hurt as Sumo overturns Hisar, April 2 According to the police, several members of a family were going from Delhi to Tarapur in Rajasthan when the driver of the ill-fated vehicle lost control while avoiding collision with a Maruti car coming from the opposite direction. Arjun Singh, a resident of Tilak Nagar in Delhi, died on the spot. Bishan Singh, Ravi Kumar, Rakesh, Jeet Singh, Dharam Pal and Nisha were injured seriously. They were admitted to the local Civil Hospital. Others with minor injuries were discharged after first aid. In another mishap, seven persons, including three women and two children, were injured seriously when a Maruti car overturned near
Hansi, about 30 km from here, last night. They were admitted to the Civil Hospital there. The vehicle was on its way from Sirsa to Delhi when the mishap occurred. |
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Labourer killed by fellow worker Faridabad, April 2 According to the police, the incident happened last night when the accused Rajender attacked Devi
Charan, while the latter was asleep, with a spade. It is learnt that it was done in a fit of raze by the accused who was upset after the victim called him “paagal” (mentally disable) during a discussion earlier in the day. It is reported that several workers who rushed to save him were also attacked by the accused. Two labourers, Subhash and his wife, got injured. A case of murder has been registered and the accused arrested. |
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Attempt to sell ‘math’ land Rohtak, April 2 Mr Dharamvir Nandal, president of the samiti, today alleged that the mahant had completed the formalities and had sought permission from court which was mandatory for the deal. He claimed that such an act was illegal as he was not authorised to sell any property belonging to the Nath community. Meanwhile, the Sonepat police has revealed that the mahant who has gone underground, had withdrawn Rs 2 crore from different accounts of the “math” within the past fortnight. The police said more than 20 bank accounts of the “math” were under its vigilance. |
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Governor unveils Balmiki’s statue Panipat, April 2 The Governor was addressing a meeting organised by the Balmiki Yuva Sabha at the local Balmiki basti after unveiling the statues of Maharishi Balmiki and Lord Rama’s son Luv and Kush, today. |
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Five
booked on complaint of DTO Kaithal, April 2 According to reports, the official in his complaint alleged while checking vehicles, he stopped a vehicle near Kangtnli village. When asked to show the documents, the driver refused following which the officer impounded the vehicle. Rohtash, Krishan, Shiv Dayal,
Amarnath and Avtar Singh misbehaved with him, he said. The police has
arrested the persons involved. |
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Two youths robbed Panipat, April 2 According to information, Rajesh and Nand Kishore who working with a ghee trader at Samalkha were returning to Dikadla village, they were stopped by the four miscreants at pistol point and asked to hand over their cash and valuables. When the youths resisted the attempt they were beaten and injured with knives and lathis. After tying the youths with ropes, the miscreant took away Rs 800, a gold ring, a silver ring and wrist watch and left the youths at a nearby field. After sometime, a villager happened to pass by that way and saw a scooter and shoes of the victims lying on the road. He immediately informed the villagers who found the youths at the field. |
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Rs 1.48 crore
for data centres Chandigarh, April 2 While stating this here today, a spokesman of the department said the Union Government would give Rs 1.48 crore for setting up these centres. |
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