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Friday,
April 27, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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2 lakh tonne of wheat procured Followers of Bacchus on the
track Panel for AIDS awareness course in
schools Boycotted family finds no
pallbearers CM orders probe into
fake vehicle registrations |
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Docs may get NPA on Central
pattern Bitta visits slain jawan’s
family City Magistrate
arrested Illegal mining still on, says BJP
MLA FCI workers on strike held Trader shot dead
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2 lakh tonne of wheat procured Faridabad, April 26 However, the procurement so far has surpassed the total quantity of wheat purchased last year. According to the authorities concerned, a total of 2,08,093 tonne of wheat has been procured in various mandis of the district till Tuesday. Of this a total 2,07,206 tonne has been purchased by government agencies and 491 tonne by traders. Last year only 71,688 tonne of wheat was procured upto this time. While the purchase so far has been about three times of past year, authorities believe that total procurement by the end of the season may be many times higher, leading to a kind of new record. The procurement so far, has already registered an increase of 33,000 tonne over the total purchase of last year. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has bought 55, 368 tonne, Hafed-48,554 tonne, the Food and Supplies Department 22,086 tonne, Warehousing Corporation-19,128 tonne and Haryana Agro-Industries-62,466 tonnes. The increase in wheat arrival is due to the tendency of the farmers of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to bring their produce to the mandis here. According to information, thousands of tonnes of wheat procured in Palwal, Hodal and Hassanpur mandis in the district has come from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. But farmers bringing their produce to the mandis do not seem to be satisfied with the arrangements. Several of them have been waiting and keeping a watch over the wheat lying in their tractors or in the mandi area due to lack of required gunny bags for packing. They fear ‘damage’ to wheat in case of an inclement weather. Some of the farmers at Hodal and Palwal mandis have complained of slow process adopted by various agencies to lift wheat from the mandis. They have also alleged delay in “payments” of the wheat purchased from them. It is claimed that over Rs 1 crore could be pending towards payments for the last week. Although several senior officials have visited the mandis but grievances of farmers have not been removed completely. On the other hand the Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.C. Jain, claimed that procurement had been going on smoothly. He said there was ‘no complaint’ from the farmers which could not be addressed. He said agencies would procure all the wheat that would come to the mandis. The administration has started 16 procurement centres, besides the eight regular mandis in the district. |
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Followers of Bacchus on the
track Piranwali (Hisar), April 26 Illicit distillation of liquor is the principal avocation of almost all its residents. They grow crops only to hide their stills from the prying eye. There is hardly a family in the village which does not have cases under the Excise Act pending against it. They have been moonshiners for decades and all efforts by the government to reform the villagers have failed so far. The village is located about 10 km from Hisar on the Sirsa road. Despite the number of deaths on the track, the shiny iron rails continue to attract villagers. Most of the accidents take place when drunken men challenge each other to be the last to leave the track when a train is approaching. The delay of a fraction of a second results in death. But that has not deterred them from playing this dangerous game. The other reason is that they get so drunk that they do not hear an approaching train. What makes the rail track so attractive to drunkards? Nobody knows for sure, but old timers say it all began with the need to keep the police at bay. Initially, the policemen used to approach the village from the rail track. The villagers began guarding the rail track and in no time it became their favourite haunt. Many of the deaths occurred as the railway crossing in the village remained unmanned for years. But most deaths took place away from it on the sides of the track. These deaths are never reported to the railway authorities or the police for obvious reasons. The crossing now is manned but the gateman cannot stay in his cabin after sunset as the drunkards drive him away. For all practical purposes, therefore, the crossing continues to be still unmanned. That’s not all that makes this village different from others. Come election time and the village unanimously spells out its preconditions for supporting a candidate. Firstly, they do not want the approach road to the village repaired or metalled. And even more importantly, they would prefer to keep their village powerless. The logic is simple. A metalled road and lights in the village will help the police nab them easily. Hence, they do not mind the slight discomfort of being without power and streetlights and criss-crossing a pot-holed road. No politician can probably fulfil these demands in these modern times. Yet they do make sure that nobody is booked when the villagers themselves dig pits on the road as soon as it is metalled or when they pull down an electricity pole or smash the bulbs by pelting stones at streetlight poles. This has been going on for decades. This village hasn’t changed. Almost the entire population of the village comprises of Sikhs belonging to the Scheduled Castes. Moonshining is in their blood. The training for children begins at the tender age of five. Every child of five and above — male or female — is supposed to help the family produce illicit liquor. It is sold in drums, barrels, football bladders, car rubber tubes and a host of other storage and transportation gadgets. Illicit liquor produced in this village is considered as the “scotch of hooch”. It is sold under an unofficial brand name: Piranwali Marka. One can find these two words crudely scrawled across drums and cans freely available in the village. The moonshiners claim Piranwali Marka has never resulted in a hooch tragedy. Some villagers attribute the deaths in rail mishaps to the curse of producing scotch of hooch. Scores of attempts have been made by the police and social organisations to make the villagers respect the law. Even the use of force and numerous convictions have not helped. And so, death and hooch continue to have a free run at Piranwali. |
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Panel for AIDS awareness course in
schools Chandigarh, April 26 Some startling statistics regarding the spread of AIDS scenario in Haryana were reportedly revealed at the meeting. While the latest official figure of HIV positive people in the state is 162, the actual number of people suffering from this disease is estimated to be a staggering 40,000, Health Department officials told the participants. Only 4 per cent of the HIV positive cases are believed to have been caused by the transfusion of blood, while the remaining instances of AIDS in the state are sexually transmitted. Most of the HIV positive cases are reported from areas adjacent to the highways where it is believed to have been spread by truckers and commercial sex workers. While the participants largely agreed to the necessity of making children aware of the disease, they were also wary about the social repercussions. Besides, the absence of sex education course in the schools makes it all the more difficult. Nevertheless, it was decided to set the process in motion by forming an expert group with senior teachers, doctors, social activists as its members, to examine the matter. It was also decided that workshops on AIDS would be conducted for school teachers. Official sources said the government would expect the expert group to submit its report within two months. That is, if the expert group feels that society at large will not be outraged by such a decision. While, it was yet to be decided from which class onward children would be imparted sex education, it was tentatively decided that AIDS awareness would not be regular subject. |
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Boycotted family finds no
pallbearers Hisar, April 26 After the death of Khajani Devi, he went from door to door yesterday but no one was ready to help him. The body kept lying in his house the whole day. He also threatened to place the body inside the Panchayat Bhawan in the middle of the village if the residents did not help him but angry villagers sent him back reminding him of the gruesome murder of three members of his uncle’s family allegedly to grab land. Jogender Singh is facing trial in the case and currently on bail while his other brothers are lodged in the local central jail. Later, he himself carried firewood and other materials in a cart to the cremation ground. His aunt living in Bugana village, near here, sent a few relatives to help him. Jogender Singh, along with his four brothers and his mother, had allegedly murdered his uncle’s widow Dharmo Devi (50) and her two sons Dalbeer (28) and Dharmveer (23) to grab their land in July last year. According to the police, they called the victims to their fields in the night on the pretext of performing a havan saying that the presence of the whole family was required. When Dharmo Devi and her two sons reached the fields, Jogender Singh and his brothers allegedly hacked them to pieces. After the incident, one of his brothers Dharmvir surrendered to the police late in the night and claimed that he alone had killed them. However, investigation led to the arrest of the other accomplices also. |
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CM orders probe into
fake vehicle registrations Panchkula, April 26 He said the agency had been involved in the inquiry to ensure an independent probe and speedy disposal of the case. Commenting on the ``Food for Work’’ scheme under consideration by the government under which a part of the salary would be paid in foodgrains, Mr Chautala stated that he would be meeting Mr Shanta Kumar, Union Minister for Food and Supplies, tomorrow. While admitting that a number of farmers from other states were selling wheat in the mandis of Haryana, Mr Chautala said there was no way of banning their entry into the state. He emphatically dismissed a demand for granting capital status to Panchkula or any move of initiating a dialogue on this issue despite claims of the BJP that this was the most opportune time with their central government at the Centre and the Haryana government supported by the BJP from outside. Reacting to a question on making Morni another Shimla with tremendous tourist-potential, as stated in his previous rally last year, Mr Chautala said he was working on a number of plans but was unwilling to disclose these until something final came out of the deliberations. Mr Chautala was in Morni to inaugurate a hostel for JBT teachers and lay the foundation stone of a residential complex for government employees. |
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Docs may get NPA on Central
pattern Sonepat, April 26 Inaugurating the 26th state-level annual conference of the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) here last evening, he said the country was leading in the field of surgery and medicines and Indian doctors had earned name in foreign countries. Regarding the demands of the HCMSA, he assured that he would take up the case of the NPA with the government and try to resolve bottlenecks if any on this issue. The government, he hoped, would grant NPA to the doctors on the central pattern and in accordance with the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission by removing all anomalies. Dr M.L. Ranga, Health Minister, disclosed that the government would spend Rs 381 crore on medical facilities to the people in the current year as compared to Rs 346 core spent in last year. He said that patients suffering from TB would be treated on priority and the doctors have been asked to provide needed medicines at their doorstep. On the demands of the HCMSA, he said the government was ready to remove all anomalies in the pay scale and the doctors would be given NPA on the central pattern after the decision of the state government. Dr P.L. Jindal, Director General Health Services said that seven more districts of the state would be covered under a centrally-sponsored scheme for controlling T.B. |
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Bitta visits slain jawan’s
family Rohtak, April 26 While condemning the inhuman treatment meted out to the BSF jawans by the BDR, he regretted that the conduct of the BSF officers also lacked human face as they had neither informed the bereaved families about the death of their dear and near ones nor visited these families to console them. Mr Bitta stressed the need for adopting the policy of “bullet for bullet” towards the countries abetting terrorism. He said the Kargil war and the recent killing of BSF jawans had given the message to the outside world that India was a soft state towards terrorism. |
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City Magistrate
arrested Kaithal, April 26 Mr Chahal, who was on leave for the past few days, had joined duty today. After arresting him, the police reportedly took him to Jhajjar for further interrogation relating to the registration of stolen vehicles on the basis of fake documents and their subsequent sale. According to preliminary reports, a number of vehicles were registered on the basis of fake documents when Mr Chahal was the SDM-cum-Registration Authority at Tohana, and Guhla of this district. Some of the vehicles were reported to have been stolen. Interestingly, he is reported to have registered a car in the name of his son which was said to have been stolen from Delhi. Meanwhile, according to reports, some staff members at Tohana and Guhla who were allegedly involved in this scandal have either gone underground or trying to get the matter hushed up by using their influence. However, it seems the government is taking a tough stand. More arrests may follow soon, it is learnt. |
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Illegal mining still on, says BJP
MLA Faridabad, April 26 In a statement issued here today, Mr Gurjar claimed that some of the mines had been leased out by the state government on permit to some influential persons. He alleged that such persons or parties, in connivance with some mining officials, were engaged in illegal mining. He said due to the “shelter” given to such permit holders, the state government was accruing huge losses. He alleged that the mining mafia was using some kutcha roads and secret routes to escape any checking and said mining material worth several lakhs was being taken out illegally every day. Mr Gurjar said some “outsiders” had been given permits for mining by the government and they were getting the help of the local authorities. He demanded action against the “erring” officials. |
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FCI workers on strike held Kurukshetra, April 26 According to the district police chief, Mr Desraj Singh, the labourers were on strike in support of their demand for enhancement of labour charges. The labourers created obstacles in wheat loading operation by throwing stones on labourers engaged in the work. The arrested labourers has been sent to Kurukshetra and Ambala jail. |
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Trader shot dead Ambala, April 26 According to information the incident took place when the victim, Ranjit Singh, was returning to his residence at Barara after making the days’ collection from Dosarka and nearby area. Ranjit Singh was accosted at Holly village by three unidentified armed persons who then shot him dead. They escaped with his cash on the motor cycle. He was taken to the primary health centre at Mulana where he was declared brought dead. A few months ago a trader was also shot dead at Barara by two motor cycle-borne youths. The police has cordoned off the area and a hunt has been launched. |
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