 |
Thursday, September 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
|
US disaster to affect scientific industry
Chautala’s foreign tour from Sept 30 Mining Department ‘sidetracking real issue’ Carcass processing unit for Ambala |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Wrestling loses grip on Haryana Bollworm destroys cotton crop Robbery
bid foiled, 5 youths held Female
foeticide worries Sushma Swaraj KALKA
DIARY
AMBALA DIARY 2 special chances
to clear courses Civic body ex-chief assaulted 2 women attempt suicide, 1 dies
|
|
US disaster to affect scientific industry Ambala, September 12 An office of the World Bank was said to be located in the twin towers of the World Trade Centre which collapsed following two passenger airlines crashing into them in one of the worst terrorist attacks. The World Bank office used to give grants for development in different fields in developing nations, particularly African countries. One of the fields was education and local scientific instruments exporters used to send their products to various nations. The exporters are not aware when the situation will become normal. The Chairman of the Haryana Exporters Association, Dr N.C. Jain, said that the World Bank office located in the World Trade Centre was a nodal point. He explained that any African nation which needed to upgrade its schools or educational institutions used to seek grant from the World Bank and submit a comprehensive list for the purchase of equipment. Dr Jain said that several technical qualification recommendations have now been held up. “This delay is going to adversely affect the scientific instruments industry and our plans will go away.” “Also, if there is delay, the price of raw material will go up and it will put us in a tight spot,” he added. Incidentally, the bid bond of 2 per cent will also get stuck. “This is a direct loss to us since we have to pay interest to our bankers.” He pointed out that a major effect is also going to be on the payment which has to be in dollar terms. “All US dollar payments in different parts of the world are routed through US banks. Our bank here had an arrangement with a US bank branch located in the World Trade Centre. This too is likely to delay payments,” he said. |
|
Bomb
blast near MLA’s house Shahabad, September 12 The noise of the blast was heard in over a kilometre area, it is learnt. The
SHO, Mr Chander Pal Sheoran, stated that nothing could be said about
the incident immediately. Explosive experts had been summoned and the
area had been cordoned off. |
|
Chautala’s foreign tour from Sept 30 Chandigarh, September 12 Unmindful of Opposition criticism, Mr Chautala plans to visit the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and Tunisia during his three-week foreign trip. He will be accompanied by many officials, including his Principal Secretary, Mr S.Y. Qureshi; the Commissioner, Information Technology, Mr Dharam Vir; the Managing Director of the Haryana Industrial Development Corporation; a General Manager of HARTRON, Mr Satish Kapur; and his personal security officer. It is not known if any of his Cabinet colleagues will also accompany him. However, informed sources say the Finance Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, may also be included in the delegation. The delegation will be jointly formed by the Haryana Government and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The purpose of the visit is ostensibly to invite foreign investment. Earlier Mr Chautala was scheduled to visit these countries in April last. However, the tour was postponed due to the death of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal. The foreign visit of Mr Chautala was again postponed in August when Indian missions in these countries pointed out that no important person would be available there to receive the delegation in view of the holidays in these countries during that period. Leaving Delhi on September 30, Mr Chautala will reach Amsterdam on October 1. The next day he will meet the Dutch Agriculture Minister in The Hague, where he will also visit a food processing unit, dairy farms in the cooperative sector and floriculture-related markets, besides meeting prospective investors. On October 3, Mr Chautala will pay homage to the Indian soldiers of ‘Jat Regiment at the Ypress Cemetery in Brussels who lost their lives during World War I. During his two-day stay in Brussels, the Chief Minister will meet the President and two Commissioners of the European Union, besides visits to Barco Centre and the carpet industry. He will also address a seminar to be organised by the Belgo-Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. On the sixth day of the tour (October 5), the delegation will reach Birmingham, where the Chief Minister will call on the Mayor of Sandwell, His Worshipful Lord Tarsem Singh King, and the Mayor of Birmingham, His Worshipful Councillor Jim Whorwood. He will also hold a business meeting with UK businessmen and NRIs. Mr Chautala proposes to visit tourism-related sites like museums, casinos, Euro Dysney Land and Asterix Leisure Park during the delegation’s stay in Paris on October 6 and 7, when it would return to the United Kingdom. In London, a number of meetings with members of the Indian community are proposed. The delegation will also visit the manufacturing unit of Motorola at Swindon, on the outskirts of London, on October 8. A memorandum of understanding will be signed with MHM Group Sales Limited for setting up a vegetable and fruit auction house. The next day Mr Chautala will meet prospective investors, Microsoft officials and representatives of G-Tech. The delegation will again arrive in France on October 10 for a three-day stay. The itinerary includes a meeting with the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a meeting with the International Roads Federation, a visit to the Genetic Valley (Genopole) in connection with the proposed medicity to be developed near Delhi in Haryana and a meeting with prospective investors. On October 12, the delegation will split into two. While Mr Chautala along with a few officers will leave for New York, the other group will go to Milan via Florence. In New York, Mr Chautala will attend a felicitation function to be organised by the AFMI, besides meeting potential investors and NRIs. The left-over group will visit tourism-related sites in Florence on October 13 and 14. Mr Chautala will preside over a presentation on investment opportunities in Haryana at a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce in Milan on October 15, besides visiting Milan’s “Silicon Valley” at Sesto San Giovanni. The delegation will be in Germany from October 16 to 18. It will visit the World Food Fair, “Anuga”, being jointly organised by India and Germany in Cologne. “India Evening” will be organised at the fair on October 16. It will also meet the Chamber of Commerce and Industry there. Mr Chautala will also visit ultra-modern convention halls in Leipzig as well as a few car manufacturing units. The Chief Minister’s group will leave Germany on October 17 for Tunis, where it will visit a model village to study the local government system besides meeting the Prime Minister of Tunisia. The group will return to Frankfurt from Tunis on October 19. The same afternoon Mr Chautala will leave for Delhi. |
|
Mining Department ‘sidetracking real issue’ Chandigarh, September 12 In a statement issued here today, Mr Dalal said the rules might have been relaxed to exempt the mining lease holders from obtaining the consent of the landowners before the grant of lease but the fact remained that the department did not take adequate precautions to ensure that the consent of the landowners was obtained by the lease holders before they started the mining operations. Mr Dalal said contrary to what was provided in the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, the consent of a landowner was rarely obtained before the start of the mining operations in the state in general and the Mangar area of Faridabad district in particular. The mining leases were often renewed by the department without ensuring whether the lease holder had obtained the consent of the landowner or not. There were cases, he said, in which the entire period of the lease expired but no consent was obtained and submitted to the department. He reiterated that the interests of the farmers and other landowners were being ignored by the mining mafia in connivance with the Mining Department. |
|
Carcass processing unit for Ambala Chandigarh, September 12 While on the one hand the state government is working on setting up carcass processing units in the state to ward off the bird menace near airports, it has simultaneously given permission to a non-government organisation to carry out tests for the conservation of vultures whose population in the region is fast diminishing. Sources in the Haryana Wildlife Department, however, said that it was unlikely that the proposed units would be able to process all carcasses left in the open in the countryside. Moreover, there would always be the carcasses of wild animals lying in the forests and vultures, the best natural scavengers, would come in handy for cleaning these up. The Central Government has floated a scheme for setting up carcass processing units in the states. In response to the offer, the Livestock Development Board (LDB), Haryana, has prepared a proposal for a carcass processing unit at Ambala. Ambala has been chosen as the site for the first such unit in the state because of the IAF base located in that city. It is being planned that the next unit will be set up at Hisar. The Central Government has reportedly offered to wholly bear the expenditure on the construction of buildings as well as on the machinery. The LDB, however, is reportedly also considering assigning the project to a reputed private organisation and taking it over on a turnkey basis. Official sources said that the units would be useful revenue earners for the state as the carcasses could be used for multiple purposes. The skin of the dead animals could be used for the making of shoes and other such items and the flesh as well as the bones could be processed and used as feed for pigs and poultry.” We will also hire people for bringing in carcasses from villages”, the sources said. Significantly, the state government also recently gave permission to the Bombay Natural History Society ( BNHS) for carrying out tests on vultures at a place near Pinjore to find out the reasons for the depletion in their population. The state government has also agreed to supply the BNHS with 20 pairs of birds for its experiments for which Rs 67 lakh is being given by the British Government. Wildlife Department sources said that 95 per cent of the population of vultures in the region was believed to have perished because of an ailment which was being called the neck drooping syndrome. BNHS personnel would reportedly carry out tests to find out the virus which was causing the disease. They would subsequently try to come up with medicines for preventing and curing it. “The vultures have not been affected by the lack of food or bio-accumulation of pesticides”, the sources said. Asked whether there was need for vulture conservation in the light of the proposed processing units, the sources said such units would only process the carcasses of certain animals mobilised from the neighbouring areas. |
|
Wrestling loses grip on Haryana Gurgaon, September 12 Till a few years ago, people in the villages of the state took upon this game as a natural pastime along with traditional sports like kabbadi and volleyball. Excellence in the game was not the deciding factor, as wrestling was associated with a way of life in the rural areas. An interview with a cross section of people associated with wrestling has revealed that the attendance at the “akharaas” have dwindled. A large number of youths who come to “akharaas” do so with a purpose to keep up their physical fitness and to build up their muscles. Their motivation is to get a job either with the police force of the state, or in the paramilitary or armed forces of the country. In effect, their response is largely job oriented. The ones who do not find government jobs venture into real estate business, which sometimes also calls for flexing of muscles. According to reports, thousands of “akharaas” dot the villages. More often than not, the eldest members of an “akharaa” becomes the guru heading a team of wrestlers to flex muscles, if need be. There are also reports that they are available on hire for the assistance of those who want to grab land, get a premises vacated and to settle scores. Large number of “akharaas” are also patronised by political leaders from various political parties. They are pressed into service either for booth capturing or to counter it at the time of elections. According to sources, offering of such perverted services has become one of the main source of income for the “pehalwans”. The general feeling is that on account of such dubious acts the epithet of “pehalwan”, which once brought a halo to the person, has become a dreaded and pejorative term. The more ambitious ones have themselves joined active politics. An analysis of the candidates in fray, especially in past five assembly elections in the state bears out this development. The number has been increasing in each successive elections. In a related development, a group in south Haryana is organising a two-day “Bharat Kesri Dangal”, a wrestling competition for awarding Bharat Kesri title at Islampur village in the district. Islampur and Jharsa are among the villages in south Haryana which have produced top ranking wrestlers. According to Mr Khazan Singh, member of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) and member of the organising committee for the event, said the competition commencing from September 15 would be attended by more than 100 national and international male and female wrestlers for across the country. The participants will include the past and present holders of Hind Kesri, Bharat Kesri and Bharat Kumar awards. The competition is being organised in the memory of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. |
|
Bollworm destroys cotton crop Rohtak, September 12 Cotton is sown over six lakh hectares mostly in Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Jind, Bhiwani and Rohtak districts. It has recently been sown in Rewari district also in southern Haryana. Following the introduction of hybrid varieties, cotton has over the years become a major cash crop although earlier it was traditionally cultivated for domestic consumption. Like high-yielding varieties of other crops, cultivation of cotton also has become capital intensive. The Deputy Director, Agriculture, Mr Om Singh, told this reporter that cotton had been sown over 15,000 hectares in the district, mostly in Meham subdivision. He visited the cotton growing villages yesterday and found that the damage to the crop was almost total. Discussing the reasons for the spread of the infection, Mr Om Singh said due to early intermittent rains the vegetative growth had been vast and the insecticides sprayed by farmers were washed away. Blaming the farmers for the situation Mr Om Singh said most of the farmers had been spraying insecticides in excess of the norms specified by the scientists. As a result of this the predators, which used to keep under check many kinds of harmful worms and insects, were being killed. The district secretary of the Kisan Sabha, Mr Om Parkash Siwach, said cotton growers were under substantial financial pressure with regard to the imbalance of input and output ratio witnessed during the past decade. He said while costs of inputs were rising market prices of cotton were falling. “It was sold at a rate of nearly Rs 2,500 per quintal in late eighties but now it is being sold at about Rs 1,000 per quintal,” he said. Mr Inderjit Singh, a scientist from Haryana Agricultural University and now secretary, Haryana unit of the CPM, said with the introduction of liberalisation policies in agriculture sector, farmers had been left at the mercy of adverse world price mechanism on the one hand and supply of spurious seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, mainly by MNCs, on the other. Mr Inderjit Singh said the much necessary vigilance of the state agencies for ensuring quality of inputs — seeds, fertilisers, pesticides — had been virtually sidelined over the years. The government departments too had failed to forecast the out-break of the American bollworm. |
|
Check bollworm menace: BJP Hisar, September 12 Mr Ram Kumar Gautam, president of the district unit of the party, said here today that the situation was alarming as the attack of American bollworm had damaged the crop extensively. The farmers had failed to control it on their own. He also demanded a compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre. |
|
Robbery bid foiled, 5 youths held Rohtak, September 12 Those arrested are Rajesh, alias Sarkari, of Dharmar, Ajay of Khidwali, Sunil of Makrauli, Narender of Kharhar and Ved Pal of Mandhoti villages. Following a tip-off, the police conducted a raid and arrested the suspects and seized two country made pistols, a sword, a knife and three cartridges, A case was registered under Sections 399 and 420 of the IPC and 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. During interrogation, Rajesh and Ajay
reportedly admitted having murdered Rakesh, alias Roki, of Bahadurgarh,
as the latter had bitten Ajay during a scuffle while they were lodged
in Rohtak jail in a murder case. |
Female foeticide worries Sushma Swaraj Kurukshetra, September 12 She was addressing a one-day state-level rural women awakening conference organised by the Bharatiya Grameen Mahila Sangh (BGMS) Haryana branch, to mark Women Awakening Year-2001 on the Kurukshetra University campus here today. Condemning discrimination towards the womenfolk in the field of education and other facilities. Mrs Swaraj called upon people to deal with the problems effectively. In his presidential address, the Haryana Governor, Babu Parmanand, said the main aim of the conference was to awaken the rural women about their rights, laws and powers. Babu Parmanand informed such rural women conferences would also be organised at the block, district and zonal levels. Mrs Kailasho Saini, MP, Mrs Sheela Bhyan, president, Haryana Women Commission, Mrs Lajwanti, president, Haryana Social Welfare Advisory Board, Mrs Amrit Sehgal and Mrs Rajrani, both Vice-Presidents, Mrs Nirmala Rathi and Mrs Naseem Akhtar, both members of BGMS, Mrs Dheera Khandelwal, Director, Haryana Women and Child Welfare Department, and other women representatives from the rural areas also spoke on dowry system, female foeticide, bride-burning and other problems being faced by womenfolk. Earlier, the sammelan was inaugurated by the Haryana Governor and his wife Mrs Sudesh Kumari by lighting lamps The Governor also released a souvenir of the BGMS. He honoured 21 women of the BGMS for their outstanding performance for the cause of women. |
|
Sushma lays stone of transmitter Kurukshetra, September 12 She said the station would have a regional centre equipped with a studio. While the transmitter would be of 500 MW power and operate on channel 28 at ultra high frequency band, it would be constructed at a cost of Rs 80 lakh and benefit about 6 lakh people within a range of 20 km. She said four metro stations would be set up at Ambala, Kurukshetra, Hisar and Mahendragarh this year. |
|
KALKA
DIARY Harjit Singh Jaggi Kalka During the regime of Mr Bhajan Lal, the local MLA, Mr Chander Mohan, managed funds from the Kalka Marketing Board to install sodium vapour lights on the bridge on Kaushalya river which connects the colony with the national highway. Lakhs of rupees spent on these lights seem to have gone waste since the power supply to these lights has been disconnected. A tussle between the Marketing Board, the Housing Board and the Municipal Committee over who should pay the bill has resulted in this situation. Each is trying to shift responsibility on the other and the result is that electric supply to these lights has been stopped. Water supply to the colony is also not satisfactory. There is only one overhead reservoir to which water is lifted from a tubewell in Bhagwanpura. Water from this reservoir is supplied to Him Sikha and some adjoining villages. Consequently neither the villages nor the colony receives sufficient water. * * * The Lions Club of Kalka celebrated Van Mahotsav at the Housing Board Colony where Mr Sushil Sarwan, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, led the campaign by planting a sapling. In all, 500 saplings were planted on the occasion. Prominent persons who planted saplings included, Mr Shashi Kuthiala, district president of the club, the zonal chairman, Mr Kulbir Singh Rana, the district chairman, Mr D.R. Chopra, municipal committee president, Mr Sushil Kumar, the founder of the Senior Citizens’ Association, Mr Sada Nand Sharma, Mr S.K. Razadan, president of the association and several others. The chief guest laid emphasis on the importance of tree plantation and said more such programmes should be held. He said that after planting a sapling, care should be taken to protect it and nurse it into a tree.  |
|
AMBALA DIARY Ambala She announced that the centre
would be ready in November. Mr Ratan Lal Kataria, MP from Ambala,
said that the relay centre would be constructed at a cost of Rs 80
lakh and people living in a radius of 20 to 25 km would benefit from
it. *** Mr B.D. Banerjee, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of The
Oriental Insurance Company, visited the regional office at Ambala
Cantonment to launch the marketing of its Nagrik Suraksha Policy.
The Nagrik Suraksha Policy covers accidents as well as
hospitalisation. He said that this policy would provide the
policy-holder with adequate risk coverage at a nominal premium. Mr
Banerjee announced that the company was tying up with various banks
and financial institutions and the policy would be available from
there as well. He said that the company was in the process of devising
a savings linked policy, the first of its kind in India, which might
be launched by the end of October. *** A one-day educational
conference of principals and managers of different schools of the
region was held by the Training, Placement and Counselling Cell of
Sohan Lal DAV College of Education, Ambala City. The main theme of
the conference was identification of the professional needs of the
schools. Dr Rajneesh Arora, Training and Placement Officer, Guru Nanak
Dev University, Amritsar, in his keynote address laid stress on
identifying the professional needs of schools. |
|
2 special chances
to clear courses Chandigarh, September 12 A spokesman of the department said here today that the examinations for such students would be held in November or December this year and May or June next year. He clarified that this would be the last opportunity for such students. He said all diploma students, except of the pharmacy course, had also been allowed to improve their grades and marks. He said that improvement could only be made in those subjects in which the marks obtained were less than 60 per cent. |
|
Civic body ex-chief assaulted Narnaul, September 12 A protest march was taken out by local residents by in town peacefully. Mr Chaudhry had surrendered before the city police yesterday and was produced before the Ilaka Magistrate who had sent him to judicial custody at the jail. There, Jaswant Singh son of Bal Ram of Jharsa in Gurgaon and Mukesh son of Mool Chand of Rewari allegedly assaulted Chaudhry in with sharp-edged weapons. The police has registered a case under Sections 324, 34 and 120 B in this regard. Mr Chaudhry was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Gulab Singh here. Mr Chaudhry’s bail application was moved by the counsel and he was granted bail. |
|
2 women attempt suicide, 1 dies Faridabad, September 12 Sunita, who was married to Mr Vijay of Pali village about an year ago, died this morning. She was admitted to the hospital in a critical state after she tried to hang herself at her in-laws house on August 24. In another incident, a woman identified as Jasbir Kaur of Parvatiya Colony here allegedly consumed some poisonous substance in an attempt to end her life in her house. She has been admitted to a hospital. She was reported to be suffering from an illness. |
|
HUDA draw of lots Chandigarh, September 12 |
 |
| 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 | |
