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| Sunday,
January 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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BJP ‘bogey’ has Cong scurrying around with foundation stones New Delhi, January 19 In a choreographed move, the party has prodded Chopra into making the right noises while getting Ms Dikshit to make an appearance in key Wards. On one such occasion that presented itself on Saturday, the chief minister laid the foundation stone of a state-of-art socio-cultural centre at Laxmi Nagar in East Delhi. The event became a rallying point for the party with Urban Development Minister AK Walia joining the chief minister in unveiling an agenda for development of trans-Yamuna localities. Funds, Ms Dikshit said on the occasion, would not be a problem for the all-round development of the trans-Yamuna area. To have her government’s achievements rub-off on the party’s electoral prospects, she reminded the gathering of the construction of a number of hospitals and educational institutions in the area before rushing to keep her engagement elsewhere. And elsewhere, DPCC President Subhash Chopra chided the BJP for raking up the issue of bifurcation of MCD ahead of the polls. The proposal for creating a separate civic body for East Delhi, he said, had been sent by the Congress Government to the Ministry of Home Affairs seven months ago and that the BJP’s raising this issue prior to the polls reeked of ulterior motives. The Congress is counting on the synergy between organisation and government for a good showing at the hustings. Selection of candidates apart, projecting the government’s achievements is a key concern for the party. Besides the chief minister, her Cabinet colleagues are also logging extra miles each day by visits to the nook and corner of the city. Education Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan on Saturday dedicated the newly constructed building of Government Primary School for Deaf at Mayur Vihar Phase I and laid the foundation stone of Government Secondary School at Nandnagari. Meanwhile, Development Minister Haroon Yusuf on Saturday said Rural Development Board would be formed within a month. |
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Little bravehearts, but their troubles were not little ones New Delhi, January 19 Basking in the sun’s warmth and in the glory they rightly deserve, these children met mediapersons in the Capital today and recalled the incidents that have won them acclaim. “I am ready to fight the terrorists and kill them,” said Surjeet Singh, a recipient of Bharat Award, who along with his cousin, Amreek Singh, bravely fought 40 armed assailants in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. In July 1999, the militants attacked their village and killed 15 people and injured many. Amreek and Surjeet fought with them and even managed to kill one. The encounter lasted a whole night till the rescue team arrived. Akash Sabharwal from Delhi is pleased that the D-day is just round the corner. He has been awarded for fighting the assailants who had barged into his house. However, for the parents of late Reshma Mohapatra, it is a day of mixed feelings. Their daughter died, trying to save her brother whose shawl had caught fire. While other kids fled, Reshma, who is described as a “fighter” and a “courageous” girl by her father, jumped to save the boy. She managed to save him, but lost her own life. The Geeta Chopra Award and the Sanjay Chopra Award have been conferred posthumously on Prem Kanwar and Nikhil Singh respectively. Prem tried to save four children who were drowning. Despite her best attempts, she could not save the children and herself from drowning. Nikhil too drowned. He saved his friends from drowning in the Mahananda River, but could not manage to keep afloat and was swept away by the currents. Ashwini Kamath, Andy Fernandes, Shruti Ullal and Sridevi Damodar of Karnataka bagged the Bapu Gayadhani Award. They saved the lives of six of their friends whose boat had capsized These bravehearts will receive the awards from the Prime Minister on the eve of the Republic Day Parade. They will participate in the parade, riding caparisoned elephants. The awardees will receive a silver medal, a certificate and a cash award. The Bharat Awardees will get a gold medal and a cash award. |
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Chautala’s plaint: His panel has no grievances to air Gurgaon, January 19 Mr Chautala’s initiative to provide best possible facilities, matching the international standards in Gurgaon, has not been taken far by the officers posted here. To have a first-hand knowledge of the developmental projects in the district, the Chief Minister had directed his Principal Secretary S Y Quraishi last year to hold a monthly meeting of all officials. And after Mr Quraishi’s transfer to the Union government, he himself decided to chair the meeting of Public Grievances Committee to solve the problems of the masses. A total of 16 complaints were placed before the Chief Minister in the grievances meeting held at John Hall today. There was not a single complaint where the Chief Minister could do anything for the complainant, said a senior official attached to Mr Chautala. He further revealed that Mr Chautala was not happy with the outcome of today’s meeting. On the first complaint itself, the Chief Minister had no alternative than to announce that the court order would be implemented as the complaint related to a land dispute between two parties who had filed a case in the court, revealed the official. Interestingly, four of the complaints, which had earlier been attended to by the district administration, were put up before the Chief Minister, said the officer. A complaint was put up before Mr Chautala in which the administration claimed that they had no clue about the whereabouts of the complainant. Two complainants did not even turn up to pursue their plaints. Mr Chautala expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the district administration tackled half a dozen complaints. He ordered to further investigate these complaints. One complaint was postponed for the next meeting as the investigation had not been completed to date. Of 16 complaints, it is amazing that 11 complaints related to the property dispute, while one each to power, water, school, dispute and animal husbandry. Faridabad: The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who presided over the monthly meeting of the district grievances committee for the first time here today, directed the officials to remain present in their offices up to noon on working days. Addressing the meeting after taking up various complaints, the Chief Minister said that officers must stay put in their offices to dispose of pending cases and complaints. He further pointed out that departmental meetings should be held in the post noon session. |
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New permit policy keeps maxi-cabs off the roads Jhajjar, January 19 In fact, it has added to the existing “crisis of carriage” for the people as it has failed to ensure adequate and proper transport services to them. Not only this, the policy has also proved to be incapable in successfully tackling the mafia of unauthorised operators ruling the roads in Haryana, which was its main target. These maxi-cabs operating on the roads with impunity have been inflicting heavy losses to the state exchequer as well as proving to be a safety hazard, as their owners neither pay the requisite taxes nor bother to stick to the road safety norms. If they are caught, they get away with challans of lesser amounts or with the help of their influential links in political or bureaucratic circles whom they always keep in good humour. According to Mr Deepak Tayal, District Transport Officer (DTO), not a single maxi-cab owner has approached his office at Jhajjar for seeking a fresh permit. Only 62 old cabs operating on the route have renewed the same till the state government issued the notification to grant fresh permits after reconsidering its earlier decision to put a ban on its issuance in March last year. It might also indicate that it would not be viable for them to ply their vehicles on the sanctioned routes after getting the permits after paying hefty fees and other taxes. When there were an estimated 500 authorised and unauthorised maxi-cabs plying on different routes in the district earlier, the numbers have now come down to just around 100 after the state government’s decision to crack down on them. The revised policy on maxi-cabs stipulates some strict regulations keeping in view the safety aspects. After several road accidents involving these maxi-cabs were reported, authorities finally formulated the new policy which stipulates some strict regulations keeping in view the safety aspects. According to it, “new permits shall be given only to the light transport vehicles with a hard body made of metal or fibre glasses and doors made of a similar rigid material which can be securely locked”. It gave a three-month provisional time to the old permit holders to get their vehicles fabricated with a hard body. The policy also necessitated that the vehicle must not be more than six years old and restricted the total number of passengers to 10 including the driver for the new permit seekers. All these permits, according to the policy, will be valid up to the end of the year 2002. The going got tougher for the private operators of maxi-cabs with the Supreme Court’s directing the authorities to allow the plying of vehicles fitted with only Euro-2 engines in the National Capital Region. The DTO, although, denied having received any official instructions from the state Transport Department about the court directive, it has become mandatory for him to follow the apex court orders in this regard. It means that no vehicle manufactured before August 2000 is qualified for the permit as Marshal jeeps had started qualifying Euro-2 norms after it. However, the common passenger is the ultimate sufferer in this game of one-upmanship between the illegal operators and the government. Some commuters waiting for a Haryana Roadways bus to Bahadurgarh at the main bus stand here reacted that although it was very inconvenient and a risk to life to travel in the jeeps, they had not been as helpless as now. There had been an alternate means of conveyance earlier. Meanwhile, the demand for laying railway line connecting the district headquarters has started picking up. |
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36-yr-old held for family’s murder New Delhi, January 19 Balbir Singh had checked into the hotel along with his family on January 11. This morning he had ordered breakfast from the hotel’s room service at around 9 a.m. and had then left instructions that they should not be disturbed till 2 p. m. The gruesome incident was discovered when one of the waiters of the hotel went to his room to wake him up. He found the bodies sprawled on the floor and a bleeding Balbir Singh on the bed. He immediately informed his superiors who summoned the police. The police believe that Balbir Singh may have inflicted the wounds on himself in an apparent suicide bid after strangulating his wife and young daughters. |
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Missing
businessman was killed Ghaziabad, January 19 They came to know that a security guard, Satinder alias Babloo, was driving Mr Ram Bharose’s car towards Bulandshahar on the evening of January 12. Ram Bharose was also seen sitting in the car. Satinder had taken a loan of Rs 40,000 from Ram Bharose. He did not want to return this amount. This led to the murder of Ram
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Alwar Museum: A fossilised collection that comes alive A visit to a museum does not always inspire everybody. But a trip to the Alwar Museum would certainly change the perception of those who do not get any thrill by looking at rare
artefacts. The museum, about 160 km from Delhi, is located in the heart of Alwar city in the backdrop of the cenotaph of Moosi Rani. The cenotaph epitomises sacrifice and eternal romance. The Moosi Rani Ki Chhatri is a magnificent structure and notable for its architecture. Near it is a tank called Sagar, which has a flight of steps leading to the bottom and is surrounded by 12 chattris in red marble. Then, there is the ‘Shish Mahel’ or the glass palace, which contains intricate mirror work and miniature paintings of Lord Krishna, casting a spell on the visitors. The serene ambience creates a romantic aura, which is just the right setting for visitors entering the museum. Amongst the museum’s prized possessions are a collection of Sanskrit and Persian books, archaeological finds and Rajput and Mughal paintings. The museum, however, fails to bring out the fact whether indigenous art flourished in Alwar. The collection is arranged in three big halls of the Old City Palace, which was constructed during the reign of the third ruler of Alwar. Hall one contains miscellaneous exhibits; these include costumes, wooden, stone and ivory products, musical instruments, stuffed birds and animals. There is also a collection of jade, but it is not rich in quantity. The light greenish white ground of the stone serves as an excellent foil for the gems, which are embedded in the stone pieces. A type of cloth, called kanwal – used for knotting the skirts of the bride and the bridegroom – represents the best of a dyerer’s art. The villagers in Alwar are adept at embroidery, which is akin to the phulkari work of Amritsar. This work is ideal for curtains, used for draping windows and doors. The colourful embroidery work of Mevanis, done on ghaghara and lugari (lower garment and veil of a Meva lady), is the best specimen of folk art of its kind. The embroidered coats are fine pieces of art. A large silver dining table, with a contraption in the Centre which has fish in it, is sure to rivet attention Then, there are the stuffed birds and animals, shot at one time by Maharaja Jai Singh the region. Among the other exhibits are the models of various palaces and buildings. The central hall contains valuable paintings, which are arranged school wise – of Alwar, Udaipur, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bundi, Kotah, Bharatpur, Nathadwara, Kangra and Kishangarh. The manuscripts, mostly illustrated, are classified script wise, such as Devanagari and Persian, and there is also a short description about them, which enhances the value of the exhibits. However, little information is available about the masters who produced such magnificent pieces of art. A few names of painters like Bakasrama, Jamunadasa, Nandarama, Baleshrama and Budharama are mentioned. Yet, there are many unsung heroes. The items of armoury kept in the museum would evoke interest even in these days of nuclear weapons. The weapons on display evoke images of a bygone era, and strike an instant rapport with the visitor. The intricate work of gold and silver on the swords, daggers and shields leaves the visitor wondering about the craftsmanship. Also on display are the so-called modern weapons – gunpowder, pistols, camel guns, field guns and camouflage guns. Some of these `modern’ weapons are less than a century old while the swords and the shields span from the 13th to the 19th century. While leaving, the visitor is forced to think of the progress in different fields in the last few decades. |
Govt staff: Even
retrenchment fears fail to stir them Faridabad, January 19 Ramu, a worker in an industrial unit here who lost his job sometime back, has been waiting for months to receive his Provident Fund (PF) contribution from the department. A resident of Atulglass Colony, Ramu has visited the post office several times to enquire whether any cheque had been received. He said that the employees of the department misbehaved with him several times. The PF office had informed him that the cheque had already been despatched at his address through speed post in November last. However, he said that the speed post had not been able to deliver the payment at his address which was hardly five kilometres away. The cheque was reportedly posted from postal office in Sector-15A here. Frustrated Ramu does not know who to approach now. He said that he had come to know about many cases in which factory workers had been forced to visit the PF and post office to know about the status of their payment. It is common that while the PF officials tell them that their cheque had been despatched, the postal authorities, when contacted, tell them that it would be delivered when they received it. Ironically, the delay could be from six months to a year, said an ex-factory employee. It may be recalled that the PF payment to the employees are released through cheques only. According to some factory workers, corruption in the departments concerned, including the post office, causes this delay It is alleged that paying bribe often solves the problem. |
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Rain wreaks havoc on Sonepat roads Sonepat, January 19 In other parts of the city, the condition is no better. The residents in many residential colonies have to put up with choked drains sewer systems and overflowing garbage bins. For instance, in Ashok Nagar Kalan Mohalla, Mohanpura and near the RSS ground opposite the main telephone exchange, the civic authorities have done nothing to improve the sanitary conditions. Water-logging in the low-lying areas and overflowing of storm water drains, have done a lot of damage to the roads. The recent downpour has exposed the hollowness of the claims of the civic authorities. Potholed roads even in the posh colonies, including Sectors 14 and 15 are a common sight and the roads leading to the railway over-bridge and the industrial area are no exception. Driving has become dangerous on the main roads due to the gaping potholes. Roads in almost all the area are crying for immediate attention. Ironically, some of the roads had been relaid only a few months ago. Though the PWD (B and R) authorities often rush bricks to fill the pits, the work is quickly undone. Meanwhile, uneven surfaces, potholes, lack of repair and almost no maintenance, make a sad story of the roads in the rural areas of the district. The social and political leaders of the district have alleged that the government contractors are misappropriating funds meant for construction and repair of the roads in connivance with the high-ups of PWD (B and R) and other official agencies. Several panchs, sarpanchs and members of block samitis have demanded a probe into the working of the PWD (B and R). They have alleged that the material being used is substandard. The link roads in rural areas are no better. Most of them are washed away every monsoon. Bogus billing is a routine in the office of the PWD (B and R) and the HUDA besides other official agencies. |
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PM to attend Guru’s anniversary New Delhi, January 19 Meanwhile, the Delhi Traffic Police have made some traffic changes on January 20, in view of a religious procession to mark the Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The procession, which is being organised by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, will commence about 10 am from Gurdwara Rakab Ganj to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. The procession will pass through Pandit Pant Marg GPO – Ashoka Road – Patel Chowk – Parliament Street – Regal Building – Connaught Circus – Panchkuian Road – R K Ashram Marg – Gole Market – Bhagat Singh Marg – Bangla Sahib Road – Baba Kharak Singh Marg and reach Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. Motorists are advised to avoid Panchkuian Road, Sahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Parliament Street, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Barakhamba Road, K G Marg, Janpath and Minto road. They are instead asked to take diversion and use C-Hexagon, Akbar Road, Teen Murti Marg, Shanti Path, Panchsheel Marg, Upper Ridge Road or Rani Jhansi Road, JLN Marg, Delhi Gate for East to West Delhi to avoid Connaught Place, GPO and Talkatora Road. |
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SEARCH WITHIN IF news reports are to be believed, there are still communities in our land, whose panchayats will not hesitate to award death sentence to a lover who happened to be fascinated by a member of the opposite sex belonging to another community. There are teashops in villages where separate cups are kept for serving tea to Harijans and other lower castes. There are wells from where “lesser children of God” are not permitted to draw water. There are dowry-hungry families who think nothing of torturing young brides who are unable to meet their demands. In such a scenario, Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) was ahead of his time. When one thinks of the warrior-saint, what comes to mind is the establishment of the Khalsa Panth. Persecution of the Sikhs by a fanatical Mughal ruler earlier had motivated them to turn into a martial race to defend their religion. But the process also helped create an awakening in society against caste distinctions and superstitions. One Persian historian, Ghulam Muhai-ul-Din, reporting the Guru’s address to the Khalsa Panth at its installation at Anandpur, wrote as follows: “Let’s all embrace one creed and obliterate differences of religion. Let the four Hindu castes, which have different rules for their guidance, abandon them all, adopt one form of adoration, and become brothers. Let no one be deemed superior to another. Let none pay heed to the Ganges, and other places of pilgrimage which are spoken of with reverence in the scriptures or adore incarnations...but believe in Guru Nanak and the other Sikh Gurus. Let men of the four castes receive my baptism, eat out of one dish and feel no disgust or contempt for one another.” (The Sikh Religion by Macauliffe, Vol.V) He enjoined upon baptised Sikhs to practise arms, and not show their back to the foes in battle. They were ever to help the poor and protect those who sought their protection. They must not look with lust on another’s wife or commit fornication, but adhere to their wedded spouses. They were to consider their previous castes erased, and deem themselves all brothers of one family. Sikhs were free to inter-marry among themselves but should have no social or matrimonial relations with smokers; with those who killed their daughters or with others who have fallen away from the tenets and principles of Guru Nanak. The Guru’s reforms and teachings had a magical impact on the outcastes. The story of the Sikh Mazhabi regiments, according to historians, conclusively proved the metamorphosis. It was all the more laudable, considering the conservatism and prejudices of that age. Prior to the time of Sikh Gurus, no general ever thought of raising an army from men who were believed to be unclean and polluted from birth. The Guru kept his promise to “change jackals into tigers” and the “dregs of humanity” into warriors, whose prowess and loyalty never failed their leaders. Addressing the assembled rajas, he once minced no word as to their sinful ways: “How has your religious, political and social status deteriorated! You have abandoned the worship of the true God and addressed your devotions to gods, goddesses, rivers, trees and the like. Through ignorance you know not how to govern your territories; through indolence and vice, you disregard the interests of your subjects...In your quarrels regarding caste and lineage, you have not adhered to the ancient divisions of Hinduism into four sections but you have made hundreds of sub-sections and subordinate minor castes. You despise and loathe one another through your narrow prejudices and you act contrary to the wishes of the great almighty father.” It is quite another matter that the minor satraps were not willing to abide by his instructions and turned against him for daring to challenge their privileges and oppressive ways. The Guru also told his disciples that so long as they were bound by caste and lineage, they were like donkeys. “I have clothed you in the garb of tigers and made you superior to all men.” But if you part with it and return to caste observances, you shall revert to your asinine condition and become subject to strangers...” If you revert to evil ways and superstitions from which I have delivered you, your last condition shall be worse than the first,” he had warned. Guru Gobind Singh was born at Patna at a time when the nation’s honour was at its lowest ebb. The people were groaning under pain and humiliation at the hands of the then rulers. In his fight against oppression and injustice to create a new social order, he may not have met with total success. But historians like Arnold Toynbee have pointed out that he anticipated the thoughts of Lenin by 200 years. “I have forgotten all vain religion and know in my heart that the creator is the only God.” When he wrote such lines in the Guru Granth Sahib and posed before a superstitious generation, “Why impress false religion on the world? It will be of no service to it...,” he was ahead of many modern thinkers. M P K Kutty |
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Contempt of court action against Badal demanded Rohtak, January 19 Addressing mediapersons here today, Prof Sher Singh, former Minister of State for Defence, and Swami Indervesh, former MP, warned that the sabha would launch a `satyagraha’ movement if the state government failed to pay the Punjab Government in the same coin. They threatened that the activists of the sabha could go to any extent if no retaliatory action was taken by the state government within a month. Both the leaders of the Arya Samaj alleged that Punjab was reluctant to provide Haryana’s due share of Ravi-Beas water and it would not start the construction of the canal to complete it even if the review petition was rejected outright by the court. They said Punjab had made it an election issue and all political parties would be vying with each other for denying Haryana’s share of water. |
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NCR BRIEFS Rohtak, January 19 Relief to widow Gurgaon Man fires at
brother Sonepat |
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Three
killed, 25 hurt in mishaps New Delhi, January 19 |
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Boy dies in freak mishap New Delhi |
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ICSI gets new president New Delhi, January 19 |
Three kill friend over girls New Delhi, January 19 The suspects, Amit (21), Sanjeet alias Sangeet (20), and Vijay alias Aula (20), all residents of the same area, killed their friend, Brij Kishore alias Babbi (22), because the latter had become “too close” to two girls of their locality. The victim was found with five stab wounds by his brother-in-law, who took him to a hospital. But he was dead by the time they reached the hospital. The arrested persons confessed to the murder and said that they could not get close to those girls because of Brij as the latter did not let them interact with them for some reason or the other. Two days before the murder, they had an argument over the matter and finally decided to eliminate Brij. The Mangol Puri police have registered a case of murder. The suspects have been remanded in the police custody.
Currency racket The anti-robbery cell of the Delhi Police Crime Branch has apprehended two persons involved in the circulation of fake foreign currency and recovered counterfeit currency worth Rs 8.5 lakh. Based on an information that a gang would be in Delhi for supplying fake currency, the personnel of the crime cell were deployed at the Nizamuddin area. When the suspects, Budh Ram of Sirohi and Baljit Singh of Jind district in Haryana came there, constable Pavitran, posing as a decoy customer, struck a deal with accused persons. The police immediately arrested the suspects and seized 166 currency notes ($ 100 each), worth Rs 8.5 lakh, from them. Further interrogation was on and few more arrests were likely, said the police.
Two boys rescued The East district police have rescued two boys (both brothers) who were kidnapped from Kasturba Nagar, and arrested their abductor. The boys, Anup Kumar alias Annu (8) and Mohnish Kumar alias Monny (4), were taken to Bihar by the kidnapper, Mohammad Jabbar, resident of Satkudriya, Bihar. Later, the district police received a tip-off about the whereabouts of the boys. A police team was sent to Bihar and both the boys were rescued in safe condition and Mohammad Jabbar was arrested. He was produced in the court and was remanded to judicial custody. |
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