 |
|
Tuesday,
September 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Session begins with heated exchanges Haryana sop for farmers House mourns death of BKU supporters Crops damaged due to drought Bhajan’s son sues BJP man Deputy Cong leader suspended |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Minerva complex issue dominates MC meeting New angle to Ambala clash 4-phase pulse polio drive in Haryana Minister stands in queue for
Krishna darshan Two drowned in canal waters Four members of
gang held
|
|
Session begins with heated exchanges Chandigarh, September 2 Mr Raghuvir Singh Kadian and Mr Dharam Vir (Congress MLAs) alleged that the districts in southern Haryana were being subjected to discrimination while distributing water through canals and minors for irrigation purposes. The issue came up during question hour following Mr Raghuvir Kadian’s question regarding difference in water allowance of the Bhakra and Yamuna systems of irrigation and the details of the water allowances of canals and minors in the state. Mr Ram Pal Majra, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, while replying on behalf of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, said there was no difference in water allowance between the two systems. While stating that the water allowance of most of the distributaries and minors flowing in the state both in the Yamuna and Bhakra command was 2.4 cusecs per thousand acres, it was different in some channels in the two commands. Mr Raghuvir Kadian retorted, saying that a report of the estimates committee of the assembly had also stated that water meant for irrigating the southern districts was being diverted to Sirsa and Hisar. At this point Mr Om Prakash Chautala stood up and claimed that no area of the state was being deprived of its due share of water. Joining the debate, Mr Dharam Vir said while in some of the canals water flowed throughout the year, in others water supply was meagre and the tailends of such canals did not receive any water even once in 10 years. Mr Ram Pal Majra replied that while supplying water through various canals and minors, the 1974 Act was being followed. Responding to a question asked by Mr Amar Singh Dhanday, Mr Bahadur Singh, Education Minister, said that there was no shortage of JBT teachers in primary schools of the state. He, however, said that in some districts there was a shortage which would be met by filling vacant posts by bringing in teachers from districts that were surplus in teachers. He asserted that surplus teachers would not be retrenched, adding that they (numbering more than 3000) would be adjusted against the existing vacancies. Responding to a question asked by Mr Ram Kumar Katwal, Mr Kartar Singh Badhana, Cooperation Minister, gave details about wheat, paddy and mustard seeds procured by Hafed from farmers during the past three years. Mr Karan Singh Dalal pointed out the massive increase in wheat procurement during 2001-2002 and asked the Cooperation Minister to clarify whether all wheat procured by Hafed that year was produced in Haryana. He was obviously hinting at Mr Chautala’s policy of encouraging UP farmers to bring their wheat to Haryana mandis as a prelude to the attempt made by the INLD to open its electoral account in UP. In response, Mr Badhana said that the state government did not want to be parochial while purchasing grain from farmers. Responding to a question asked by Mr Rajinder Singh Bisla regarding pollution in Faridabad, Mr Ram Pal Majra, speaking on behalf of Mr Chautala, said that a committee constituted by the state government had prepared an action plan to improve quality of air quality in Faridabad town.
|
|
Haryana sop for farmers Chandigarh, September 2 Mr Dhirpal Singh said that a proposal for taking the necessary steps to combat the adverse effects of drought had been taken up with the Union Government and a financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1107.63 crore besides about 9.52 lakh MT of wheat, had been sought from the Centre. He said the Deputy Commissioners had reported that there was no shortage of fodder in the state. However, in view of the scanty monsoon in Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh districts, these
districts had been attached to other districts for their fodder requirements. The Revenue minister said due to the delayed monsoon and a severe hot wave, the demand for power shot up by 25 to 30 per cent during the current kharif season over last year’s. Power Utilities coped up with the demand by mobilising power from other districts, besides purchasing surplus power from the Northern grid at a very high rate. The farmers were being given assured supply of power for seven hours for tubewells. In order to combat the drought situation and to improve water supply in the rural and urban areas, a number of steps — installation of shallow tubewells, drilling of new tubewells and transportation of water in the water-deficit villages — had been taken. Water had been ensured to the crops as per the preplanned schedule. More supplies were drawn from Bhakra to compensate for the delayed monsoon Mr Dhirpal Singh said. About the crop insurance policy, Mr Dhirpal Singh said the policy would not benefit Haryana in its present format. The premium (fifty-fifty between the state and the Centre) was too high and it should be brought down to 25 per cent by the state and 75 per cent by the Centre. The formula for estimating the average yield also did not suit Haryana farmers, he said. He also pointed out that there was no provision for compensating farmers under the policy for areas remaining unsown. |
|
House mourns death of BKU supporters Chandigarh, September 2 The names of the BKU supporters, however, did not figure in the original obituary resolution prepared by the government and the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who moved the obituary resolutions, did not mention their names at all. However, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, CLP leader who is also the Leader of the Opposition, endorsing the resolution, named nine villagers who allegedly died in police action during the agitation, and said the Assembly should also mourn their deaths. The proposal was accepted without any objection from the Treasury Benches Mr Krishan Pal Gujjar, BJP leader who spoke after Mr Hooda, also mentioned the “people killed in the Kandela agitation” and mourned their deaths. The Assembly also placed on record its sorrow at the passing away of Krishan Kant, Vice-President, B.D. Jatti, a former Vice-President, Fateh Chand Vij, Rao Abhai Singh, Khillan Singh, Mansa Ram, former MLAs of Haryana, Jangir Singh Joga and Darbari Lal Gupta, former members of the Joint Punjab Assembly. The House also condoled the deaths of 13 freedom fighters from Haryana, 35 Army personnel from the state who died defending the country and victims of terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. |
|
Crops damaged due to drought Sirsa, September 2 According to sources only 47.3mm rainfall has been recorded in the district till August whereas it was 202.8mm last year during this period. According to the 75 per cent special girdawari in the district, on an average 60 per cent of the crop has been destroyed. The worst affected crop has been of bajra. Bajra was sown last year in over 3,000 hectares and this year the target was of 5,000 hectares. But only 3,000 hectares could be sown out of which 75 to 100 per cent of the crop in over 20,000 hectares has been damaged. This year cotton was sown only in over 1.72 lakh hectares as compared to 2.15 lakh hectares of last year. According to an estimate he standing cotton crop in over 20,000 hectares has suffered 50 to 75 per cent of damage whereas in over 26,000 hectares nearly 76 to 100 per cent of the crop has been damaged. Paddy was sown according to the target in over 40,000 hectares but 51 to 75 per cent over 4,000 hectares has been destroyed whereas in over 2,000, hectares the loss has been of 76to 100 per cent. According to an estimate sugarcane was sown in over 2100 hectares. But 75 per cent of the crop in over 400 hectares was damaged. In addition to a over 1500 hectares nearly 50 per cent estimated to have affected by drought. Gavar was sown in nearly over 10,000 hectares this year in the district as compared to 59,000 hectares in he corresponding period last year. According to an official estimate, the 100 per cent crop was destroyed in over 8,000 hectares out of 10,000 hectares sown. In he rest of 2,000 hectares the lost ranges from 50 to 76 per cent. |
|
Bhajan’s son sues BJP man Hisar, September 2 In his defamation suit, former MLA and Bhajan Lal’s son Kuldeep Bishnoi claimed that his father had never been a petrol station beneficiary during his tenure as Chief Minister. “Bhajan has only one petrol pump in Adampur in Hisar since 1963. Malhotra under a deep rooted conspiracy had tried to tarnish the image of the former Chief Minister and his family,” the petition said. Mr Bishnoi pleaded that “the accused (Malhotra) may kindly be summoned, tried and punished for having committed the offence under Section 500 of the IPC.” At a press conference in Delhi last month, Mr Malhotra reportedly released a list of petrol stations and gas agencies allotted to several Congress leaders in Punjab and Haryana. Bhajan Lal’s name reportedly figured on the list. Arguments in the case will be held in the court of the local Judicial Magistrate on September 27.
PTI |
|
Deputy Cong leader suspended Chandigarh, September 2 The motion to suspend him was moved by Parliamentary Minister Sampat Singh and was passed by voice vote. Since the House is likely to be adjourned sine die on Wednesday, Capt Yadav is unlikely to participate in the rest of the proceedings of the monsoon session, unless the Treasury Benches have a change of heart. The newly elected Leader of Opposition, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda; the Haryana Congress President, Mr Bhajan Lal; and a number of other party MLAs pleaded with the Speaker to revoke the suspension so that Capt Yadav could participate in the remainder of the session from tomorrow. However, the Speaker and the Treasury Benches did not seem to be in a mood to forgive. The House witnessed noisy scenes when the Leader of the BJP Legislature Party, Mr Krishan Pal Gurjar, raised the issue of an alleged murderous attack on the party MLA from Ambala city, Mrs Veena Chhibber, by a Congress worker, Mr Harish Shasan, putting the Congress members in the dock over their alleged indifference towards “atrocities on women”. Mr Gurjar said the least the Congress leaders could have done was to expel such a person from their party. Mrs Chhibber alleged that Mr Hooda visited Ambala to express sympathy with Mr Shasan but did not care to inquire about her health. Mr Hooda clarified that he had gone to Ambala because he had received reports that the police was harassing women members of the Shasan family. “Therefore, I had gone to Ambala only on a mission to protect women,” he added. Mr Bhajan Lal said he would take action against Mr Shasan only if he was found guilty. The Congress members, who had been so far defensive, became aggressive when HVP MLA Ram Kishan, taunted them by saying that what justice could be expected from them towards Indian women when they wanted to make “Italy ki mahila” as the Prime Minister of the country. Several Congress members were on their feet. Mr Hooda objected that no mention could be made to any person who was not a member of the House. The Speaker overruled him by saying that the HVP MLA had not named any person. Today’s proceedings were marked by walkouts by the Congress members and the RPI MLA, Mr Karan Singh Dalal. The Congress walk out came when the Speaker refused to give permission to all of its MLAs to speak on a call-attention motion on drought in the state. He said only those MLAs who had signed the notice for the motion would be allowed to put supplementary questions to the Revenue Minister. Mr Dalal, too, walked out when the Speaker cut short his supplementary question by saying that he could only put the question and could not make a statement. Mr Dalal unsuccessfully tried to generate heat in the proceedings by displaying a copy of The Tribune and a photo-copy of a news report published in another newspaper. While the Speaker expunged whatever Mr Dalal said, the RPI MLA could be seen pointing to a news item relating to the allegations levelled by a former MLA, Mr Pratap Singh, who is the younger brother of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, at a press conference here yesterday. Mr Pratap Singh had alleged that Mr Chautala was shielding Mr Ravi Kant Sharma, IPS, the prime suspect in the Shivani Bhatnagar case. He had also alleged that the MLA son of the Chief Minister, Abhay, was patronising known criminals. |
|
Minerva complex issue dominates MC meeting Ambala, September 2 Even
before the day’s agenda could be taken up, Municipal Councillor Lalita Prasad demanded to know from the president of the Municipal Council what action had been taken to stop further construction at the Minerva cinema complex. Mr Lalita Prasad said when action could be initiated against ‘small’ encroachments, why no action had been taken against the “large” unauthorised construction taking place at the Minerva cinema complex. “I fail to understand the reason behind this lackadaisical attitude towards the construction which is continuing there,” he said. The issue of about Rs 50 lakh being spent under Section 35 was also taken up. Municipal councillors demanded to know from the president, Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, Pandit Shankar Dass, the need to spend such a large amount in a hurried manner. “When work is affected due to paucity of funds, such a huge amount should not have been spent on different projects under Section 35,” they said. Pandit Shankar Dass explained that the money was spent under Section 35, since the sub-committees had lapsed. “In order to ensure that development work does not suffer, this amount was allotted through that section,” he said. Incidentally, the members of works, sanitation and finance sub-committees were approved today. The members of works sub-committee are Rajiv Gupta, Ved Prakash, Lalita Prasad and Anil. The members of sanitation sub-committee are Kamal Kishore Jain, Hiralal Yadav, Jagannath and Angoori Devi. The members of finance sub-committee are Veena Sehgal, Rajesh Kumar, Sudhir Jaiswal and Raj Kumar Garg. The leader of the Congress in the Municipal Council, Mr Hira Lal Yarav, said that they strongly oppose the need for no objection certificate for getting basic services like sewerage and water. “For an NOC, the passing of building plans and completion certificate are required. I can say with confidence that only a minuscule number of Ambala Cantonment residents have got their completion certificates. The NOC should be brought to an end at the earliest so that the common man does not face harassment. |
|
New angle to Ambala clash Ambala, September 2 Among others, Major Guleria, who has been mentioned in an FIR registered by cantonment board member Umesh Sahni, was apparently posted out before the August 31 incident that took place near Capital Cinema. An officer said that Major Guleria had left the station on August 29. A senior Army officer today said that the Corps of Military Police along with CRPF under Army control, were on routine patrolling on August 31. The patrolling party of the Military Police noticed a group of boys gathered in front of a tea stall. The owner of the tea stall was using this vacant piece of defence land, located between the office of Defence Estate Officer and Capital Cinema, which is under the management of the local Army authorities. He said that a few persons, including Umesh Sahni, obstructed the defence personnel in carrying out their duties by way of creating physical hurdle through placing obstacles in front of Army vehicles and even manhandled the defence personnel, so that they were stopped from carrying out their duties. “These people with a large number of their supporters abused the Army in general and troops in particular. They also registered a false case against the Army authorities, knowing fully well the true version”, he said. The Army authorities also separately initiated action against the alleged encroachers and the matter is being taken up with the civil administration and senior Army officers. However, Ambala cantonment MLA, Mr Anil
Vij, in a fax message to Defence Minister George Fernandes brought to notice “the unwarranted interference of Army authorities in civilian areas of Ambala cantonment.” He said that under the directions of Sub Area Commander eight fully grown trees were felled without obtaining any sanction from the Forest Department. “Without taking civil administration into confidence, the Army personnel moves into civil areas to remove alleged encroachment. Instances are there where Army people have taken away goods and articles from the shops on the pretext of unhygienic conditions and encroachments,” the communique alleged. It observed that the road block of autorickshaws, local buses and rickshaws of the civilians in the area of dairy farm, Topkhana bazar and Mali parade is unauthorised, which causes hardship to patients, students and physically challenged. “On August 31 evening, a large contingent of CRPF alongwith CMP swooped on the shop without wearing name plates and were carrying arms pointed at an elected member of the cantonment and started ransacking it, which evoked instant protest from the neighbouring shopkeepers and the general public,” the communique states. The communique added: “The Army action was taken without taking into confidence the district administration. Residents organised road blockade and resorted to slogan shouting.” |
|
|
Ambala
SP clarifies Ambala, September 2 Mr Yadav said the head munshi and another constable who were on duty at that time included the name of three senior officers in column no 7 of the FIR meant for the accused by error. He said the police had expressed regret over it. He said the Munshi Balbir Singh and the other constable Anil Kumar had been transferred to the police lines with immediate effect and a departmental inquiry had been ordered. |
|
|
4-phase pulse polio drive in Haryana Bhiwani, September 2 However, according to sources from the Health Department, new case of polio had been detected in district this year and so the drive will be conducted in two phases here. Urban areas will be covered besides rural areas this year. Sources in the Department have revealed that several urban areas are not covered during the drive due to non-cooperation of the people. Reports confirmed that most of the residents of urban colonies did not bring their wards at polio booths for administering drops. Even though several social institutes and NGOs extend their cooperation to the department in this drive such families should be given particular attention to prevent the spread of the disease. |
|
Minister stands in queue for
Krishna darshan Kurukshetra, September 2 Devotees of Lord Krishna at Birla Mandir here on Janmashtami were surprised when they saw Haryana Transport Minister Ashok Kumar Arora standing in a queue for an hour for darshan of the deity. “It was a pleasant surprise for all of us to see the minister standing in a row of devotees leading to the temple. He did not budge even when some of the volunteers of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samiti tried to take him directly inside the temple,’’ said a beaming Sukhpal Dhiman, convener of the samiti, adding that Mr Arora insisted that he would not enter the temple by jumping the queue. Later, the minister had darshan of Lord Krishna in the temple and received prasad from the priest.
UNI |
|
Two drowned in canal waters Karnal, September 2 Among those drowned is the driver of the ill-fated three wheeler. The three wheeler carrying six passengers was on its way from Gharaunda town to Karnal. The names of the drowned could not be ascertained as their bodies have not been recovered so far. The two survivors included Pardeep Kumar and Raj Singh of the Hansi road (Karnal). |
|
Four members of
gang held Ambala, September 2 The Superintendent of police, Mr Manoj
Yadav, today said the gang was involved in various incidents of theft in Ambala City and Ambala
Cantt. He said the remaining members of the gang would be arrested soon. The accused were produced in a local court and were remanded in police custody till September 6. |
|
Burning of paddy straw banned Karnal, September 2 |
|
Couple hurt Ambala, September 2 The police has registered a case. |
 |
| 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 | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
