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September 27, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Closed shops, condolence meetings mark bandh Rohtak, September 26 The call for the bandh was given by the Congress, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Haryana Beopar Mandal and Rohtak Traders’ Association. The main markets of the town wore a deserted look today. Almost all the shopkeepers, barring a few tea stalls, observed bandh. Congressmen organised a condolence meeting under the presidentship of Mr Shadi Lal Batra at Congress Bhawan here. They observed a two-minute silence and paid homage to those killed in Akshardham temple. Later, they burnt the effigies of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, at Ambedkar Chowk here and submitted a memorandum to the President through the Deputy Commissioner. Activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad organised a meeting at Bhiwani Stand Chowk. Mr Pradeep Jain, secretary and spokesman, Haryana unit of the BJP, Mr Surendra Jain, nation secretary of the VHP, Mr Manish Grover, district president of the BJP, and Mr Manohar Lal, state vice-president of the VHP, were among others who paid homage to those killed.
Effigy burnt Jhajjar: All markets and other business establishments, except banks and medical stores and hospitals, remained closed throughout the day in Jhajjar as well as Bahadurgarh town here today. In Jhajjar, shopkeepers and traders voluntarily obliged to the bandh call and never opened their shutters in the morning. The main markets, including Subhash market, Anaj mandi, Haripura Chowk, Palika bazaar and markets around the bus stand, wore a deserted look. The local leaders of the VHP and Shiv Shena held a demonstration in the town. The situation was similar in sub-divisional Bahadurgarh where shutters remained down for the day. Except medical stores, banks and hospitals, all the shops in Main Bazaar, Railway Road, old Najafgarh Road, Jhajjar road and in other markets observed complete bandh. The VHP activists took out a procession and burnt the effigy of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf at Lal Chowk.
Mixed response Rewari: There was a mixed response to the bandh call here today. Most of the shopkeepers in the main markets of the town downed their shutters in response to the bandh call by the VHP, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal, Anti-Terrorist Front and various other organisations. However, shops in the Subzi Mandi and several other areas of the town ran their business as usual. Later, activists of these parties held a protest rally at Moti Chowk where they burnt an effigy carrying the inscription “Pakistan Murdabad”.
Business as usual Sonepat: The bandh did not evoke any response in this city and other parts of the district. Life continued to be normal in this city as business establishments functioned normally and the buses and other vehicles plied as usual. However, in some areas, the shopkeepers “half-closed” their
shutters. Train services on the Sonepat-Delhi section of the Northern Railway remained unaffected as long distance and the suburban trains passed through Sonepat
normally. The BJP and the Left parties did not back the bandh but leaders of these parties condemned the terrorist attack and alleged that Pakistan was behind this attack. |
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Feedback
sought on DTC time-table New Delhi, September 26 Delhiites in general and bus operators in particular can record their objections in a prescribed proforma and drop it in a box placed in the STA’s office on 5/9 Under Hill Road. The Draft Unified Time Table will be available for inspection at the STA’s office and copies made available to the state carriage operators’ unions. Transport Minister Ajay Maken on Thursday told a news conference objections will be received by the STA between September 30 and October 13. The Draft Unified Time Table, he said, would be for intra-city stage carriages of DTC (numbering 2,141) and private stage carriages whose number is 2,395. The time table, drawn up for 660 routes, describes the origin, destination and via points of each route as well as timings of the first and last trip from the two ends of each route. “The Unified Time Table,” Mr Maken said, “is meant to ensure reliability of stage carriage service of every route in accordance with the time given for each bus on every route.” Strict implementation of the time table, he felt, would improve the earnings of DTC and private bus operators as commuters would make greater use of buses in place of autorickshaws and taxis. It would also reduce accidents. “The buses will be running at 18-20 km per hour, that is they will cover a distance of one km in about three minutes,” the minister said. The work of scrutiny of objections will be supervised by a committee comprising representatives of DTC, STA, Department of Transport and the bus operators’ unions. “After incorporating the objections, the Unified Time Table will be declared sometime in the last week of October,” Mr Maken said. A compendium of routes will also be prepared for commuters. “Time keepers,” the minister said, “will be stationed at terminuses and select bus stops. For delays, responsibility will be fixed and action taken against defaulting offices and functionaries.” The DTC’s surplus staff would be redesignated as time keepers. “There are an estimated 5,025 surplus staff of whom 1,400 would be redesignated in phases,” said the minister.
Mudrika service recast The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has repackaged and introduced “high frequency, commuter-friendly” Mudrika service on the 48-kilometre circular Ring Road to improve connectivity. One full circle of the Ring Road will take about three hours. Instead of 36 buses, 80 Mudrika buses will ply on the Ring Road between 5 am and 12 midnight at five minutes’ interval. At any given time, 40 buses each will be running in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. A certain number of buses will be designated Teevru Mudrika Service (TMS), suggesting fewer halts and lesser time. “Pilot tests began two days ago and the full-fledged Mudrika service commenced this morning,” Transport Minister Ajay Maken on Thursday told a news conference. Four of the 80 buses, he said, would be designated Deluxe Bus that would operate at a flat rate of Rs 10. “The remaining buses will operate as per the existing fare structure.” Mudrika was introduced in August 1974 but its operation hitherto comprised destination-oriented buses that operated from different nodal points on the Ring Road. |
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Conmen held, credit card racket smashed New Delhi, September 26 With their arrest, the police claim to have smashed the international credit card manufacturing unit. Besides, the police have recovered 215 fake and blank international credit cards, accessories and equipment from their manufacturing unit. Two laptops, three magnetic strip data reader and writer, screen printing negatives, two punching machines, one digital camera, holograms and two Rado watches were recovered from their possession. The accused, Gurpreet Singh Chadha (33), a resident of Rajouri Garden, Surender Singh, a resident of Lajpat Nagar, and Harbinder Singh alias Babbu (33), a resident of Uttaranchal, were intercepted in a Lancer car near January Marg. The accused were returning after cheating a cellular dealer in Rajender Nagar, having purchased the phone on a fake credit card. One Samsung mobile phone, a Suntrust Visa Classic card and three blank American Express cards were also recovered from them. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), U K Katna, said that the main accused Gurpreet, an NRI from Canada, runs a petrol pump there. He would retrieve the data by using the magnetic strip on his customers’ credit cards and then feed the same in different credit cards of reputed international banks. Once this was done, he would make bulk purchases by using them in foreign countries, either personally or through his associates. During interrogation, it was revealed that Gurpreet was also forging international driving licences. Gurpreet was earlier arrested in 1999 by the Crime Branch when he was travelling from Bangalore to Delhi in Sahara Airlines with his wife. The police said the he had purchased the air tickets on a fake credit card. |
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Panchayat
tells wife to share affections with Meerut, September 26 The public relation officer to the SSP, Anil Kumar Sachan told the ‘NCR Tribune’ that this woman was married to a man in Chainpura locality of Behsuma town 10 years ago. She belonged to Mirapur town. After the first blissful years of their marriage, seven-year itch struck the woman, or so it seemed, as she developed liaison with the man’s younger bother. When the cuckolded husband knew about their amour, he left for Delhi with his wife. But the lovelorn woman continued to give a tinkle to her paramour. Soon the brother-in-law also settled in Delhi in a rented room nearby. They used to improve the shining hour when the husband was away at work. However, the course of lascivious wassails does not run so smooth. One day, the husband came to the house at an unexpected hour and caught the lovers in ‘flagrante delicto’. He lost his temper and beat up his wife. The woman left for her parental home after the incident. It is then that the woman sent a message to her brother-in-law that she could not live without him. The matter was now referred to the village panchayat. During the trial, the woman voiced her opinion in no uncertain terms that she wanted to live with her brother-in-law. The panchayat then awarded the decision in her favour. It allowed her to live with her brother-in-law every other month. The husband had no choice than to return empty-handed. He honoured the decision of panchayat and shared his wife with his brother. Everything was hunkydory for a while. But then once again, there was a spat in ‘menage a trois’ of sorts and the elder brother approached the local police. Ironically, the SHO also honoured the panchayat decision. Now according to the SHO decision, the woman would have to live one month with her husband and one month with her brother-in-law. |
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Students
clash in Dayal Singh College New Delhi, September 26 The clash culminated in firing with a country made gun at the Joint Secretary of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU), Ashok Basoya, of the National Students Union of India, who escaped with minor injuries The clashes, which occurred in full public view, caused considerable panic in the area. The police, which rushed to the spot, said that at least eight persons belonging to the rival groups had been arrested for rioting and under the Arms Act. A country made gun was seized from one of the arrested persons identified as Karan Chowdhary. According to the police, the incident was the result of an old enmity between the groups led by Ashok Basoya and ex-president of Chhatra Lok Janashakti, Surjit. During the clash, Ashok was fired at but he escaped unhurt. Rajat, Manish, Mukesh, Rajeev and Inderjit are the injured students; they were discharged after first-aid at the AIIMS. Preliminary investigations have revealed that earlier an NSUI group had attacked a member of Lok Janashakti during the recent DUSU elections. |
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No takers for Faridabad unauthorised colonies Faridabad, September 26 The state authorities have identified about 775 colonies across the state, which have been accorded sanction for regularisation and development. But no colony of this industrial town figures in the names released so far. Although some areas of Palwal and Hodal towns in the district do figure in the list, their number is not more than five or six. The Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) had a few months back tabled a resolution for regularising about 58 unapproved colonies. It had even forwarded the proposal to the state government. Most of the unapproved colonies lie in the NIT and Ballabgarh assembly constituency here. The 58 colonies awaiting development here house a population of several lakhs and most of them have been even paying house tax. The matter has been discussed on several occasions in various forums. The civic body in its last meeting had passed the resolution almost unanimously. “But the issue had been lying unattended as there was no influential person to pursue it seriously,” said an MCF member. He said it seemed that the development of colonies was not on the agenda of the higher authorities. The last time the residents of this industrial hub felt discriminated against was when the state government announced separate norms for collecting house tax in Faridabad town and other districts of the state. The BJP leaders and the MLA from the Maharajpur constituency, Mr Krishan Pal Gurjar, has described the non-inclusion of Faridabad's colonies as gross ‘discrimination’. He asked the authorities to regularise all 58 colonies here. |
More powers for Lokayukta demanded Sonepat, September 26 In a signed press statement issued here today, he said that though a Lokayukta had been appointed by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) government, no powers had been given to him to initiate enquiries against the powerful politicians and bureaucrats, who had been accused of misusing power and amassing wealth through objectionable means. He also criticised the Chief Minister for not ordering any probe into the assets of the former chief ministers and him (Mr Om Prakash Chautala) as demanded by the Haryana Vikas Party supremo, Mr Bansi Lal. “Why is Mr Chautala shy of ordering such a probe?” he asked. He alleged that corruption was rampant in the administration at all levels and even the ruling party politicians indulged in malpractice and were minting money by misusing their powers. Mr Vidrohi reminded Mr Chautala of his election promises that he would provide a clean and honest government in the state. Mr Vidrohi alleged that Mr Chautala had not taken any effective step to curb the menace of corruption. On the other hand, Mr Chautala was encouraging corruption and selling jobs at a higher price, he alleged. Referring to the drought conditions in the state, the Janata Dal leader alleged that the state government was not giving any financial help to the affected farmers and the farm labourers in the state. The announcement of compensation at the rate of Rs 2,000 per acre by the Chief Minister was only a joke, he added. Mr Vidrohi also alleged that Mr Chautala had not presented the factual position to the central government and the Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Ajit Singh, had already rebutted the claims of Mr Chautala in this connection a number of times. |
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Birender
to go on fast on October 2 Rohtak, September 26 Talking to ‘NCR Tribune’ here on Tuesday, Mr Birender Singh said he planned to stage a dharna at Khadi Chowk at Narwana, the assembly constituency represented by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. He had chosen the Gandhi Jayanti day to remind the government of its obligations towards the state. He regretted that though the Supreme Court had directed the Punjab Government to complete the construction of the SYL canal in its jurisdiction by January 15 next year, the Haryana Government had taken no initiative to pressurise the neighbouring state to complete the canal within the stipulated period. The Chautala government, he said, had not written any letter either to the Centre or the Punjab Government in this regard. The Congress leader charged the state government with not providing any relief to the farmers in view of the unprecedented drought conditions faced by the agriculture sector. The government, he said, had also not waived the cooperative loans outstanding against the farmers. Mr Birender Singh said he had invited all Congressmen and other persons supporting the issues raised by him to participate in the proposed dharna. |
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‘Communal violence brings discredit to religion’ New Delhi, September 26 While religion gets defamed, the followers are condemned simply because they disrupt peace and cause misery to the innocent. This was stated here late last evening by Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj, Head of the Sant Nirankari Mission, while addressing a huge gathering of devotees from Delhi and surrounding areas. They had assembled to welcome His Holiness on his return from a spiritual tour of Europe, the UK, Canada and the States. Accompanied by his gracious spouse, Pujya Mata Sawinder Ji, a distinguished preacher, Major J. D. Sharma and a popular geetkar of the Mission, Shri Jagat Singh, His Holiness returned to Delhi in the early hours of yesterday after spending more than five weeks abroad. Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj said that in this strife-torn and terror-stricken world the Mission’s message of love, peace and tolerance is finding relevance for the aspirations of every society interested in peaceful co-existence. No wonder, the followers of the Mission in general and the youth in particular are working day in and day out to spread this message along with the Divine Light, the realisation of God. Baba Ji made a special mention of the two-day Samagam in Paris, where devotees came from all over Europe and the UK. The Samagam was marked by the use of different languages that helped the people of native origin to understand the message of the Mission. He also referred to an English medium Samagam held in Rugby, where the young saints displayed their thorough understanding of the spiritual aspect of the Mission and the means by which the ideology could be projected to the local citizens. |
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Sonepat
Habitat Club opens today Sonepat, September 26 According to a report, thousands of people have visited the club since September 18 for free walk-ins and commended the modern facilities provided there. The swimming pools and the billiards room were the main attraction. A fully air-conditioned building, a bar and a recreation room have also been built for the benefit of customers. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr S. N. Roy, who is the chairman of the club, told mediapersons here today that the club was going to be a dream realised for the residents of Sonepat many of whom have enrolled as its members. It would provide facilities for entertainment and leisure. It also offered activities of cultural nature that even the most civilised society could barely think of. He claimed that it was a place that the members could proudly call as their own premises. They could enter here at their will, enjoy a swim during summer, take part in sports, have a go at golf, try one’s hand at billiards, watch programmes and hear nice music and hold exclusive parties. According to the DC, the club would be inaugurated tomorrow and would become operational from October 3. |
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Delhi, Moscow to share info New Delhi, September 26 |
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Farmer
activist makes immolation bid Meerut, September 26 The agitated farmers had heated exchanges with the SDM and allegedly manhandled him. Later, they announced that Mahendra Singh Tikait, BKU president, would address protestors. These farmers have been on a dharna under the banner of Dalit Kisan Sangharsha Samiti for over 17 days demanding proper compensation for their land. Despite several rounds of talks with senior administrative officials here, including the Commissioner, District Magistrate and other authorities concerned, there has been no result. They criticised the government for not implementing the pact reached with the latter
earlier. Today, their leader, Dalchand, announced that he would self-immolate. A heavy posse of police was deployed at the dharna site. Several senior officials, including ADM (E) K. S. Chauhan, SP (RA) M. P. Singh and CO of Sadar Mukul Diwedi were present at the dharna site from early morning. The SDM ordered stern action against movement. Meanwhile, Dalchand poured kerosene on himself and tried to set himself ablaze. The policemen grabbed him immediately and sent him to jail. |
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Villagers
decry slow development work Noida, September 26 The villagers told the District Magistrate, Mr Uma Dhar Diwedi, that the transformer in Habibpur had been burnt up way back in 1994 and despite the fact that the villagers had made many requests for its replacement, no government official ever came to replace it. “If this is the situation in an Ambadekar village, you yourself can imagine the conditions in the ordinary villages,” they said. The villagers felt that the state chief secretary should visit their village and survey the development work. Understanding the simmering discontent among the villagers, the DM ordered the UP Power Corporation staff to change the transformer and hold a camp to sanction new connections. The hand pumps in the village also need repair. The DM suggested that the villagers should form a milk cooperative society to overcome the shortage of milk. Mr Diwedi also advised the villagers to give their children of below 5 years, a polio dose by September 29. Chief Development Officer RP Singh, Block Development Officer Ms Urmilla Devi and Dy DM Rameshwar Dayal were present during the DM’s inspection. |
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, September 26 Among those who are the recipients of this year’s awards are Mr Dinesh Gupta, Trustee, Abhiyan Disabled Friends Club, Ms Ketna L. Mehta, Editor, One World, Voice of Paraplegics and Mr Suryanaryan, Founder, Sri Venkateshwar Andha Viklangula Seva Sangam, for their services as ambassadors for the cause of employment for the disabled. In the category of non-disabled persons from within the disability sector who have contributed substantially to the cause of promoting employment for the disabled the winners are Ms Poonam Natarajan, Founder Chairperson, Vidya Sagar, Chennai, and Sister Rosario Lopez, President, Bethany Society, Meghalaya. The National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd, Sakthi Trading Co. and Silence have won the award in the category for companies and organisations who work for the rights of the disabled. Mr Damodar Thanvi, State Commissioner for Disability, Government of Rajasthan, and Mr P. R. Mehta, President, Council of Architecture, have also been awarded for their contribution and work.
Rally on Bhagat Singh’s b’day On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, an all-religious group organised a procession in the Capital on Wednesday. The Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Association led the march from Teen Murti. The national president of the association, Inderjit Singh Asth, said that it was their duty to highlight the cause for which Bhagat Singh attained martyrdom and that the government should strive to keep the memory of the freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev alive.
Guru Nanak’s anniversary The Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee has organised a special programme to celebrate the anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on the October 2. A large congregation is expected to join the festivities at Gurdwara Nanak Piao, G. T. Karnal Road. The programme will start with the recitation of Sukhmani Sahib and Nitnem. The famous Ragi Jatha of Bhai Sahib, Bhai Surinder Singh Jodhpuri will perform the Asa Di Var Kirtan. Bhai Satnam Singh will deliver the Sabad Vichar. This will be followed by shabad kirtan. A langar will also be organised. |
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NCR BRIEFS Rohtak, September 26 According to information, Mr Dayanand, resident of Muradpur Tekna village, had reached the UCO Bank at Kalanaur along with his daughter-in-law to withdraw Rs 15,000 at nearly 12 noon. A miscreant suddenly entered the bank, snatched the cash and fled. However, Mr Dayanand chased the robber and shouted for help. Hearing the cries, some people also pursued the miscreant. Finding himself in a difficult situation, the miscreant jumped into a pond after throwing the amount on the shore. The agitated people threw stones at him and forced him to come out. They handed him over to the police. Strangely, though the incident occurred at 12 noon, the Kalanaur police have failed to identify the accused even after six hours of the incident.
MDU exams from Sept 28 Nearly 45,000 students will be appearing in the supplementary examinations of undergraduate classes of Maharshi Dayanand University, which would be held from September 28 to October 15. Dr K. C. Bhardwaj, Controller of Examinations of the university, said that 36 examination centres had been set up at the district headquarters. He said 17 teams of flying squads had been constituted to check the use of unfair means and about 500 teachers had been put on invigilation duty. Dr Bhardwaj said one flying squad would remain in each building for the full duration of the examination everyday. Further, the SSPs in different towns had been requested to provide adequate police force to check the entry of outsiders in the examination centres. The results of TDC-I, II and III classes will be declared by the middle of November 2002, he added.
Assaulted boy succumbs Sonepat: Jatinder, a class 10 student of Lalehri village who was assaulted by a group of students on September 16 at the Rajlu Garhi railway station, succumbed to his injuries in a hospital here on Tuesday. According to a report, he was assaulted when he alighted from a train that was going to his village. He reportedly had some altercations with other students in the running train, and this was the main cause of the attack. The police have registered a case against the alleged assailants and launched a hunt to apprehend them.
Arms seized The police have arrested four persons following the alleged recovery of four country-made pistols from their possession on Tuesday. According to a report, the arrested persons were identified as Randhir of Kheri Damkan village, Tejvir of Jagsi village, Ramesh of Barota village and Joginder alias Tigar of Barota village. Registration cancelled The Health Department has cancelled the registration of a mobile ultrasound machine installed in a private nursing home of this city. According to a report, another such machine has been sealed by the authorities concerned. Awareness camp for jobless Faridabad: An awareness camp for the unemployed youth was held in the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) here on Thursday. About 90 persons took part in the programme. Addressing the participants, the ADC, Mr Shymal Mishra, stressed on the need for exploiting self-employment avenues by educated and unemployed youth. He said there were dozens of schemes available under which unemployed persons could get loans for setting up their work or small units. He said the loans offered by the Backward Class Welfare Corporation had an annual interest of 5 to 9 per cent for amounts ranging between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2,50000. |
Kingpin of cricket betting racket nabbed New Delhi, September 26 The Economic Offences Wing of the city police received a tip off and a decoy customer was sent to G-64, Naraina Vihar. When a deal was struck, a raid was carried out and the kingpin of the racket, Mahender Goel, was arrested. During the search of the premises, three mobile phones, two MTNL telephones, one laptop, one voice recorder, one small recorder and a TV were recovered. The computer data is being scrutinised for obtaining more details. During interrogation, Mahender disclosed that he had been involved in the racket for more than two years. If a person making a stake of Rs 1,000 wins, he will get Rs 1,600 and if he looses, he will have to forego the stake money. Mahender’s clientele was from areas in South-West and West districts of the Capital. The stakes were usually accepted from acquainted persons who used to call him up using his code as Golu, the police said.
Burglars arrested The South district police arrested two persons - Mahender and Subhash - who were reportedly involved in three burglary cases reported in Mayapuri. One television set, two wristwatches, a telephone instrument and cash of Rs 2,443 were recovered from their possession, the police said. Special drive The West district police arrested a number of criminals during a drive launched by them to control the rate of crime, which was going up. During the drive, the police hit hard on snatchers, burglars, pickpockets, auto-lifters, drug addicts, drunkards and drug peddlers, the police said.  |
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