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March 10, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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JAILBIRD Ghaziabad, March 9 This is the 19th time that the GDA secretary has achieved this ‘distinction’ during the past seven months. The forum chairman S.P. Tyagi and member Ms Veena Singhal pronounced the verdict in Surinder Kumar-GDA case. Surinder Kumar was allotted a plot in 1991 under the GDA’s Kapuri Puram Scheme for which he had deposited Rs 1.5 lakh with the GDA as demanded by the authority. But after a while, when the GDA cancelled the scheme, it asked the allottees to take refund plus 5 per cent interest. But Surinder Kumar decided to take the issue to the Consumer Forum. The Consumer Court gave a verdict on March 8, 2000 that the GDA should return the money along with 18 per cent interest within two months plus Rs 5,000 for mental torture and Rs 100 as expenses of the suit. The GDA secretary did not comply with the order. Secretary U.N. Thakur was served with a notice by the Consumer Court. When there was no response to that notice either, the forum has passed a sentence on the secretary for a six-month term in the ‘house of correction’. |
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SLEIGHT-OF-HAND Sonepat, March 9 According to official sources, three examinees escaped with their answer sheets from a centre at Purkhas village though one of them was arrested. The police have registered the cases and a hunt is on to apprehend other two students. In a centre at Shiv Shakti School, Superintendent Narender Kumar was found in an inebriated condition and was handed over to the police for a medical test. Similarly Ms Sandhya, a schoolteacher was relieved of the supervisory duty as she was found rendering help to the examinees at a centre. Three supervisors were also removed from their duty at Kharkhauda town and one at Gohana town on the same charge. Dr Dilbagh Singh Mor, Vice-Chairman of the Board of School Education Haryana, conducted surprise checking of five examination centres in the district and caught as many as 78 examinees on the charge of copying. He ordered the cancellation of the paper at two centres of Gurukul Bhainswal Kalan village, after seeing the mass-scale copying. He also recommended the shifting of these centres to other places. Meanwhile, Mr Sujan Singh Yadav, SDM Sonepat, who conducted the checking at various centres in the city, caught as many as four examinees found copying. The candidates appearing in the examination centre of GVM Senior Secondary School were forced to sit on the floors for want of furniture. The district primary education officer has relieved a clerk of a centre at Butana village.
Board examinee killed
in mishap Faridabad: A plus two student of a village in Palwal subdivision of the district, Jaspal, who was returning home after the board examination on Saturday was killed in an accident. A student of K. M. Public School in Mandkola village, the victim was going home with another student on a two-wheeler when a dumper truck hit them. While he died on the spot, his friend got injured seriously. They had appeared in the board examination at a centre in the |
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Mewat NGOs cry foul over stopping of funds Nuh (Gurgaon), March 9 The Mewat Development Agency runs the Mewat Area Development Project of the IFAD, a body of the UN, having several components for the welfare of one of the most backward areas of Haryana. Some of the components pertain to micro-financing schemes, including self help groups (SHGs) for women, child development programmes (CDPs), dairy development etc. The UN-funded project has been implemented since 1995. The funds reach the MDA through the state government. One of the stipulations from the IFAD for providing funds is that its project will have to be implemented with the help of NGOs. Hence, the MDA - a body of the Haryana Government - roped in NGOs for implementing various components of the project. The NGOs got a shock when the government stopped releasing funds to them for about two months from June last year following allegations against them. After the NGOs approached Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and due to public pressure, funding was resumed. Again, in a meeting of the Mewat Development Board (MDB) headed by the Chief Minister on January 28, funds to the NGOs were asked to be stopped. It has been stopped till their finances are audited. It is learnt that non-official members of the board had raised several allegation against the NGOs at the meeting. The Mewat NGOs Association alleged that this was unfair as the Accountant-General of the state had audited the finances recently and no irregularity was found. The NGOs had also got their accounts audited by charted accountants on their own and the same was submitted to the government through the MDA. Talking to newsmen, representatives of the association alleged that a section of bureaucracy, fundamentalists and local politicians have ganged up against the NGOs to impede the pace of development in Mewat. Those following the developments in Mewat find substance in the allegations of the NGOs. The fundamentalists are unnerved on account of the growing empowerment and sense of emancipation among women, who have traditionally had very less powers in the patriarchal society of Mewat. Local politicians too have a vested interest in keeping the progressive forces that are trying to bring awareness among the populace at bay, observers say. With regard to bureaucracy, there are many who feel that it has not taken kindly to the removal of its representative from the post of chairman of the MDA. This view is to be seen in the context of wide-ranging feeling that performance of development projects in the area has been better than when they were during its chairmanship. As for funds, during 1995-2000, the MDA could only provide about Rs 2 crore to the NGOs out of the total Rs 26 crore spent on Mewat by the government. Significantly, during this period, the post of chairman of the MDA was held by a bureaucrat. In fact, the Commissioner of Gurgaon Division used to double up as the chairman of the agency. The IFAD had reportedly taken up cudgels with the state government to have a full-time chairman. With the danger of the IFAD withdrawing itself from the project lurking, the government appointed a former high profile IPS officer as a full-time chairman. Subsequently started the phase when the MDA worked overtime and injected all kinds of ingenuity in conceptualising several programmes under the Mewat Area Development Project. |
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Arms licence to accused lands cops in the soup Noida, March 9 According to Nanak Chand, a case was filed in the Dankore police station against the accused, Kailash Kumar, son of Laik Rak, on November 6, 1993 for keeping arms illegally under Section 25/4 of the Arms Act, which is still pending in the court. The next date of hearing in this case is March 21. In spite of this, the Dankore police, ignoring all rules and law on the subject, had deliberately sent a wrong report to the administration recommending a revolver licence for the accused, he said. Nanak Chand has marked copies of his letter to the DM to the SSP, Police Circle Officer and called upon them for immediate cancellation of the licence to Kailash Kumar and awarding of exemplary punishment to the guilty cops. The SO in charge of the Dankore police station, Satya Pratap Singh says that the licence to the accused was recommended by his predecessor. “Since the DM has now ordered a probe, I will submit my report so that the DM can arrive at a suitable decision in the matter,” he said. |
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HC upholds order on Bangladeshis New Delhi, March 9 Dismissing the petition by the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) challenging the order for deleting the names by Delhi Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) after a revision in 1994, the court said no orders are required to be passed on the present petition. Accepting the contention of the ERO that during the seven subsequent revisions since the deletion of their names, none of those persons came forward to claim their entry in the voters’ list, the court said the election authorities had carried out intensive revision in September-October 2001 by conducting a door-to-door survey. However, the court said in case a person comes forward with a claim for including his name in the voters’ list, it should be then considered and adjudicated expeditiously by the ERO strictly as per the provisions of the law and the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court. Election Commission counsel H S Phoolka had submitted that the guidelines laid down by the commission and the apex court were fully complied with in the present case. PUCL’s counsel Prashant Bhushan had contended that the names of those people were deleted on the apprehension of their being Bangladeshis, while the police and election authorities had failed to establish that they were foreigners. He said that they had been living in Matia Mehal assembly segment for past several years and were holding ration cards. The court said that it would not be open to the ERO to take objection of delay in submitting the application by a claimant coming forward to register his or her name. It said that the ERO would be duty-bound to consider all such records, which fall within the meaning contemplated by the apex court in its February judgement. The ERO counsel had contended that the PUCL had pleaded the case of non-existent persons as during the past seven revisions, no such person came forward to register their names. |
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Sops for senior citizens New Delhi, March 9 The government says senior citizens will be roped in to advise the government on formulating policies. Senior citizens, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said, had already made a significant contribution to society and still had the potential to make unlimited contribution in many ways without vested interests. The measures come a day after Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit reminded Delhiites of the government’s decision to introduce a new property tax regime whereby residential property in the name of women in Delhi would get house tax benefits by way of lower taxation rates. “Any house in the name of women will attract a lower rate of house tax,” she said while celebrating the International Women’s Day with the girls from slums and resettlement colonies. “This will somewhat improve the situation that is characterised by a near-total absence of property rights to women,” Mrs Dikshit had said on the occasion of the International Women’s Day. |
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Haryana Congress to set up legal cells at the block level Gurgaon, March 9 Mrs Chowdhary, who was also the president of the Bar Association of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, said that her party feels that there is an urgent need to launch a mass awareness campaign on legal issues in the state. The Legal Cell is finalising a plan of action to this effect. Mrs Chowdhary, who has just been appointed chairperson of the Legal Cell of the HPCC, alleged that law and order has collapsed in the state and the government machinery is indulging in vendetta against the opponents of the ruling INLD. Addressing party workers, she said that the party’s Legal Cell will try to rope in as many practising advocates as possible in the party fold. Should her party come to power, it would keep up the dignity and welfare of the advocates, she said. She made out a case for giving more nominations to members of the Bar for in elections. It would be for the good of the society if sober and educated people take to politics, she added. |
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Delhi Police drive to rehabilitate sex workers New Delhi, March 9 Police Commissioner R. S. Gupta pointed out that the vicious cycle of poverty, illiteracy and social marginalisation of women rehabilitated from prostitution could be broken if lessons are learnt from a successful programme launched by the police sometime back. The steps undertaken included distancing rehabilitated victims from pimps and the network of agents (who have substantial financial stakes in the perpetuation of flesh trade), locating their families and providing acceptability. A humanistic and practical approach is needed to enable these victims to lead a normal and respectable life, Mr Gupta said. Senior officers from the police and the Delhi Social Welfare Department (DSWD) formed a core group, which hammered out an action plan to reduce trafficking in minor girls and generate awareness programmes among sex workers. Under the court directive, the police carried out periodic surveys to check new additions to brothel houses with the twin objectives of discouraging kidnapped girls being brought from various parts of the country and also to rescue and rehabilitate them. The police chief said the initiative succeeded in rescuing 400 girls, many of whom were minors while others belonged to the 18-30 age group. They were initially lodged at Nirmal Chhaya and other shelter homes run by the DSWD. The core group worked out the rehabilitation needs, individual circumstances, relative capability and suitability of the girls for rehabilitation. Other parameters like the social background, financial support system and educational and functional skills were assessed as also the circumstances which forced them into the trade. The whereabouts of parents, educational and social background and capability to absorb training inputs were also taken into account. |
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LJP in top gear to ensure
maximum participation in rally Sonepat, March 9 Talking to the ‘NCR Tribune’ here today, party general secretary and state spokesman Surinder Singh Hooda, said that state unit president Shamsher Singh Malik has convened a meeting of the office-bearers of the state unit, convenors of different wings, district presidents and leaders of the Dalit Sena to finalise the strategy to ensure participation of lakhs of people from Haryana. A Member of Parliament, Mr Ram Chander Paswan, will preside over the meeting, he said. He explained that the rally was aimed at informing the public in the country that the communal forces like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Shiv Sena, the Bajrang Dal and even the BJP were indulging in fomenting communal violence on one pretext or the other merely to make political gains. And by indulging in such anti-national and anti-society tactics, these forces were determined to vitiate the social atmosphere of the country for their selfish ends, he added. |
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Incentives to
promote floriculture Panipat, March 9 According to Deputy Commissioner M. R. Anand, to motivate the farmers, the Horticulture Department provides subsidy to the tune of Rs 6,000 for buying seeds, fertilizers and pesticides to the farmers for each demonstration plot of gladilous flowers. The department, at present, has arranged as many as 55 plots of these flowers and has spent over Rs 3.30 lakh as subsidy to the farmers for floriculture purposes during the current year so far, the DC said. At present, as many as 20 hectares of land have been brought under the cultivation of marigold flowers, 10 hectares under roses, four hectares under gladilous and six hectares under other various kinds of flowers this year. In his appeal to farmers, the DC has informed that in cultivation of gladilous, a farmer can earn around Rs 2 lakh per acre in a single crop. Besides, the per acre income from tuberoses (rajnigandha) and roses can go up to Rs 60,000 and Rs 65,000 respectively. |
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Misappropriation alleged in MCD mid-day meal scheme New Delhi, March 9 The leader of the Opposition in the MCD, Mr Vijendera Gupta, alleged that biscuits worth Rs 346.50 lakh were purchased from a private supplier ‘ignoring’ all the rules and regulations. He alleged that even the mandatory tenders were not invited when the purchase order was placed in September last year. The haste with which the deal was conducted indicated that there was something ‘fishy’ about it, alleged Mr Gupta. He alleged that the matter was not even discussed in the Standing Committee of the corporation. However, Mr Ram Babu Sharma, Chairman of the Standing Committee, claimed that there would have been inordinate delay in the purchase of items for the mid-day meal if the corporation had gone through the regular process. The rules were ignored as a special case, keeping in view the interests of lakhs of poor students. The students in corporation schools come from the lower strata of the society and it is the duty of the corporation to provide basic necessities and mid-day meals in the schools. |
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NCR BRIEFS Rewari, March 9 The deceased were identified as Mukesh, son of Daya Ram of Jakhala village and Kalu, son of Manohar Lal of Rohrai village. The dumper (No. HR-55 A-8359) was coming from Kosli to Rewari, while the tempo was on its way to Kosli. The Kosli police have registered a case of rash and negligent driving under Sections 279, 337, 304-A of the I.P.C. against the dumper driver.
Students boycott classes The students of D.A.V. Engineering and Technical College, Kanina, boycotted their classes on Friday and Saturday in protest against the reported hike in fees. Meanwhile, the principal Mr N.L. Arora has asked the guardians of the students to contact him to sort out the problem. He termed the boycott of the classes by the students as improper.
Molestation alleged Jhajjar: A youth of Rodiawas village of the district allegedly attempted to molest a minor girl of the same village yesterday. The district police sources said here today that the girl had gone to the fields. The youth, identified as Rajkumar, allegedly caught the girl and tried to sexually assault her. The district police registered a case under Section 376, 120B and 511, and 506 of the IPC and have arrested the accused.
Dispute Settled Rohtak: The district authorities ‘settled’ the dispute between the Block Development Officer and the chairperson, Block Samiti of Sampla town. The chairperson, accompanied by a former sarpanch, had allegedly beat up the BDO, Mr Lekh Raj in his office, when he expressed his inability to provide a domicile certificate to a former sarpanch of Baliana village without producing the house tax receipt. It is learnt that when the ‘aggrieved’ BDO approached the Sampla police to register a complaint in this regard, the police advised him against confrontation. However, the matter was reported to the district authorities. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rakesh Gupta heard both the parties and the issue was settled after an apology from the ‘erring’ chairperson of the Block Samiti. |
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, March 9 The university is likely to start a postgraduate diploma, vocational certificate and awareness, participatory programmes in horticulture, fisheries, agriculture crops, livestock and poultry, farm machinery and post-harvest technology, a release said here today. Mr Singh said it was paradoxical that in a country like India, where three-fourth of the population was engaged in agriculture, only 5-6 per cent of the graduates were from this discipline. Moreover, the proportion of educated workers (secondary and higher level) engaged in agriculture is pathetically low (12 per cent in male and two per cent in female), which clearly signals the weak base of human capital in Indian agriculture, he said. He expressed the confidence that the launch of the distance education programme in agriculture, would provide the much-needed trained human capital in this sector. Lack of civic amenities:
He said the officials concerned should be held responsible for the problems of the people. The All India Citizens Committee appealed to the people to refrain from the politics of “Mandir-Masjid” and maintain peace and harmony in the country. Mr Raja Singh Sethi, the secretary of the organisation, said instead of taking strict action against terrorists who were sponsored by Pakistan, the government was dancing to the America tune. |
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Boy killed, 3 hurt in collision Sonepat, March 9 According to a report, the injured persons were rushed to the local civil hospital from where they were referred to a trauma centre at Delhi for further treatment. The driver of the canter, however, managed to escape and the police have registered a case against him. Rahul was killed on the spot while those injured were identified as Mr Jai Kishan, his wife Kavita and their son Praveen. House burgled:
Criminals barged into the house of one Bhola Ram in Raj Mohalla here
on Saturday night and decamped with Rs 10,000 and gold ornaments worth over Rs 1 lakh. Bhola Ram had reportedly gone to attend a religious ceremony along with other members of his family. He returned home late in the night and found his house burgled. A case was registered in this connection today. Mahila
Cong appointment:
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Body found in heap of paddy husk Sonepat, March 9 13 kg opium seized:
According to information, Lal Chand came to Sonepat in Paschim Express to deliver opium to his contacts. But he was nabbed after he was noticed moving in a suspicious manner. The SP, Railways, Mr Ravi, was also present at the railway station at the time of the arrest. |
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Rice merchant robbed of cash, jewellery New Delhi, March 9 The victim, identified as Ghazi Fakhruddin, had a two-storey building in Ghonda, where the ground floor was used as a shop while the other floors were used as residence. The incident occurred last night after the victim had closed his shop and gone to his residence upstairs. One of the suspects knocked at his door around 10 pm for purchasing rice, the police said. According to the police, as soon as the victim opened his door and came out, the suspects pounced on him and entered the house and ransacked the house. They took away cash and jewellery, said the police. Factory worker killed:
He was found murdered in the factory where he resided. It seemed that he was hit on his head with a blunt object. A case of murder has been registered, the police said. Pirated CDs seized:
They arrested the shopkeeper, Mr Hira Singh, a press release said. |
SHOWCASE Mattel India has launched a new Barbie doll for its 2003 collection called `Sleeping Beauty’. This is the first doll from Barbie’s range of ‘Princess Dolls’ for this year. The story of the `Sleeping Beauty’ revolves around a beauty princess, who falls into a deep sleep and can only be awakened by a kiss from the handsome prince. All these years, girls who have read the fairy tale and have dreamt of possessing it, Mattel toys now gives them the opportunity. Safari
Bikes:
The range includes ‘Invader’, ‘Spider’ and ‘Ridge’ in MB section for the new generation. ‘Prestige’ and ‘Racer’ as city bikes are targeted at the youth. The ‘Hi-Bird’ dream is for the girls. The other range including ‘Shakti’ and ‘American Boy’ for roadsters and children. Skin-Friendly Gulal:
WingMan
cordless:
The product uses Logitech’s 2.4 GHz radio frequency technology similar to that found in cordless phones, to provide users the freedom to twist, turn and move around without being tethered to one’s computer. It also delivers realistic vibration feedback effects. Wrinkle-Free Shirts:
Eton Fashion AB has launched its premium shirt collection in the country. The range consists of non-iron dress shirts, evening shirts and business casual shirts. They are made from the finest long-staple fibres called Pima cotton. Eton uses a unique organic wrinkle-free process at the yarn stage, while most of the other brands carry out the wrinkle free process at the garment stage. All-Time Snacks:
Vitamin enriched
lipsticks:
Designer Tiles:
There is less accumulation of dirt and the special vitrocrystal technology makes these tiles super tough, stain proof and scratch resistant, which lends a lasting premium look and present a complete picture. Chic fragrance:
Sandals with attitudes:
Combo Drive:
LG Electronics has launched a new portable combo drive, the newest
addition to its already array of products in computer peripherals segment. The drive GCC 5240P combines both CD-R/RW and DVD ROM drive functions into one drive. It is equipped with 2MB of buffer memory, which has buffer under run proof technology. Multi-writeable drive:
New
generation audio players: Nike and Philips have launched first new generation portable audio players. The range includes wearable, skip free and sport ready FM, CD and MP3 players. The MP3 player Act 200 has built in 64 MB memory, 10 hour battery life, 3 colour LED indicator, splash proof and remote control. Home Appliances:
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