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July 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Bansi Lal:
Promises, promises, promises… Faridabad, July 6 Addressing a well-attended public rally at Hodal, about 50 km from here, today, Mr Bansi Lal said that the rates of power would be reduced for all categories of consumers. Reiterating his resolve to provide unemployment allowance to jobless educated youths, he said the INLD government had failed to fulfil the promises made in this regard. Mr Bansi Lal announced that he would also take up the construction of the Mewat canal. During his tenure, he had sanctioned a Rs 200 crore plan to construct the canal but it had been shelved by the INLD government, he alleged. He also expressed concern over the rise in the prices of fodder in southern Haryana. He was not against sending fodder to Rajasthan, but it should not be done at the cost of Haryana. He did not favour imposition of house tax on self-owned dwelling units. However, the tax must be imposed if the building was used for commercial purposes or was leased out. The HVP leader, who was cheered many times during his speech, said that if his party returned to power, he would have all statues of Devi Lal removed within a month. He also criticised the Congress for not taking interest in the completion of the SYL canal. He alleged that the local Congress leaders had failed to exert pressure on the party president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, to wield her authority in this regard. He asserted that the HVP would provide residential plots to scheduled castes in the villages and ensure that unemployment allowance and old age pension were delivered by the seventh day of each month. He said VAT should not be imposed in Haryana until it was implemented throughout the country. Gurgaon emerging major hub in north: Chautala Gurgaon:
Gurgaon has emerged as a major centre of industry in north India with 330 big and 9,300 small- and medium-scale units accounting for an annual turnover of Rs 35,000 crore and providing employment to 1.75 lakh people. This was revealed by the Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala while addressing the 34th annual session of Gurgaon Industrial Association on ‘Industry and Government — Prosperity through
Partnership’ here last evening. He said that a high-level committee, under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, had already been constituted to resolve pending issues of industrialists. At the same time, his government had also started “Sarkar Udmiyon Ke Naam,” on the lines of “Sarkar Apke Dwar,” to sort out the problems of industrialists at their door step. |
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Chautala to protect interests of commission agents Sonepat: The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, has reportedly assured representatives of the Gohana Foodgrain Dealers Association that the state government will not sacrifice the interests of thousands of ‘pucca’ commission agents for the sake of 15 rice exporters in the purchase of paddy during the coming procurement season. According to the president of the association, Mr Ram Dhari Gupta, a delegation of the association recently met the Chief Minister and apprised him of the new proposals. The exporters would not be required to pay 4 per cent value added tax (VAT) if they buy paddy directly from the
`kutcha’ commission agents. But VAT would be charged if the purchase was made through the ‘pucca’ commission agents as per the directions of the sales tax office, he said. The association informed the CM that no exporter would buy the paddy through the
`pucca’ commission agents to save 4 per cent VAT. In this way, the ‘pucca’ commission agents in the state would be ruined, he said.
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3rd Front wants upper caste quota in Capital New Delhi, July 6 The Lok Janshakti Party, which has floated the Third Front to contest the Assembly elections against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC), says 15 per cent of the government jobs should be reserved for the economically backward upper castes. Chairman of Third Front and Vice President of Lok Janshakti Party Ramvir Singh Bidhuri says 10 per cent of the jobs should be reserved for the minorities also. “We have mentioned this in the charter of demands that was submitted to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit,” Bidhuri told media persons. Bidhuri was talking to reporters after courting arrest outside the residence of the chief minister. Bidhuri and the other office bearers of the Third Front were demonstrating against the recent hike in electricity tariff and acute shortage of drinking water. The Third Front, Bidhuri said, wanted the hike in tariff to be rolled back. “The upward revision of tariff burdens the economically challenged. The Government of NCT of Delhi should devise ways to cushion the burden or roll back the hike,” he said. The charter of demands also demands that colonies that had come up illegally till March 2003 be regularised. “No development charge or penalty should be levied on the people living in them,” he said. He also sought a waiver of house tax for villages in the designated rural areas. Regularisation of properties that had come up beyond the Lal Dora limit in villages till March 2003 and setting up of a Walled City Development Board for the management of the Old City also found a mention in the charter of demands. |
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CRACKING THE WHIP Sonepat, July 6 According to a report, it has identified 11 government departments, which had so far failed to deposit house tax and fire tax in spite of the notices issued to them from time to time. These include the offices of Civil Surgeon (Rs 6,94,276), Tehsil (Rs 32,478), District Public Relations Officer (Rs 71,168), Forest Officer (Rs 37,679), Home Guards (Rs 28,947), Wakf Board (Rs 58,808), Sports Officer (Rs 82,947), Red Cross Secretary (Rs 55,086), SDM (Rs 31,152), Public Health Department (Rs.8,95,179) and Government Engineering Institute (Rs 4,61,197). The Public Health Department has deposited Rs 3.05 lakh and Haryana Roadways Rs 2.14 lakh with the municipal council as the arrears of the tax outstanding against them. Engine snag delays train Thousands of passengers remained stranded for at least two hours at Sonepat and nearby railway stations after the engine of 303 UP passenger train bound for Kalka developed a snag at the Badli railway station, about 40 km from here, last evening. According to a report, train services on Sonepat-Delhi section of the Northern Railway remained disrupted when the engine of the passenger train developed a mechanical defect at Badli. Another engine was sent to the site from Delhi, which was attached with the passenger train for its onward journey. Finally, the train reached Sonepat around 6.40 pm, instead of 4.45 pm. Meanwhile, the Northern Railway has placed a junior engineer under suspension. The action followed the halting of 1 DPM (EMU) passenger train at the Rathdhana railway station, 8 km from here, on Friday, as the wheels of a coach got jammed, leading to sparking. The railway authorities had to transport the EMU passengers on an Amritsar-bound superfast train. |
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NOIDA SCAN Noida, July 6 Presiding over the seminar in Government Inter College, Sector 12 here, the District Basic Education Officer, Shailender Singh Verma, said that a target to provide education to cent per cent children in the state had been set. He said the authorities were trying to raise the percentage of girl students attending schools. There was a serious problem in rural areas where girl students could not continue their education after primary level because parents were reluctant to send them to schools in other villages, he said. Principal of Inter College R. S. Yadav said the percentage of women getting education was 54, which needed to be improved. The need to attract children of slums and rural areas to schools was also stressed at the seminar. The administration is making special efforts for the education of physically challenged children. Some NGOs and humanitarian organisations like Rotary Club, Noida Lok Manch etc have already come forward to help in the matter. The president of the Rotary Club here, Narinder Kumar, said parents should motivate their children to attend schools. Greater Noida Rotary Club president M. N. Lari emphasised on the need to pay special attention to the education of children employed in commercial establishments. JE bid to cheat Panchayat Dept of Rs 50,000 Rohtak: A junior engineer allegedly tried to cheat the Panchayat Department and pocket Rs 50,000 in the name of digging work of a village pond. According to sources, the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) had handed over Rs one lakh to the panchayat of Mokhra Khas village for digging ponds under the ‘food for work’ scheme last year. It is learnt, the digging work of a pond near a school had been completed in December last year and a junior engineer, Ram Kawar, had received Rs 20,000 for the said work. Meanwhile, Mr Ram Kawar was shifted to some other village and another junior engineer took over. This engineer recently claimed Rs 49,000 for digging up the same site once again. He approached an officer of the Panchayat Department for the clearance of his bill. The officer concerned inspected the pond and found that it was filled with water and no digging work had been undertaken. He reported the matter to the higher authorities.
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Liquor smuggling: It is a one-way street to Sonepat
The liquor prices are higher in Sonepat than in Delhi. The difference in prices ranges between 40 and 80 per cent. A bottle of country liquor, which costs around Rs 40 in Delhi, is sold for nearly Rs 80 in Sonepat. Similarly, an Aristocrat Premium bottle is sold for Rs 180-Rs 200 whereas it costs only Rs 110 in Delhi (See
picture). Inquiries made by the NCR Tribune revealed that all kinds of transport — trains, maxicabs, jeeps and private cars — are used in smuggling liquor. The smugglers use different modus operandi. Sometimes, they use their own vehicles and offload the stock at different pre-determined points, mostly in villages. The liquor is then forwarded to the interested parties. Besides, there are between 35,000 and 40,000 daily commuters to Delhi from Sonepat, who buy liquor in the Capital for their personal consumption. Smuggling of liquor by private carriers is the biggest menace as far as the liquor contractors in Sonepat are concerned. In fact, the latter have been forced to reduce the prices of some of the brands to counter the menace. One such contractor, Ravinder
Kaur, said that the government must take stern action against the smugglers; otherwise, the contractors in Sonepat and other neighbouring districts of Delhi would have to absorb hefty losses. A large number of Delhi liquor shops are located on the border. Those adjoining Sonepat do a roaring business. The Excise and Taxation Department in Sonepat reluctantly admits to some instances of liquor smuggling, but asserts that it was not on a large scale. A strict vigil was being maintained at the entry points by the department teams, it is claimed. |
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HVPN meeting sheds light on issues of power consumers Faridabad, July 6 Maj-Gen (retd) B S Rathee, chairman of the HVPN, UHBVN and DHBVN, who was the chief guest at the special session admitted that the power department had been faced with several challenges. On the one hand, he said the Nigam faced an uphill task of recovering almost Rs 900 crore pending as power bills in the rural areas, the other task was to improve the supply (distribution) and overall functioning of the department. He pointed out that there was a feeling in the rural areas that all the pending bills might be ‘waived off’ sooner or later and this, he said, had a factor proving a deterrent in regular payment of bills by a villager. According to Gen Rathee, there were some priority areas on which he and his team had been focussing at present. He said that the ‘customer relation’, checking the losses (thefts), improving manpower and recovering dues and bills were very important. He said the present power supply would have been adequate if there had been no line loss or power theft. He said to stop illegal ‘Kundi’ connections in residential and industrial areas, the department had started replacing open wires with insulated cables and putting meters on the transformers. He said the urban consumers were very important for the HVPN and the Nigam had gone for measures to make the department consumer-friendly and responsive. He said the starting of the ‘Bijli Sewa Kendra’ (BSK) at Faridabad was one step in the direction. He said the Nigam would take strict action against the employees or staff, that was found involved in irregularities and not attending the complaints of consumers. Admitting that there was a shortage of field staff in the Nigam, he said recruitment against the vacant posts would soon be taken up. Claiming that senior officials of the HVPN and DHBVN were ‘efficient’, he said there was a need to discipline the lower rung staff. Some of the entrepreneurs present at the meeting raised the problems faced during getting new connections and rectification of faults, the HVPN chairman said that efforts were being made to improve the present infrastructure and the services of the Nigam. About the complaints of breakdowns, loadshedding and the delay and corruption in the movement of files of applicant in the Nigam offices, the officials said that power supply situation had improved a lot in the past one year. |
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15 injured in Sonepat road accidents Sonepat, July 6 According to a report, four of the seriously injured were sent to the PGIMS at Rohtak and three others to a trauma centre at Delhi. The police have registered all the cases. However, no arrest has been made in this connection. As many as eight persons were injured when a Maruti car on which they were travelling, collided with a truck on the Sonepat-Meerut inter-state road in Khewra village in this district. The injured were identified as Sunil, Sukhbir, Jatinder, Sanjay, Roshan Lal, Bijender, Mohan and Rajesh. All the injured were immediately hospitalised. They included Majidan and Duli Chand. A loaded truck dashed against a tree on G T Road near Qumashpur village in this district resulting injuries to three persons including the truck driver. The injured were identified as Pawan, a driver of the truck, Prem and Mahesh. The truck was on its way from Shahbad Markanda to Azadpur vegetable and fruit market in Delhi.
Sharp showers
lash city Sonepat city and its surrounding areas were lashed with sharp showers in the wee hours today. According to a report, the rain is considered beneficial for the sowings of kharif crops. The rain has brought down the temperature considerably. Several areas were waterlogged and the residents faced hardships.
Man suffers bullet injuries A youth Pradeep sustained bullet injuries when the gun went off accidentally in a marriage ceremony at Malikpur village about 10 km from here last night. According to a report, Pradeep, a resident of Garh Shahjahanpur village had gone to Malikpur village to attend a marriage party there. When the ‘doli’ of the bride was to leave the village, a gun went off accidentally resulting to the injuries of the youth. He was rushed to the local civil hospital. |
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Jhajjar
literally in deep water Jhajjar, July 6 In Jhajjar town, heaps of garbage lying in almost every colony are the major problem for the residents as well as the municipal councillors. In Bahadurgarh town of the district, with every rain, water accumulated on the roads due to virtually non-existent sewerage system here. The bus stand in the town, which is situated in the low-lying area, virtually turned into a lake every time it rained. Similar conditions prevail on the Bahadurgarh-Kharkhoda approach road where one sees only the remains of a road while crossing the residential areas in Asaudha, Jasaur Kheri and Barona villages. About one km stretch in Asaudha village was completed inundated with water.
One killed in road accident One person was killed and six were injured in a road accident involving a tempo and a three-wheeler on the National Highway No 10, near Jakhoda village in Bahadurgarh sub-division here last evening. According to information, a three-wheeler was coming from Rohtak side and was going towards Bahadurgarh when it was hit by a speeding tempo coming from behind. A factory labourer Lal Bahadur died on the spot. |
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NCR BRIEFS Sonepat, July 6 According to a report, Mrs Kanta alleged that her daughter had been killed by her husband and two other members of the in-laws’ family after she could not meet their demand for more dowry. The accused named in the FIR are stated to be absconding and a hunt is on to apprehend them. MAF new president Faridabad: The Manufacturers Association Faridabad (MAF), a leading organisation of entrepreneurs here, has got a new team of office-bearers for the next two years. While Mr Navdeep Chawla who is in pharmaceutical manufacturing and marketing business, has been elected as new president of the MAF, Mr Ramneak Prabhakar has become the new general secretary of the body. Others office-bearers include Mr M S Chawla as senior vice-president, Mr Vinod Gupta as vice-president, Mr Suresh Agarwal as vice-president, Mr P S Bakshi, also vice-president.
TNS 40 KV power sub-station Jhajjar: To fulfil the increasing demand of the industrialists, a new 40 KV power sub-station would be set up in the Modern Industrial Estate (MIE) in Bahadurgarh and another existing 132 kv sub-station would be upgraded to 220 kv. This was stated by Major-General (retd) Bhoop Singh Rathee, Chairperson of the Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (HBVN) while addressing the industrialists at the BCCI auditorium in Bahadurgarh today. Mr Ashok Redhu, president of the BCCI, Mr Nafe Singh Rathee, local MLA and Chairman of Confed Mr Balbir Singh were present on the occasion. Mr Rathee announced the shifting of the BHVN store office again in Bahadurgarh as per the wishes of the local MLA, Mr Nafe Singh. He said that iron poles have been now replaced with the concrete poles for safety purpose. Raising concern over the increasing instances of power theft, he said that check in this illegal exercise is not possible without the cooperation of the consumers. |
Man kills friend over trivia Ghaziabad, July 6 Another body, wrapped in a cloth, was found in the same police station area yesterday. In another incident, Kavi Nagar police have arrested three eunuchs who, dressed as ladies, would try to rob people. Khurshid and his friend, both from Gajraula, used to work at construction site near an engineering college on Vijay Nagar
bypass road. They had a tiff on a trivial issue that soon developed into a serious brawl in which Khurshid was hit by his companion with an axe on his head. He died after a short while. The assailant is reportedly absconding. A report of the incident has been lodged in Vijay Nagar police station. Near Gaushala railway crossing, the body of a young man, wrapped in a cloth, has been found by the side of the railway line. The victim could not be identified as the murder seems to have been taken place two to three days ago, the police said. Last night, Kavi Nagar police had rounded up three eunuchs near New Ghaziabad Railway station. Dressed as pretty girls, the eunuchs would request the drivers for lift and would then rob them. The police recovered two knives from them. One of them, Chhamaya had confessed to having murdered his disciple during 1999. All the three have been sent to jail by police. |
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Two burglars caught; pistol, knife seized New Delhi, July 6 The accused Saleem alias Kallu (20) and Ramesh (26), residents of Mandoli Extension were overpowered by the police. During interrogation, the accused also disclosed about their two other associates Bhola and Dinesh and told the police that they were involved in several cases of burglary in Dilshad Garden and Seemapuri.
Three auto-lifters held Three auto-lifters were nabbed by the South-West district police near the Kanchan Basti. The accused Anil Kumar alias Tingu (20), Anil Kumar alias Sonu (21) and Parvesh (21), all residents of Phara Gunj were on a motorcycle when the police questioned them. The accused told the police that they had stolen the Hero Honda motorcycle from the Mayapuri area.
Armyman killed An army hawaldar died last night when he was hit by an unknown vehicle in the Delhi Cantonment area in South-West district. The victim Bhumi Raj in his late thirties was posted at the 3JAK rifles at the Delhi Cantonment area and was hit by a vehicle on the
Gurgaon Road. |
SHOWCASE GLEN, a lifestyle quality appliances, has launched the state-of-the-art two burner cooktops with triple ring burner. The cooktops incorporate a new compact design with sleek and elegant look that enhances the kitchen décor. The two burner cooktops come in various designs to suit the consumer’s needs. “Our new cooktops come with a triple ring burner and one touch battery-operated multi-spark auto ignition,” Sunil Kapoor, General Manager, Glen India Limited. Mobile phones for
youngsters Philips has launched two new mobile phones, Philips “330 and 630”, targeted towards college goers and young professionals. Alan Sparks, vice-president, Philips, said, “The key to our success has been the ability to address minutest consumer needs in a very simplified way. Philips 330 and 630 will create benchmarks by providing all the relevant features in a handset at a very basic price point.” DS foods has unveiled yet another refreshing experience by launching its first-of-its-kind spring water café, “Catch Level 5000” – reflecting the fact that Catch spring water is bottled at 5000 feet above sea level in the pristine purity of the Himalayas. P S Bedi, Business Head, DS foods said, “We have always endeavoured the path of redefining market contours and enriching the customer experience.” Via technologies, a large maker of chipsets for personal computers has announced the launch of Via south bridge chipset for ultimate performance and connectivity across the full spectrum of Intel, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Via processor platforms for personal computers. Exquisite watch designs for ladies Sonata watches has introduced a new range of exquisite designs for ladies. The new collection comprises a set of 10 ornately designed gold-plated watches. The unique shape of the watch dials has been designed with special golden indices and distinctive stones, which add to the overall ornate look of the watch. Talc for magical effect Hindustan Lever Limited has relaunched Pond’s Magic Talc, which will be available across the country very soon. The new Pond’s Magic Talc has an enhanced, irresistible fragrance. It comes with an equally distinct, modern dispensing mechanism. While traditionally talcs have had flip-tops, this new packaging has a unique shutter mechanism that has not been seen before in beauty care products. Linux desktop in India IBM has announced the launch of its Linux desktop in India – IBM NetVista A30 model. The new model at the SMB and SOHO segment, would soon be launched in all the metros. Alok Ohrie, vice-president, IBM said, “IBM focus on innovation has shaped the IT industry. Linux has evolved into an enterprise-class operating system that already has and will continue to have a significant and lasting presence on the IT landscape. Free-flowing white
crystals Mawana Sugar has launched a new pack of sugar. Hygienically processed and packed in an ISO 9001:2002 certified factory, the pure and free-flowing white crystals of Mawana Sugar leave you with the sweetest taste. Designer salt and pepper shakers Magppie, manufacturer of premium stainless steel accessories have launched designer salt and pepper shakers. These attractive salt and pepper shakers have been developed and created by the most creative brains of NID and NIFT. Vinod Jain, Head, Marketing said, “Every Magppie product is based on the principal that it should appeal to the first senses apart from being trendy and beautiful. The salt and pepper shakers have also been designed on the same principal.” Global Green Company has launched a range of lip smackers called ‘Relish’, under the brand name of ‘Tify’. ‘TifyRelish’ is launched in three flavour variants – Zesty Jalapeno, Sweet Cucumber and Tangy Tomata and is presently available in Delhi. Vineet Chhabra, Managing Director, said, “The flavours based on our consumer tests show that the Indian palates are more receptive to tangy
flavours.” Shoes in eye-catching colours Inc.5, a brand of Regal Shoes is available in a variety of eye-catching colours such as red, green, blue, black and biege. These heels provide you with stability with a platform type wooden sole with one style having a pointed front and the other having a U-shaped with a flower embellishment decorated on the front shape. |
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Sonepat, July 6
