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July 29, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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MINI SECRETARIAT Panipat, July 28 During his address at the District Bar Association here, the irrepressible chief minister went a step further and announced plans to construct mini secretariats in all sub-divisional towns. The foundation stone of the Panipat mini secretariat was laid by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal on June 3, 1994. Even as the project, envisaged on 66 acres of land, was being unveiled, the ownership of the site was being disputed with the defence authorities staking claim to the prime land. The district administration seemed to think that the land was its own. However, wisdom dawned on the administration and it proposed that a “suitable” plot be transferred to the defence authorities at Ambala. Nearly a decade later, Mr Chautala has again raked up the controversy. During his speech, he said that the ownership of the mini secretariat site was in dispute and he had taken up the matter with Defence Minister George Fernandes. Mr Chautala made the statement unmindful of the stand taken by the district administration: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Mulk Raj Anand, has gone on record, saying that there is no dispute over the site and the construction work would start soon. The mini secretariat is a long-standing demand of the district. A former president of the District Bar Association, Mr Satyindra Singh, had even moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard. At the moment, the offices of the DC, the SDM and the District Court are functioning from Narian Sigh Park area. Several smaller offices are functioning from the Seema Theatre Complex. The SP’s office is about 3 km from the city. In the absence of the mini-secretariat, the post of the District and Sessions Judge has been lying vacant as there is no office from where he can function. Panipat is among the few districts of the state, which do not have a mini secretariat. Even a relatively new district, Panchkula, has a mini secretariat. Only time will tell whether the promised mini secretariat in Panipat will materialise before such secretariats come up in the sub-divisional towns. |
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Garbage collector at your doorstep New Delhi, July 28 With this in mind, the NDMC has begun a door-to-door garbage collection scheme: Tricycles with separate bins for different kinds of garbage will ply in some residential areas. The service has been initiated by the NDMC in collaboration with the Residents Welfare Association of Ravinder Nagar. Fumes International, pioneers of the BOT concept, is also involved in the exercise. The service, which was launched here today, was executed under the supervision of the Medical Officer of Health, NDMC, Lt. Col. S K Garg. The residents can avail of the service without paying a penny. The garbage will be collected in bins of various colours — yellow bins are meant for metal, glass and plastic and green bins for paper, organic and kitchen waste. The scheme is also expected to deter people from using plastic bags, which are a threat to the eco system.. The collected garbage will then be segregated with the help of rag pickers and sent for recycling. The money generated from recycling will be spent on the welfare of rag pickers. The NDMC is hopeful that the door-to-door service will prevent people from dumping garbage on the roads or placing it discreetly outside the neighbour’s doorstep. |
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LEGAL CORNER New Delhi, July 28 A Special Bench of the Delhi High Court, comprising Justice S K Mahajan and Justice Mukul Mudgal, which had on July 21 asked the Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) to suggest modalities for disbursement of the compensation money, today accepted almost all the suggestions put forward by the association. The Bench said the money would be released only to the wife, husband, parent or child of the deceased on filing of an application along with proof of relation with the deceased, death certificate and proof of age of the deceased on the date of accident, an affidavit giving details of total number of dependents and an indemnity bond that they would refund the amount along with interest thereto, in case any particulars furnished by him/her were found to be false. If only one dependent approaches the court for release of money, he or she will have to file a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the other dependants along with the application, it said. Those injured will have to file an application along with an affidavit to the effect that the claimant was injured in the fire tragedy, proof of identity and proof of residence and an indemnity bond that he/she will refund the compensation money along with interest thereto, in case any particular furnished to the court was found to be false, the court order said. A Vacation Bench had on June 27 ordered the release of about Rs seven crore deposited by the DVB, MCD and Delhi Police for payment of compensation to the victims. The Uphaar owners - Ansals, who were ordered to shell out 55 per cent of the compensation amount awarded to the victims — are yet to deposit their share. Meanwhile, the hearing on Ansals’ plea for permission to sell off the cinema hall to meet their
liability arising out of the April 24 order was adjourned till August 4. |
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Where pollution is a way of life Meerut, July 28 These alarming figures were dished out by the Centre for Energy Environment and Technology of Administrative Staff
College, Hyderabad, after conducting a study with the help of the UP Pollution Control Board. Prof Thilotham R Kolanu of the centre revealed that every third district of the state was highly polluted. As many as 22 out of 70 districts (31.4 per cent) had three or more pollution related problems out of the 10 problems listed by the centre. Meerut city is proclaimed to be down with five types of pollution. According to Professor Kolanu, the pollution was mostly caused by industrial effluents. The density of population in the city had contributed in no small measure to the problem. Agra, Badaun and Sonbhadra districts could also be clubbed with Meerut. While Moradabad and Ghaziabad had six kinds of pollution, Kanpur was the worst hit with seven types of pollution. According to the report, the toxicity of the groundwater had increased due to haphazard industrial expansion, lack of civic sense, extensive use of fertilisers and widespread tapping of groundwater through tubewells. As many as 6.4 million people were becoming ``mentally and physically challenged’’ due to these factors. Bio-pollution had also increased in water sources due to urbanisation and deforestation. This was affecting lakhs of people every year. The incidence of “Particulate Matter 10” was alarmingly high in urban areas due to the burgeoning number of two-wheelers, industrial activity and pollution caused by power generators. As a result, 4.12 lakh people had become ``challenged mentally and physically.’’ Internal PM 10, humidity and external humidity had also increased beyond the CPCB limit. This was affecting 2.5 million people every year. The state had more than 1,000 leather purification units which were directly polluting the Ganga and the Yamuna. These units also produced 20,820 metric tonnes of industrial garbage every year. All the participants, including government agencies and NGOs, at the seminar held the unanimous view that the pollution in the state had touched a critical level and it would be fatal to ignore the issue. The participants stressed on the need to organise awareness programmes and seeking the help of the World Bank. A proper sanitation system, effective disposal of urban solid waste, and remedial measures like afforestation and water management were the need of the hour. |
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Mining hurting ecology,
say Hathin villagers Faridabad, July 28 The villagers are upset over reports of mining of sand which is used as a construction material. The state government had awarded the contract only for removal of stones. The contract is for three years and the contractor is required to pay Rs 71,000 per year to the government. But according to reports, the mining company had been carting away reserves of sandstone not covered in the contract. Mr Tuli Ram and others have filed a petition in the court at Palwal, asking for a stay on the mining activity, especially of bajri. Among other things, the residents are now worried over the depletion of underground water resources due to indiscriminate mining. The petition of the villagers is likely to come up for hearing in the Palwal court on July 31. (The contractor has now reportedly applied for a permit for mining of sand also). Mr Karan Dalal, MLA from Palwal, has come out strongly against mining in the area. He has alleged that due to the direct involvement of certain ruling party politicians the government had failed to take action in the matter. He has pointed out that the blasts undertaken for mining posed a danger to the villagers; many residents had reported damage to their houses. Besides, the activity was causing pollution in the area. The Supreme Court had ordered a blanket ban on mining activity in a 5 km area near the Delhi border, after a petition was filed by the Delhi Ridge Board, alleging that indiscriminate mining in the Aravalli area had depleted the underground water table. The Ferozpur-Rajput section does not fall in the 5-km area covered under the ban. |
Murder witness asks CM for safety cover
Sonepat, July 28 He sought action against those who had allegedly beaten him twice and given shelter to one of the alleged murder accused. In a letter, also addressed to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, DG of Police, Haryana, Inspector General of Police, Rohtak Range and Superintendent of Police, Sonepat, Rajinder stated that he and his wife were witness in a murder case, which was being heard in the CBI court, Ambala. The letter says that in the beginning, he was provided with a security guard by the police authorities, but the guard was later withdrawn. Subsequently, he was beaten twice by Ashok, Kala, Balraj and Bhola of the same locality. On his complaint, the police started taking action against them. But one INLD MLA intervened in the matter and the police action was suspended, he alleged. One of the accused in the murder case has taken shelter even in the house of one of my attackers.
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Heavy line losses jeopardising power reforms Rewari, July 28 Addressing a crowded press conference, his first in Rewari last night, he said that as per the statistical information culled from various sources, pilferage of power accounted for 20 to 22 per cent line losses while technically, the actual line losses in the state were 28 to 30 per cent. Emphasising the urgency to reduce the heavy line losses, he said that they had launched a Rs 4,000-crore mega project to strengthen the power transmission and distribution system in the station on the one hand and an action plan comprising persuasive-cum-penal measures to eliminate power thefts at various levels on the other. Elucidating the implications of the mega project, Mr Rathee said that as many as 74 new sub-stations had been erected while the construction work of 48 other new sub-stations in the state was in progress. Besides, the capacity of 204 existing sub-stations had been augmented whereas the augmentation work of 55 other sub-stations was going on. As regards the provisions of uninterrupted power supply to the agriculture sector, he said that the power corporations had launched a scheme of providing “dedicated transformers” to the farmers. He explained that under the scheme, individuals or groups of up to five farmers could have independent transformers by proportionately paying the actual expenditure to be incurred on erection of lines, subject to a minimum of Rs 10,000. The transformer, the cost of which would be borne by the corporation, would remain the property of the corporation. Besides to accelerate the pace release of tubewell connections, 12,000 additional transformers of 25 KVA level were being purchased at a cost of Rs 38 crore by the corporation, he added. He expressed hope that with the strengthening of the power transmission and distribution system in the state, the line losses would be reduced considerably. He said that the power utilities had been given a target to reduce the line losses by five per cent by December 31, 2003; which, he said would save the exchequer a recurring loss of Rs 250 crore per annum. Briefing on the plan vis-à-vis the menace of power theft, he said that as far as the urban areas were concerned, it had been observed that barring the newly installed electronic metres, 60 to 70 per cent of metres of domestic supply were either tampered with or slowed down. Remedial measures were on, he said. The chairman also informed that he was touring the rural areas of the state to educate the consumers on the importance of co-operating with the power corporations on checking power theft and paying the electricity bills on time. He said that the enthusiastic response of the consumers in all the 68 villages, he had so far visited, indicated that the things would soon be moving in the right direction. When there is 70 per cent billing in the state, then only the power utilities would rise to the expectations of the consumers, the chairman added. |
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NGOs supplying ‘unhygienic’ food in MCD schools New Delhi, July 28 He said that there were 9.5 lakh students in MCD schools and 15 per cent of them were provided with cooked food by the NGOs without check on the quality of food. This is the violation of the Supreme Court direction which had ordered the authorities concerned to give cooked mid-day meal to the schoolchildren. While addressing the newsmen, Mr Arya said that on July 16, cooked food,
‘powa’, was supplied to the children studying in the corporation’s primary schools at Naveen Shahadra and
Kardampuri-II in North Zone by the Mahila Adhikari Manch, an NGO. Teachers complained of foul smell emanating from the powa and a written complaint was sent to the Deputy Education Officer by the headmasters. Since the NGO enjoys the patronage of political leaders in the corporation, no action has been taken against it. The NGO is still supplying the cooked food. Meanwhile, NGO manager Ms Sinch has threatened the teachers with dire consequences. It was mentioned in the agreement signed between the MCD and the NGO that 12 items would be provided to the students on daily-change basis, but the Mahila Adhikari Manch had been supplying only powa for the last 15 days. Quality, presence of protein and calories required as per the direction of the court are not being checked either. Mr Arya demanded a strict action against the NGO. |
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BRASS TRACKS The agreement to restart border trade between India and China having been finalised recently, the Kalimpong-Lhasa Silk Route via Nathula and Gyantse has once again assumed importance. Considering that silk was the most exotic commodity exported out of China, and had always been in great demand, almost all ancient trade links out of China have been popularly known as the Silk Route. While the Sikkim-Tibet route was only a branch, the main Silk Route, however, connected Europe (Rome) with China through Ashkhabad (present Turkmenistan), Khiva (Uzbek), Merv, Bokhara, Samarkand and Kashgar. At Kashgar, the route split into two to bypass the Takla Makan desert. One route connected Kashgar with Aksu, Turfan en route Lanchow and the other connected Kashgar with Lanchow via Yarkand and Khotan. Through a branch, Yarkand and Khotan, in turn were connected to Leh. Similarly, one offshoot of the main route connected Bokhara with Balkh (Bactria) and Mazar-i-Sharif (Afghanistan), while the other linked up with Tashkent. Apart from the usual folklore of mule trains, high altitude waterless plateau and central Asian grasslands, the Silk Route is also associated with historical figures like The Huns, Timur Lane, Genghis Khan, Kubla Khan and adventurers like Marco Polo. Realising the tremendous potential for tourism around the ancient towns on the Silk Route, the areas are now being opened up with air links and better connectivity by the Central Asian Republics. Khiva is one such ancient town on the Silk Route located on the Uzbek-Turkmenistan border on an oasis near the Kara Kum desert and to the west of river Oxus (Amu-Dar’ya). A city of great antiquity, it found a detailed mention in the chronicles of tenth century Arab geographers al-Istkhri and al-Maqdisi. It was the capital of the province of Khorzem and was conquered by Mohmad of Ghazvi in 1017. It is also associated with Mohammed Qutb-ud-Din Aibak. Timur conquered it in 1379 and as the power of Caliphs eroded, it was taken by Uzbeks. In 1717, Czar Peter I of Russia, having heard of the presence of gold-bearing sand in the bed of Amu-Dar’ya (Oxus), and also desiring to open mercantile relations with India through Turan and to release from slavery some Russian subjects, sent a military force to Khorzem. The battle lasted three days and ended in a Russian victory but the Khivans very soon turned the tables and were able to defeat the Russian detachment. It was not until after the Russian revolution of 1917 that this area could be finally annexed by the Russians. At Khiva, it is indeed a treat to walk past history and marvel at the efforts made for its preservation. The ancient part of Khiva known as Kuvi Arq (old citadel) is surrounded by rectangular walls having four gates. The suburbs outside the citadel were later enclosed in another outer wall having ten gates. The classical central Asian design of minarets with inlay works and domes with lapis lazuli decor can be seen everywhere and are by and large still intact reminding one of the old glory. The people are tourist friendly and Raj Kapoor is still popular. The moment an Indian tourist arrives, kiosks start playing `Mera joota hai Japani’ and Awara cassettes. Dry fruits, nuts, and particularly pistachios and the sweetest of melons are usually found cheap and almost everywhere. The easiest way to explore and enjoy this area is to first reach Tashkent. Exploration of the landscapes and the local culture are best possible by road, though cheap air links are also available. By and large, the plateau is treeless but certain areas remind us of Kashmir with abundance of apples, poplar and willow. The Mughals trace their origin from this very area with Andijan, the birth place of Babar in Farghana valley, being an important station on the Silk Route. Ever since the process of liberalisation began, tourism has picked up but is nowhere near its potential. Perhaps an enterprising travel agency would start a Central Asian Safari or a Silk Route Trail, which may be of special interest to India, considering the Mughal history. The unforgettable Madan Mohan Affectionately known as Madan Bhaiyya in the film industry, Madan Mohan Kohli died at a very young age in 1975, when he was at the top of his career. Music directors of yesteryears are known to be choosy about films but nevertheless continued to work hard and almost always had a good tune ready to fit the lyrics and the situation. Madan Mohan, it is understood, had a large collection of such musical scores in his bank, which could not be used due to his premature death. It will be a welcome news for his fans that some of this `old is gold’ is going to be used by Yash Chopra in his forthcoming film. Popularly known as the ghazal king of his times, he was always able to bring out the best from Lata. `Kuch nahin kahte – unko yeh shikayat hai’ and `Yoon hasraton ke daagh’, both from ‘Adalat’ (1958) and rendered by Lata, remain unsurpassable, even today, as the ghazals go. Lata had a special bonding with him and in spite of Madan Mohan having passed away more than 28 years ago, Lata still rates some of her best to have come through him with “Bairen neend na aaye” from ‘Chacha zindabad’ on the top. Not far behind is `Woh Kaun thi’ with haunting melodies like “Naina barse rim jhim” and “Lag ja gale se”. The success of the mystery women theme in `Woh Kaun Thi’ was carried forward by Raj Khosla, again with Madan Mohan and Sadhana, in ‘Mera Saya’, having refreshing and hit melodies like “Naino me badra chhaye” and “Jhumka gira rey Bareilly ke bazar me”. But it was not always the classical base that Madan Mohan succeeded at; his versatility was made eloquent by Geeta Dutt in “Ai dil mujhe bate de, tu kis pe aa gaya hai” from ‘Bhai Bhai’, which paired Ashok and Kishore for the first time and again in the Kishore starrer ‘Manmmauji’ where “Zaroorat hai ik shrimati ki” ran riot for months. The big question now would be his acceptability by the present generation. Considering the popularity of some of the old melodies even today and attempts to remix them, there appears to be little doubt that the magic of Madan Mohan would work again. (Dr K. K. Paul is Special Commissioner, Administration, Delhi Police). |
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Passengers dread accident-prone Sonepat roads Sonepat, July 28 Similarly, there are reports of fatal accidents on the G T Road and other state highways every day. The causes of the accidents are plying of buses, jeeps and three-wheelers without permits, drunken driving, poor maintenance of roads, lack of traffic lights at busy intersections. Some of the vehicles do not have even proper brakes and headlights. Moreover, the high speed of jeeps and three-wheelers is another cause of accidents. Pedestrians complain that the traffic constables are often seen extorting money from the truck drivers. Such scenes can be witnessed daily at busy intersections. School buses do not observe the Supreme Court guidelines. Rickshaws, overloaded with schoolchildren, are a constant traffic hazard. There is no check on three-wheelers which release fumes beyond the permissible limits. To improve the traffic problems in Sonepat, a committee of prominent citizens was constituted a few years ago by a senior superintendent of police, to suggests the ways and means to control traffic. The committee members met only once. No wonder, there is hardly any improvement in connection with the smooth flow of traffic on busy roads in the city. One of the police officials told this correspondent here today that it was the duty of the RTO to check vehicular pollution but none of the officials had ever checked such vehicles and penalised the bus and other auto drivers who stopped their vehicles in the middle of the road to pick up passengers. Some commuters point out that the operators of private buses and three-wheelers first pack their vehicles to capacity and then accommodate extra passengers on the rooftops. Most of the passengers, going to their place of work during peak hours, are often seen travelling on the rooftops of the private as well as roadways buses. “It is due to the less frequency of buses of Haryana Roadways available to the rural commuters who visit the district headquarters for various reasons,” says many office-goers. The roadways buses are hardly seen on certain routes and the commuters are forced to travel in private buses, commented many commuters. The situation on the Sonepat-Gohana route is described as worse as no Haryana Roadways bus plies as per the schedule laid down on the time-table affixed on the general bus stand in the city as well as Gohana town. In some cases, the Transport Department officials also collude with the private operators as the lucrative routes are allotted to the private bus operators whereas the state roadways buses are allotted the other loss-making routes. |
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Sonepat admn gears up to fight floods Sonepat, July 28 The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Balwan Singh, told mediapersons here today that a control room had been set up at the district headquarters where the employees had been put on duty round the clock. Almost all drains in the district had been cleaned and the pumping sets kept in order to drain out the rain and flood waters. Patrolling order, he said, had already been issued for the safety of the canals, nullahs, ring bundhs, bridges and power installations. He also disclosed that 11 boats, 42 life jackets, five OBMs, and 16 chappus (oars) had been made available to meet any eventuality. Moreover, 56 permanent pumping sets, 99 temporary generator sets and 87 electric pumps have been provided to the authorities concerned for pumping out rain and flood waters from the low-lying areas. According to the DC, the Irrigation Department authorities were keeping a constant watch on the embankments of the Yamuna in the district. The 48-km-long protective bundh from Bega village to Dahesra village along the Yamuna had been strengthened. |
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Probe sought into damaged wheat Sonepat: The Haryana unit of the Janvadi Mahila Samiti has urged the Centre to order a high level probe into the public complaints about the damage caused to a large quantity of wheat stocks purchased by the procurement agencies, particularly the FCI, lying in the godowns of the city and elsewhere. In a press note issued here yesterday, it expressed its grave concern over the non-lifting of wheat stocks worth several lakhs of rupees from the open places to the covered godowns. The samiti alleged that a large quantity of wheat stocks had been rotting in the monsoon rains and due to the vagaries of weather. Though the stocks had been covered with polythene sheets, the heavy rains have caused extensive damage to them. As a result, the government had suffered a huge financial loss. The samiti also held the officials of the procurement agencies responsible for the damage to wheat stocks and demanded the immediate transfer of all officials to ensure an independent and impartial probe.
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SPECIAL
FOCUS ON FARIDABAD Faridabad, July 28 Though the district administration had announced a few weeks ago to start a drive to root out the grass from the premises of official spots and panchayat land in the district, it seems that the campaign remains more or less limited to issuing appeals. Congress grass grows on dozens of offices and residential promises of the state government and Union Government offices here. All open spaces in the office and residential complexes have been occupied by the grass. Even the playgrounds have been beset with this grass, which reportedly causes skin allergies and certain respiratory disorders if the human beings come into contact with it. The staff of the District Public Relations Office of the state government had also uprooted the weed from its premises and had issued a press release seeking co-operation of the residents to check the growth of congress grass. However, perhaps due to the lack of proper awareness and will among the local residents, a drive is yet to be launched to root out the ever growing grass. The Municipal Corporation, Faridabad (MCF), which is responsible for the upkeep of the city and maintenance of the residential facilities in a majority of the sectors, seems to be “unaware” of the menace. “The MCF had even failed to provide proper street lighting and repair the roads in the sectors, which are full of potholes after the recent downpour, what to talk of the congress grass,” said Swaraj Singh, a resident of Sector 14 here. It may be recalled that this weed has a prolific reproduction ability and each weed unit could produce 3,000 to 5,000 weeds, as per experts in the Agriculture Department. While the maximum germination occurs from August to October, it could survive throughout the year. The weed has crown buds, which could give rise to new shoots when the weed is removed. Experts believe that no chance must be given it to flower and produce seeds if the growth has to be checked. They advocate its suppression by employing mechanical methods, bio-control agents and herbicides. But the civic authorities have no concrete proposal to check and contain the growth of this weed in the town. |
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GHPS branch opens in Hari Nagar New Delhi, July 28 The school, hitherto known as Guru Nanak Public School, has been named GHPS after the approval of the Directorate of Education. The school chairman, Mr Surjit Singh, while tracing the history of the school, said that it had been approved by the directorate and would improve under his management. Prof. Harmohinder Singh, secretary, DGSMC and the vice-chairman of the Delhi Sikh Education Council, asked the principal and the teachers to put in extra efforts to achieve zero per cent failure rate in all classes and first division marks for the students taking the board exams. He also emphasised the importance of value education and said the focus should be on character building so that students emerged as better individuals after passing out of school. The DSGMC has been making all efforts to raise the academic standard of the school, it was pointed out. |
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Workers to hold anti-privatisation dharnas Rohtak, July 28 The call for the dharnas has been given by National Confederation of Central and state government employees. The central committee of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh, at a meeting held here last evening, decided to participate in the rally, proposed to be held at Rohtak on August 24. The rally is being organised under the banner of the Haryana Employees Joint Action Committee. According to the Sangh general secretary, Mr R. C. Jagga, the Sangh planned to hold a state-level convention here on August 3, to educate the block, district and state leaders of the employees about the role of the bureaucracy and the judiciary in the implementation of the economic agenda of the NDA government. These leaders would also discuss the challenges ahead for the government employees and the public at the proposed convention. The central committee of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh, Haryana, expressed concern over the steep hike in the fees in the medical, engineering and higher education institutions. It extended its support to the agitation being launched by the Student Federation of India (SFI) against the hike. |
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NCR Briefs Rohtak, July 28 The bodies bore several injury marks and could not be identified so far. The police said that the victims were killed with sharp-edged weapons on Saturday night. However, the reason behind the crime is yet to be ascertained. The bodies would be kept in the PGIMS for two days for identification, the police said.
Five dacoits held, arms seized New Delhi: The West District police arrested five dacoits and car jackers while they were planning to commit a dacoity in the Uttam Nagar area. The police claimed to have recovered five countrymade weapons along with 10 live cartridges, one car and one motorcycle from their possession. The accused were: Jaswant Singh alias Sonu (20), resident of Gopal Nagar; Mahabir (22), resident of Roshan Garden; Neeraj Tomar alias Patha Sonu (23), resident of Najafgarh; Kuldeep alias Kala (26), resident of Najafgarh; and Ramesh (25), resident of Sonepat. One of their accomplices Jaibir alias Sonu managed to escape under the cover of darkness, the police said.
TNS
Woman bitten by snake Sonepat: A housewife Mrs Premo Devi was rushed to the local civil hospital after she had been bitten by a snake while she was working in the fields at Pipli Khera village about 15 km from here last evening. According to a report, the condition of the woman was stated to be out of danger.
Two hurt by canter Two youths, Jaivir and Parvinder, were injured after being hit by a canter on the G T Road near Rai village about 13 km from here last evening. According to a report, the persons were immediately hospitalised. They are stated to be out of danger. Both the youths were returning from Hardwar after bringing the Ganga water.
Admn to reward students The District Administration has decided to reward those students who have got first, second and third positions in the District in matric and middle school examinations this year. According to the District Education Officer, Mr Rajinder Singh Dahiya, Deputy Commissioner Balwan Singh will give away prizes to the students at a function on July 29 in local S.M. Hindu Senior Secondary School. As many as 100 students, would be provided with career-related guidance, he said.
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IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, July 28 The Minister of State for Urban Development, Mr Pon Radhakrishnan, said the government had approved an expenditure of Rs 73 lakh on developing the civic amenities in the newly constructed parking area for Rajghat, adjacent to the Gandhi Darshan complex. The other amenities being planned at the complex would include a souvenir shop and a book stall, he said. 50th year of CGHS: There was no proposal under the consideration of the government at present for celebrating the golden jubilee of the CGHS, the House was informed. Minister of State for Health and family Welfare A. Raja said the CGHS had been introduced in the country on May 1, 1954. It entered the 50th year of its existence now. However, there was no proposal to celebrate the golden jubilee of the CGHS, he said in a written reply. Death rate in TB hospital: Referring to the death rate in the Rajan Babu TB Hospital under the MCD, he said it was reported to be 15-17 per cent. This is due to the fact that the hospital is a referral institute for tuberculosis because of which the majority of the patients admitted for treatment are in an advanced stage of the disease with complications like damaged lungs, TB meningitis and associated diseases like diabetes and HIV, he added. The minister also pointed out that the government had not set up an inquiry into the causes of the high rate of deaths in the hospital. Mr Raja said modalities were being worked out by the Delhi government to implement the recommendations of the Justice A S Qureshi Committee set up to inquire whether the hospital, which was given land at concessional rate, was providing free treatment to the poor. He said the Delhi government had informed that Apollo and some other hospitals were allotted land on concessional rates and there had been definite shortfall on the part of such hospitals in providing free treatment to the poor. As per the estimates provided by the Registrar General of India through their Sample Registration System for 1998, as many as 407 women die due to the causes related to pregnancy and childbirth for every one lakh live births, the Rajya Sabha was informed today. |
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Sheila opens park in Sanjay Nagar
New Delhi, July 28 |
Four held for looting passengers New Delhi, July 28 The accused Rakesh, resident of Nehru Nagar; Santosh Kumar, resident of Prem Nagar; Ravinder Kumar, resident of Bihar;and Deepak, resident of Dhanbad used to travel in the trains. After befriending the passengers, the accused used to drug them by offering biscuits, juice and other food items. The accused were arrested by the police after they had been found moving in suspicious circumstances with suitcases near the Wimpy restaurant in Ajmeri Gate.
Dacoity bid foiled With the arrest of six persons, the South District police today claimed to have foiled a dacoity bid near Modi flyover on July 26. The police also claimed to have solved 12 cases of robbery, snatching and theft in Delhi and Noida and recovered two countrymade weapons, one knife, one rod, two cars, three motorcycles and one car stereo from their possession. Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested the accused Fakre Alam (22), resident of Bihar, Naubhan alais Rahul (19), resident of Ghaziabad, Amir Khan (19), resident of Bulandshahr, Raju Thapa alias Mannu Thapa alias Raju Nepali (19), resident of Noida, Mohammad Rashid (18), resident of Bulandshahr and Udyan (32), resident of Madangir and the receiver of stolen property. All of them assembled in a park to commit dacoity in the loaded trucks. During interrogation, the accused confessed to their crimes and said they had committed the crimes in Sarita Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan, New Ashok Nagar, Okhla and Noida. |
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Couple commit suicide Faridabad, July 28 The deceased, identified as Brij Mohan and his wife Poonam, had got married about a year ago. They reportedly took the extreme step after a quarrel. It is learnt that the couple had a fight with their sister-in-law. On getting to know that the woman had gone to the police station to lodge a complaint, they decided to hang themselves. The police have handed over the bodies to their kin after a post-mortem examination. No case has been registered so far.
Ten-yr-old boy run
over by truck Sonepat: Ten-year-old Nadeem died on the spot when he was run over by a speeding truck at the Khewra village bus stand this morning. The police have taken the driver into custody and a case has been registered against him at the Rai police station. According to information, Salim and his son Nadeem of Jhundpur village were waiting for bus to go to a village in Meerut district when Nadeem was hit and run over by a truck coming from the Baghpat side. After the incident, irate villagers thrashed the driver and later handed him over to the police.
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Even after almost 40 years, the patriotic fervour of `Haqeequat’ (1964) in “Kar chale ham fida jano tan sathiyo - ab tumhare hawale watan sathiyo” has the potential of giving one goose pimples, if not moist eyes. Many amongst the current generation, who may not have seen the film but only heard this famous composition of Kaifi Azmi, immortalised by music maestro Madan Mohan, are moved equally.