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Friday,
August 29, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Youth Cong
leader killed in mishap,
Haryana YC to
gherao Assembly Factionalism mars
Congress rally in Pataudi Cong leader to
hold ‘rath yatra’ |
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Peace in Gharaunda
after 5 days of stir 7 selected for Teacher’s Award Man, mother
sentenced in dowry death case Clarification on pay fixation Problems not redressed, say Rail staff
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Youth Cong leader killed in mishap, 7 hurt
Ambala, August 28 The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) President, Mr Randeep Surjewala, who reached the Civil Hospital Ambala Cantt, demanded that court martial proceedings should be initiated against the Army doctor who had refused to treat the accident victims when they were taken to Military Hospital in Ambala Cantonment. Dhir Singh, along with seven other Youth Congress activists, was travelling to Chandigarh to attend a meeting which had been called by Mr Surjewala. The Tata Sumo, in which they were travelling, over turned on the GT Road near Jandli bridge in the morning. Immediately after the accident, an Army vehicle, which was passing by, helped extricate the accident victims. Led by a young Captain, some of the victims were taken in the Army vehicle, while remaining victims were taken by an autorickshaw. The accident victims were rushed to Military Hospital. However, when they reached the Military Hospital, an Army doctor turned them away. Mr Pradeep Zaildar of the Indian Youth Congress, who accompanied the accident victims said, “We kept on pleading that they need immediate medical intervention. But our pleas fell on deaf ears”. “We coaxed, we cajoled but everything was in vain. We tried to impress upon the Army doctor about the urgency of the situation. However, he only spoke about the paperwork involved. Time and again, we would rush out to have a look at Dhir Singh whose life was ebbing out. They just turned us away,” he said. He stated that they spent nearly half an hour trying to convince the Army doctor. “We then rushed to the Civil Hospital where immediate treatment was given. But by that time it was too late for Dhir Singh,” he said. Mr Zaildar said that the injured include Jagdish, president of Youth Congress Rewari district, Dhiraj Sharma, NSUI President of Rewari district, J.P. Saini, Youth Congress president of Mahendragarh district, Raj Kumar, president of legal cell, Gurgaon district, Raminder Yadav, vice-president of Gurgaon district and Satish Kumar of Narwana besides the Tata Sumo driver, Bal Krishan. Mr Surjewala demanded that strict action should be taken against the Army doctor who had acted in such an inhuman manner. “There is a Supreme Court judgement on this issue. Maybe Dhir Singh’s life could have been saved, had the Army doctor given immediate treatment,” he said. Mr Surjewala said, “For any doctor to refuse a person who needs a medical treatment, is an inhuman act and that too, an Army doctor doing so is shameful,” he said. “Who will give due honour to the Army when such actions take place. During the Kargil war, we went out of the way to help the Army personnel but this act by the Army doctor has put a big question mark on the Army’s honour,” he said. Mr Surjewala said that the Military Hospital doctors should have taken immediate action, particularly when they were displaying a board that in emergency, people could come to them. “What is the point of having such good facilities when in a time of emergency it cannot help the people. I personally feel that such hospitals should be shut down,” he stated. Ambala Cantt District Congress president, Mr Ashok Jain, said that the autorickshaw driver, who had helped the accident victims, refused to take any money from them. “It is a terrible and unfortunate incident. While on one hand, Army personnel went out of the way to help the accident victims by taking them to the hospital, on the other hand, the Army doctor turned them away,” he said. Mr Jain observed that if timely medical intervention could have been given by the Army doctor, then perhaps Dhir Singh could have been saved.  |
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Haryana
YC to gherao Assembly Chandigarh, August 28 Talking to reporters here today after attending a meeting of the Haryana Youth Congress, Mr Surjewala said it had been decided to launch an agitation in protest against the “reckless increase in academic fees”. The course fees for both MBA and MCA had gone up to Rs 72,000 from Rs 54,000 in Haryana, Mr Surjewala said. Similarly, the course fees for LL.B had gone up to Rs 21,150 from Rs 16,800. For MBBS, the fee had gone up to Rs 9.5 lakh from Rs 6.9 lakh, for B Ed Rs 28,500 from Rs 17,500, for B.E. Rs 40,000 from Rs 7,000, for M.Tech Rs 12,000 from Rs 4,000 and for BA Rs 4,300 from Rs 1,400, the IYC President said. While admitting that the
All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) had played a key role in the fee increase of the technical courses, Mr Surjewala claimed the state government also contributed to the hike by withdrawing financial support to the institutions running these courses. Similarly, the UGC reduced financial support to the universities and the state government followed suit, the IYC President said. Mr Surjewala, who was accompanied by Mr Satwinder Singh Sandhu, President, Haryana Youth Congress, and other leaders, said the gherao was also in protest against the jurisdiction of the new university named after Devi Lal at Sirsa. Students of five districts — Bhiwani, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Kaithal — had been on strike for more than 10 days now in protest against the disaffiliation of their colleges from Kurukshetra University or Maharshi Dayanand University and clubbing their institutions with the new university. This was a big blow to the students of these districts since both KU and MDU were reputed institutions while the new university was still being set up. Questioning the rationale behind setting up a university at Sirsa, Mr Surjewala said the next Congress Government in the state would examine whether the varsity could be shifted to the southern districts where it was really needed. Simultaneously, the regional education centre at Sirsa would be revamped for the students of Sirsa. Mr Surjewala alleged while unemployment was increasing in the state, the Haryana Public Service Commission and the Haryana Staff Selection Commission were “selling jobs”. The government had till date retrenched 43,000 persons. He also opposed the hike in bus fares in Haryana. |
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Factionalism
mars Congress rally in Pataudi Pataudi (Gurgaon), August 28 The factionalism assumes significance as Mr Nawal Kishore
Sharma, touted to be having the mandate of the party’s Central leadership to bring unity in the state unit of the Congress, was mute spectator to the unsavoury development. Mr Sharma is said to have initiated moves to bring unity in the party. According to many, the successful meeting organised by former minister and Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee Vice-President Dr Kripa Ram Punia lost its lustre on account of factionalism in the
organisation. Torrential rain, just when Mr Bhajan Lal stood to deliver his speech, played spoilsport. Although he delivered his speech, it was disrupted and finally truncated as it lost rhythm amidst the downpour. Rao Inderjit Singh, Congress MLA from Rewari, and his supporters were conspicuous by their absence. It was clear that participation was only from Bhajan Lal’s camp. Without naming anyone, Dr Punia, during his speech, alleged that there was too much opposition against the meeting. Capt Ajay Singh, a critic of Rao Inderjit’s
family, asserted that those who opposed the meeting were strengthening the hands of Mr Om Prakash Chautala. The Congress MP from Meerut, Mr Avtar Singh Bhadana, also criticised those who opposed the meeting. Mr Bhajan Lal praised Dr Punia and said he would provide ample water supply to the areas of South Haryana, should the Congress come to
power. He criticised the functioning of the INLD government. Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia, Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh, was apparently the star speaker. According to popular opinion, the large turn out was on account of his
presence. The audience applauded him all through his speech. |
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Cong leader to
hold ‘rath yatra’ Kurukshetra, August 28 Announcing this at a press conference at Pipli, 5 km from here today, Dr Shandilya said the rath would carry portraits of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Mr Bhajan Lal. After covering 90 Haryana Vidhan Sabha constituencies, the yatra would culminate in front of the Congress main office in Chandigarh. He said Congress rallies scheduled from September 7 would now begin on September 9. He criticised the Haryana Vikas Party supremo and former Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, for calling Mrs Sonia Gandhi an alien and said Mr Bansi Lal intended to gain cheap popularity by doing so. |
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Peace in Gharaunda
after 5 days of stir Karnal, August 28 All commercial establishments opened today. However, a large number of police personnel, including women police have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident. The agitation acquired significance as hundreds of women protesters blocked the Delhi-Ambala national highway for more than one and half-hours before being canecharged. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.S. Doon, feared that the agitation could have spread to other parts of the state also had the stern action was not initiated against the protesters. Although at one point the agitation seemed to have gained mass support but suddenly lost its face after stern action. The Deputy Commissioner admitted that certain leaders of the area had tried to politicise the issue but they turned back after negotiations with them on an administrative level. A duty magistrate was temporally deployed in the township for a few days so that the law and order could be maintained. Moreover, the district administration tactfully left the options open in the FIR by just mentioning that ‘at least 250 were involved’ in the incident. The fear of being implicated in the case prevented the residents from continuing the agitation. Meanwhile, the district administration has assured the Gharaunda residents that the faulty electronic meters would not be installed. On the other hand, the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission has asked the electricity board not to forcibly change the meters if they were in good condition. |
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7 selected
for Teacher’s Award Chandigarh, August 28 A spokesman of the Education Department said the Haryana Governor, Babu Parmanand, would honour these teachers at here on September 5. The teachers selected for the award are Mr Sushil Kumar (Head Teacher, Government Primary School,
Duliana, Ambala district, Mrs Rajbala (DPE, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Rewari), Mr Gulshan Kumar, art teacher, Government High School,
Pauli, Jind district, Mr Chander Bhan, Sanskrit teacher, Government Senior Secondary School, Kaithal, Mr Naresh Kumar (Lecturer in English, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Model Town, Panipat), Mr Pyare Lal
Sangwan, Lecturer in history, Government Senior Secondary School,
Bisalwas, Bhiwani district, and Mr Nafe Singh, Lecturer in economics, Government Senior Secondary School, Panipat. |
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Man, mother
sentenced in dowry death case Kurukshetra, August 28 On July 30 last year, the deceased, Tara Devi of
Pipli, near here, in a statement before the magistrate at a local private nursing home, told the police before her death that she was married for about five months to Rakesh Kumar of
Rajajipuram, Taalkatora, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and had been harassed for dowry. Kerosene was sprinkled on her and she was set on fire. She was admitted to the nursing home, where she gave her dying declaration. |
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Clarification
on pay fixation Chandigarh, August 28 A circular issued by the Finance Department states that there is a provision in rule 7 of the Revised Pay Rules, 1998, and Rule 15 of the ACP rules, 1998, that the fixation of pay should ensure that every employee gets at least one increment in the revised scale of pay for every three increments (inclusive of stagnation increments, if any) in the existing scale of pay. In the case of those employees whose scales were modified or they were granted any scale other than the functional scale of the post after January 1, 1986, the benefit of one increment in the revised scale for every three increments in the existing scale or present scale (as the case may be) was to be granted from the date of grant of such scale. However, some departments misinterpreted this rule and wrongly fixed the pay of some employees by following a table given in some private publications. |
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Problems
not redressed, say Rail staff Ambala, August 28 Talking to mediapersons after the annual general meeting of the union here, Mr Choubey said: “There are about 2.5 lakh trains running in the country. People have faith in the Railways. But if an accident takes place, it causes fear in the minds of the people. There is no doubt that trains should run on time without any mishap”. He said employees were facing a number of problems and the government was yet to redress their grievances. He opposed the judgement against going on strike. He pointed out that anomalies in the pay commission had not been settled. |
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Two attacked, Rs 90,000 looted Karnal, August
28 According
to the police, the incident took place at Ganpati Finance Company on
Meerut Road this afternoon. When the employees refused to give the
keys of the locker, they were beaten up and attacked with sharp-edged
weapons. The attackers forcibly took the keys from them. The injured
were identified as Sunder Singh and Pawan Kumar. They were rushed to
hospital. |
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Sandeep
Khirwar to join CBI Chandigarh, August 28 |
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