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Tuesday,
September 16, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Jhajjar farmlands flooded SYL canal within a year, says Chautala Engineers face action for diarrhoea outbreak Protesters allege police torture
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40-cr plan to beautify
26 state cities Sabha poll turns
controversial Selja to contest from Sirsa BSP executive reconstituted Bumper bajra
crop expected
New ground for war trophy 24 arrested during students’ stir Roll back hike in fee, demand students Lawyers’ stir
intensified Haryana Sikhs
for separate committee
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Jhajjar farmlands flooded Jhajjar, September 15 Kharif crop over 7,500 acres has been damaged by the heavy monsoon. The Agriculture Department sources said the crop had suffered 50 to 100 per cent damage in different areas, but so far there was no hope for any compensation to farmers. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Mohinder Kumar, said in a press conference here today that about 5,000 acres were still flooded in the district. The 825 mm rainfall recorded during monsoon this year is the highest in 10 years. Farmers say that the crop loss has given them a financial setback. Kharif crop — paddy, jawar, bajra, arhar etc — have been completely damaged in about 5,000 acres and in the remaining 2,800 acres, it is affected by upto 50 per cent. About 20 villages of Beri and Bahadurgarh blocks had been highly affected. The villages of Dabodha Mandothi, Dighal, Lakaria, Seria, Gochchhi, Madana Kalan, Paharipur, Achchhez and Dulhera had been the most affected. The DC said about 62 motor-pumps had been installed in these villages to drain out accumulated water and the state government had given Rs 7 lakh for dewatering of the fields. He said process would be intensified after September 15. However, the Agriculture Department estimate is that a farmer will have to shell out Rs 4,000-5,000 more as cultivation and plantation cost this way. The losses are to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore in 5,000 acres. The loss of kharif crop here was raised in the Assembly recently by Beri representative and Congress leader Raghubir Singh Kadian, but the Chief Minister had reportedly taken the question lightly. |
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SYL canal within a year, says Chautala Sonepat, September 15 Addressing a party (INLD) workers’ meeting here today, he also said that the Supreme Court had made it clear in its order that if the Punjab Government failed to undertake the work within a year, the Central Government should start the work within a year. He said an additional area of 75,000 acres of cultivable land in the state would be irrigated by the water of the SYL canal and the income of the farmers and the revenue of the state would be increased manifold. Mr Chautala also referred to the employment opportunities being created by the state government, and said that 50,000 jobs would be created in a year for which a notification had been issued and appointment process started. He said a special force, the Haryana Industrial Security Force, on the pattarn of the Central Industrial Security Force, would be raised and 10,000 youths would get job in this force. The Chief Minister accused HVP chief Bansi Lal of misleading the youth on the issue of employment. He also accused the leaders of the Opposition parties, particularly the Congress, of exploiting the sentiments of students on the pretext of hike in fees and affiliation to their colleges to the newly set up Devi Lal University, Sirsa. He described them as “paper tigers” and said these leaders never raised the invoice in the Haryana Vidhan Sahba but they were getting the help of the media to keep themselves “alive” in the newspapers.
— PTI |
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Engineers face action for diarrhoea outbreak Yamunanagar, September 15 Ten persons had died of diarrhoea and about 150 persons have been hospitalised in this district. Mr H.B. Munjal, Engineer-in-Chief, Haryana, confirmed that Mr Chaudhary had been asked to proceed on leave. He said efforts were made to improve sewerage conditions in Yamunanagar and Jagadhri. He said the Red Cross, the Rotary Club and the Lions Club should provide financial help to those who could not pay for water supply connections. Mr V.K. Gupta, Chief Engineer (Urban), said he had collected 50 samples of water and these had been sent to the Bacteriological Laboratory in Ambala. Mr Vijayendra Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, said the situation was under control and no fresh case of diarrhoea had been reported today. Mr Raj Kumar Tyagi, DCC president and Mr Satpal Kaushik, secretary, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, besides several other leaders has given a memorandum to the Deputy
Commissioner and sought compensation for victims. |
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Protesters allege police torture Safidon (Jind), September 15 Kulwinder Singh, Daler Singh, Shisha Singh, and Asa Singh of Danauli village, Asandh subdivision of Karnal were carrying some cows in a tractor-trailer to be left in a cowshed but they were detained by the police and subjected to torture. Earlier, an FIR under Sections 323, 342 and 382, IPC, had been registered in which the names of the accused police personnel had not been mentioned. However, three police personnel were subsequently arrested on the statement of the munshi of the police station. They were granted bail by a local court. Kulwinder Singh said, “I was beaten up and humiliated. The police personnel gave us dirty water collected from the lavatory to drink. Injury marks were visible on their bodies. Shisha Singh alleged that they were tortured in the presence of the SHO, Mr Ishwar Singh Rathe, by an ASI and two police personnel. “The whole night we were kept in illegal confinement and tortured. After the intervention of a Sikh policeman, we were released early in the morning”, he said. Meanwhile, a deputation of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (Ad hoc) met SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal on his visit to Shamgarh (Karnal) today and presented a memorandum seeking his intervention in the case. The SAD leader had a telephonic conversation with the Haryana Chief Minister regarding the incident. It is learnt that the Chief Minister has ordered the district administration to take action against those alleged guilty after recording fresh statements of the victims. The DSP (Safidon), Mr Rishal Singh, recorded the statements of the victims. He also assured them that charges under Sections 323, 342, 307 and 295-A, IPC would be framed while preparing the challan. The SDM of Safidon, Mr V.S. Dahiya said, the accused police personnel, including the SHO, would be arrested. The president of the state unit of the Congress, Mr Bhajan Lal, the Chairman of the minority cell of the HPCC, Mr Jagdip Singh Cheema, senior SAD leader Kartar Singh Takkar, Jathedar Surjit Singh of the Haryana Sikh Sangat, besides the MLA and other political leaders have expressed concern over the incident and demanded the immediate arrest of the accused. |
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40-cr plan to beautify
26 state cities Kurukshetra, September 15 This was disclosed by the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, at Shahabad, 25 km from here, yesterday after laying the foundation stone of the building of the municipal committee office. He also inaugurated a fire station constructed at a cost of Rs 30.90 lakh. The Chief Minister said the Haryana Government had spent Rs 92.8 crore for the development of cities in the past over three years while a sum of Rs 79.88 crore were spent during the previous regime. He said under the novel scheme for the beautification of cities all dairies, piggery units and truck unions situated in the municipal limits of the cities would be shifted out of the city. Later, the Chief Minister inaugurated four godowns of 15,000 mt capacity at Pipli constructed by the Haryana Agro Industries Corporation at a cost of Rs 2 crore. He said the government was committed to the welfare of the farmers and many schemes had been initiated for them. The support price for their produce had been ensured besides the Haryana Government had constructed godowns of 55,000 metric tonnes capacity at a cost of Rs 6.44 crore the last year for the preservation of foodgrains under the seven-year guarantee scheme of the Food Corporation of India. Mr Chautala said the corporation had also constructed a godown of 5,000 metric tonnes capacity at Murthal, 10,000 tonnes capacity at Jind and 25,000 tonnes capacity at Shahabad. He said the corporation had also constructed the godowns of 1200 metric tonnes capacity for its own use. He said that the corporation had decided to set up modern petrol stations at Sonepat, Panipat, Nilokheri, Pipli, Shahabad Markanda, Ambala, Hisar, Barwala, Kaithal and Yamuna Nagar shortly. Mr Chautala said the corporation had imparted training to 441 persons in bee-keeping from July 1999 to July last. The corporation was not only imparting such training free of cost, but also providing subsidy of Rs 12,000 on 20 families of bees and an equal number of bee hives. On the occasion, Sher Singh Barshami, president, INLD, Haryana, Mrs Kailasho Saini, MP, Ashok Arora, Transport Minister, Jaswinder Sandhu, Agriculture Minister were among those present at the function. |
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Sabha poll turns
controversial Sirsa, September 15 The rest of the groups ,while opposing, proposed the name of Mr Shanti Swarup Valmiki, member of a Scheduled Caste, which generated controversy. Meanwhile, another group proposed the name of Mr Atma Ram Thakedar and Mahanveer Pehalvan from the Dhanak community for the post. The delegation presiding over the election had to appeal to the members to participate in the election peacefully so that elections for all office-bearers could be conducted peacefully and representation could be given adequately to all groups. The delegation comprised a former Chairman of the Haryana Land Development Corporation, Mr Ashok Verma, the MLA from Dabwali, Dr Seeta Ram, municipal councillor Master Raj Kumar Verma, president of the Municipal Council Employees Union, Mrs Kalawati Bhatti, and Mr Jugnu Bhatti. Brushing aside the delegation’s appeal, Mr Bhagi Ram left the meeting after declaring himself the president. |
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Selja to contest from Sirsa Sirsa, September 15 He was talking to newsmen at the house of former Haryana Irrigation Minister and senior Congress leader Jagdish Nehra. The AICC spokesperson, Ms Selja, and former HPCC president and Haryana minister Virender Singh were also with him to receive AICC President Sonia Gandhi who had a brief stopover at the Air Force Station on her way to Rajasthan. Mr Hooda said the hike in the university/college fees imposed by the Chautala government would be withdrawn once Congress came to power. In reply to a question regarding Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Mr Hooda said his party was not against establishing the university, but it was against eulogising any personality. The opposition leader alleged that the Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha was working to suppress the voice of the Opposition. The government is trying to avoid facing the Opposition as is evident from this shortest session in the history of the Vidhan Sabha,” he said. The Congress leader demanded a white paper on the foreign trips of the Chief Minister saying hundreds of crores of rupees had been spent on these trips, whereas, the foreign investment was not coming forth. The AICC spokesperson, Ms Selija said she would contest the coming Lok Sabha elections from Sirsa. She refuted the allegation of factionalism in the state Congress. The Haryana Congress president Bhajan Lal and vice-president Ranjeet Singh were also present at the airport, soon after the departure of Ms Gandhi. |
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BSP executive reconstituted Rohtak, September 15 Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, Mr Narender Kashyap, in charge of the BSP affairs in the northern states and member of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) legislative council (MLC), said that Mr Ashok Sherwal would continue to be the president of the Haryana state unit of the party. However, two general secretaries, Mr Varinder Ranga and Mr Karamvir, have been removed from their posts for their “inability” to carry out the tasks assigned to them by the party. Five new general secretaries, six secretaries, state party office secretary and a new executive committee member have been appointed in consultation with the national BSP vice-president and former UP Chief Minister Ms Mayawati, Mr Kashyap said. He said the appointments had been made in view of the “good work” done by the new appointees and their loyalty to the party. The
reconstituted 36-member executive committee of the Haryana BSP will have Mr Sherwal as its new president besides other office-bearers.
— PTI |
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Bumper bajra
crop expected Chandigarh, September 15 A bumper crop of bajra was expected this year out of which at least 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes would come to the mandis. A production of 30,000 tonnes of jowar and 64,000 tonnes of maize was expected. Mr Disodia added the Food and Supplies Department had already issued guidelines for the procurement of kharif crops. It had also circulated the milling policy for the kharif marketing season commencing on October 1. Of the total paddy production of 43 lakh tonnes, 35 lakh tonnes was likely to arrive in the mandis, including about 10 lakh tonnes of basmati. The government would make payment to the farmers for their produce within 48 to 72 hours of the purchase. |
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Shun faulty technology, technocrats told Ambala, September 15 Fatehgarh Sahib: The country has great hopes from the young and upcoming technocrats and they must be ready to accept the challenges and should develop honesty, integrity, dedication, punctuality and to work to root out corruption from the system. The environmental degradation has been caused due to faulty technologies designed by the present engineers and the upcoming engineers should develop technology keeping in mind the betterment of the coming generations, This was stated by Mr
S.K.Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner, while presiding over the Engineer’s Day celebration function in memory of M.Visvesvaraya at the local BBSB
Engineering College organised by the staff and students here today. He said that it is a matter of concern that presently hard work and dedication is less in students and more in parents. He called upon the students to follow the path of simple living and high thinking. He said that the future of the nation is in their hands and they had to decide the fate of the country. He said that on this day they must adopt the teachings of Mr M.Visvesvaraya and that would be the real tribute to him. Dr Dilbagh Singh
Hira, principal of the college, in his address gave detailed information about the personality and good work done by
M.Visvesvaraya. He said that this day is celebrated all over the country and on this day “we must follow his teachings and the students and teachers must learn from the great visionary’s life”. |
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New ground for war trophy Ambala, September 15 The Chandigarh Tribune had pointed out that the tank was a picture of neglect as construction material had been dumped near it. Some of the tank parts too had been removed. The Patton tank is a war trophy from the Indo-Pak war of 1965. A senior official confirmed that the tank was going to be shifted to the War Heroes Memorial Stadium in Ambala
Cantt. “The final decision in this regard has been taken and the Deputy Commissioner, Mr
D.D. Gautam, has approved the shifting of the tank. Mr Gautam has made it clear that the tank should be kept in a manner befitting a war trophy,” he said. The official said the concrete base for the tank had to be built in the stadium. “Besides the base, there will be a wire mesh that will be used in a way similar to that used by Army personnel for displaying tanks,” he said. “A war trophy epitomises how bravely our soldiers fought to defend our nation’s territorial integrity. Earlier, it was proposed that the tank should be shifted to Bal Bhavan which is located just opposite the children’s park. But the lack of visibility for the war trophy made the site unsuitable.” About three years back, the Patton tank was shifted from a nondescript place in Bus Stand of Ambala City to the prominent HUDA park. The tank, which was used by the Pakistan army, was captured by the Indian army during the battle in the Khemkaran sector. The Khemkaran sector is also considered to be the graveyard of the Patton tank. In the year 2000, the tank was shifted to the HUDA park by the Army authorities. A team headed by Major Iyer of 6014 Armoured Brigade workshop had worked throughout the day to shift the tank. They had used two cranes for shifting purpose. Patton tank draws its name from US General Patton who won several battles in Europe in the operation ‘Overlord’ during 1944-45. During the 1965 war, the Patton tank was the latest acquisition of the Pakistan army. It was considered to be a state-of-the-art tank then. It had a formidable reputation at a time when the Indian Army had Sherman and Centurion tanks. But, the Indian Army successfully routed Patton tanks in large numbers, particularly in the Khemkaran sector. |
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24 arrested during students’ stir Jind, September 15 The police arrested them for violating prohibitory orders and charged them under Sections 188, 149 and 148 of the IPC. Prominent among those who were arrested were Mr Parkash Chander, district secretary, CPM; Mr Jai Parkash Redhu, president, district youth Congress, Jind; Mr Umed Rajana, president, Khet Mazdoor Congress, Jind; and Mr Mahavir, president, Yuva Sangathan, Jind. The police had taken about 60 persons in custody, of which, cases were registered against 24. The call for today’s meeting was given by the Students’ Joint Action Committee. Mr Som Dutt
Siwha, district president, Students Federation of India, and two student leaders — Pawan Saroha and Vijender — were arrested on the charge of smashing the window panes of a Haryana Roadways bus during the agitation. Mr Jai
Bhagwan, state general secretary, Students’ Joint Action Committee, condemned the arrests and alleged that the police had adopted brute force to curb the agitation. The Joint Action Committee had given a call for students’ strike on September 24 and 25. |
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Roll back hike in fee, demand students Fatehabad, September 15 The students went to the Mini Secretariat in a procession and gave a memorandum to the SDM. The samiti demanded in its memorandum the reversal of the government’s decision to increase fees. It demanded doing away with the application fees for various government jobs, developing of Sirsa University as a residential university, filling of all vacant posts in colleges and universities, immediate release of students arrested during the agitation and jobs for all unemployed youths. |
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Lawyers’
stir intensified Kaithal, September 15 The lawyers, at a meeting here on Saturday, had decided to start a chain fast from today and seven lawyers went on fast today to intensify their agitation. Office-bearers of their association said they had got assurance from All-District Bar Associations of Haryana. State to go on strike on September 16 to express their solidarity with the Kaithal District Bar. The advocates are protesting over the decision of the high court construction committee ordering the demolition of the partially constructed 142 chambers on grounds of poor structural designing and violations of building laws. |
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Haryana Sikhs
for separate committee Sirsa, September 15 This congregation was attended by Mr Harbans Singh Dachar of Karnal, Jagdish Singh Jhinda (president of the Haryana Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee), Mr Dedar Singh Kamboj of Kurukshetra and Mr Swaran Singh Virak. It was presided over by Sardar Madho Singh Ellenabad. The district president of the Haryana Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Mr Jageer Singh Jammu, said there were only 11 representatives from Haryana in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, who remained under the influence of a political party. According to the voters’ strength, there should be 40 members from Haryana. He said there was other alternative for the Sikhs of Haryana but to take up the management of the gurdwaras in their own hands. |
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Special teams to curb pollution mooted Chandigarh, September 15 An official press note said here today that if any unit was found not using its pollution-control devise during surprise checks, the board would initiate action for closure of the unit or prosecution without further notice. The board had already liberalised the procedure for a no-objection
certificate (NOC) or consent for grant of clearances to the industrialists. All industries must operate their effluent-treatment plants and in the case of any breakdown, they should immediately inform the Regional Officer of the board or contact the head office. |
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Ex-Chief
Medical Officer dead Karnal, September 15 Dr Bhushan had served as the Chief Medical Officer of Karnal district for several years. He is survived by wife, a son and two daughters. Local leaders of various political parties expressed their condolences. |
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