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Friday,
October
3, 2003,
Chandigarh, India  
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INLD posters deface
signboards Bhajan
promises sops English to
be taught from Class I: Chautala Euphoria
over CM’s claims thinning out Cotton set
to regain its sheen in Haryana Scribes
begin protest against ‘false’ case |
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Gandhiji,
Shastri remembered Akali
activist alleges bid on life Lawyers averse to complex’s inauguration without
chambers Reena’s mother feels free of guilt KU Zonal
Youth Festival ends
Former
Advocate-General Punjab H. S. Mattewal and Major-Gen Lakhvinder
Singh at the Old Boys Meet of Sainik School Kapurthala in Ambala on
Thursday. —
Photo by Neeraj Chopra Brain
research centre at Gurgaon mooted Man
gets life term for killing wife
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INLD posters deface
signboards Panchkula, October 2 Almost all sector signboards,
giving indication of the various sectors, have been covered with
posters depicting the Chautala clan — former Deputy Prime Minister
Devi Lal, Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, and the latter’s son
Ajay Singh Chautala. An outsider is most likely to miss the place he
wants to visit, as the signs have been rendered invisible. The
posters, exhorting people to participate in the Samman Divas held at
Karnal to celebrate the birth anniversary of Devi Lal and poster of a
medical camp inaugurated by Mr Ajay Chautala, can be seen on almost
all signboards on all main roads of the township. The base of canopy
stands, meant for traffic policemen, are also covered with similar
posters. When contacted, the Executive Officer of Panchkula
Municipal Council, Mr O.P. Sihag, said the posters of the party, if
pasted on the signboards, would be removed so that there was no
inconvenience to the public. Other than this, slogans eulogising the
achievements of the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Chief
Minister Om Prakash Chautala have also been painted all over the town.
From the walls of government schools to government buildings and the
walls of the culverts are being used as perfect places for canvassing
for the state government to glorify them. Fresh slogans have been
painted on the walls of Government Middle School, Railley, walls of
Nahan Kothi in Sector 12-A, which houses the District Mining Office,
outer walls of Mini Secretariat, apron of a culvert near Sector 18 as
well as on the culverts on the Panchkula- Naraingarh National Highway
and at several places on the roads dividing two sectors. The
“success” of the “sarkar aapke dwar” programme, enhancement of
old-age pension, increase in the availability of power, hike in the
purchase price of sugarcane by the cooperative sugar mills, abolition
of octroi, Devi Rupak Scheme etc, are among the “achievements”
that figure in these slogans. Prior to this, it were roundabouts in
the township that bore the achievements of the ruling party. The
outer walls of all rotaries in the township had been painted green
highlighting the achievements of the INLD in 2001 (its second year in
power). |
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Bhajan promises sops Ambala, October 2 Addressing a public meeting at Anaj Mandi, Ambala Sadar, Mr Bhajan Lal said the Om Prakash Chautala government had not kept its electoral promises. “Nobody in Haryana is happy under the Chautala government,” he said. Mr Bhajan Lal’s assurances on the local demands raised by Ambala Cantonment district Congress president Ashok Jain went down well with the crowd. “There will be no requirement for NOC and old colonies will be regularised. New taxes will be withdrawn” he said. He said farmers would be given loans which will be interest-free for the first year. “We will give a loan up to Rs 50,000 to traders which will also be interest-free in the first year. The loan will be disbursed within 15 days of the filing of application,” he said. He said training would be imparted free of cost for setting up small-scale industrial units. “If the unit is unable to sell the product, the government will buy the product and sell it. We are going to give employment to one person from each household. Loan up to Rs 50,000 will be given to artisans which will be interest-free in first year. Also, power connection will be given within a week,” he said. He said there would be stress on education. “We will take back retrenched employees,” he added. Mr Bhajan Lal paid rich tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Among those present were Mr Chander Mohan, Mr Aman Kumar Nagra, Mr Ashok Jain, Mr Phool Chand Mullana, Mr Arjun Lal Kalra, Mr SK Sharma, Mr Satpal Kaushik, Mr Darshan Lal Budhiraja, Mr Ramesh Singla, Mr Kamlesh Gupta, Dr Viresh Shandilya, Ms Kiran Bala Jain, Mr Randhir Chaudhary, Dr Pradeep Chauhan, Mr Lal Singh, KR Punia and Mr Tilak Raj Taneja. |
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English
to be taught from Class I: Chautala Hisar, October 2 He was speaking at a function in Jat College here after unveiling the statue of Seth Chhaju Ram there. He said the government was giving financial assistance to the government as well as private educational institutions for this purpose. Some private institutions that had been set up by charitable organisations with a view to enabling students from the rural areas to get better education had changed their motives to suit their vested interests. The educational institutions had commercialised education, he said. Mr Chautala said the government had introduced the teaching of English from class I and computer education from the fifth standard in government schools in the rural areas. This would make students from the rural areas fare better in competitive examinations. He also inaugurated the new computer science block of the college. Later, he inaugurated the building of Government Girls College and unveiled the statues of Prithviraj Chauhan and Lal Bahadur Shastri in the town. |
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Euphoria
over CM’s claims thinning out ROHTAK: Euphoria over the tall claims of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala to create 50,000 jobs is fast evaporating with the unfolding of the real drama. The Haryana Government has initiated steps towards the appointment of a gram vikas sahayak (GVS) with each panchayat. Every panchayat has been asked to send a resolution to the administration requesting for the appointment of a gram vikas sahayak. Interestingly, the provision for having such a functionary was already there under the Panchayati Raj Act for assisting the village panchayats. It is another matter, however, that no such appointments were ever made as most village panchayats often lacked funds to spare for such employees. Moreover, there are already government employees like panchayat secretaries or the vast network of block development and panchayat offices (BDPO) to assist the panchayats in their day-to-day functions. As per the gazette notification of the Haryana Government dated July 8, 2003, a gram panchayat will have to maintain the gram vikas sahayak by paying Rs 36,000 annually from its meagre resources. Opposition leaders have already raised serious objections saying that the Chautala Government intends to get an INLD activist in appointed each village at the cost of funds meant for rural development. There is a contradiction in the procedure of appointment of GVS. The notification mentions that the gram panchayat shall be the appointing authority but in the very next line it says that a committee comprising the SDM of the area concerned and the sarpanch will make the selection. It further makes no provision of a quota for women, Scheduled Castes and backward classes in these appointments. The District Collector has been made the authority to entertain the appeals in connection with the selections and his order shall be binding and final. A cursory look at the legislation shows that it is not only politically controversial but can hardly stand legal scrutiny either. What will happen to the
government employees who are performing jobs that are now being earmarked for nearly 7,000 GVS? Among other categories of these 50,000 jobs are the proposed gram van purush and gram suraksha purush. These calculations — with an eye on the next assembly and Lok Sabha elections — may not pay off and even can prove counter-productive as discontentment is inevitable among the jobless youth aspiring for such appointments. Allegations of political favouritism, too, are bound to crop up from those who are not influential enough to get the job. |
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Cotton set to regain its
sheen in Haryana Panchkula, October 2 As the desi cotton crop has started arriving in mandis, the cotton production in the state is likely to cross 13 lakh bales as against 10.38 lakh bales produced last year. The initial reports received from the various mandis in the cotton belt comprising of Fatehabad, Hissar, Sirsa and Narwana in Jind by the Department of Agriculture show that the farmers are getting a price of Rs 2,500 per quintal of desi cotton, compared to the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,725. The Director, Agriculture, Mr Rajiv Arora, says: “Though there has been a marginal increase in the area under cotton — from 5.19 lakh hectares to 5.40 lakh hectares — the yield per hectare has increased from 340 lints to 475 lints per hectare. During the past decade, the highest cotton yield in the state has been 451 lints per hectare.” The production had sharply declined to 7.22 lakh bales during 2001-02 due to the attack of heliothis insect (American bollworm). Agricultural scientists say that a long dry spell coupled with high temperature in April and May saved the infestation of American bollworm from crossing the economic threshold level (ETL). The insect did not get appropriate moisture in these two months and thus could not cross the ETL. After July, the weather conditions were quite favourable for the American bollworm infestation because of the continued wet spell in the cotton belt, but this could be managed with the judicious use of pesticides, says Mr J.S. Vashishta, Additional Director, Extension, Department of Agriculture. This year, the use of insecticides has also been reduced substantially. As compared to eight to 10 sprays of pesticides on the crop each year, the dry spell in the initial two months of the crop ensured that there were just six sprays of pesticides. The scientists say that the repair work on the Bhakra Canal irrigation system led to the water not being released to cotton farmers till the end of April. This led to delayed sowing of desi cotton and the area under desi cotton cultivation reduced from 1.56 lakh hectares to 1.13 lakh hectare. “We were again skeptical of a poor cotton crop, but the dry weather saved the day for the farmers,” says Mr Arora. He adds that the area under hybrid cotton has increased substantially in Narwana where 60 per cent of the cotton crop is of hybrid variety. Other than this, there is a marginal increase in the area under hybrid cotton in Fatehabad, Sirsa and Hissar. Mr Vashishta claimed that they had launched a special campaign against the distribution of spurious pesticides in the cotton belt. Further, under the Ministry of Agriculture’s integrated pest management programme, he said the state government had launched an extensive programme to control pests and insects through bio-agents. For this purpose, a laboratory has been set up at Sonepat, and another was planned in the private sector. Meanwhile, the state government has set up six trial fields for Bt Cotton — a genetically engineered hybrid resistant to American bollworm attack. These fields have been set up at Panjwana, Baidwala and Samas in Sirsa, Umra in Hansi, Barwala and Rawalwas Khurd in
Hissar. |
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Scribes
begin protest against ‘false’ case Rohtak, October 2 After paying floral tributes to Mahatma
Gandhi, the journalists staged a token dharna at Bapu Park and vowed to continue with the satyagraha till withdrawal of the case registered by the police to “terrorise” the journalists. Earlier, it was resolved at an emergent meeting of the journalists that a joint action committee comprising newsmen of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh be constituted to launch an agitation in protest against the rising incidents of assault on scribes in the state. The district police registered a case against 25 journalists of different newspapers regarding the beating up of and threatening to kill an employee of Canal Rest House here on September 13 during a meeting of journalists of the town. The complaint was registered after 10 days of the said meeting. The agitating scribes alleged that the FIR was lodged with an “avengeful” attitude by the police the same
day, when the 25-day-old journalists’ agitation against police atrocities ended after an assurance by Mr Ajay Singh
Chautala, MP and president, youth wing of the ruling Indian National Lok Dal. |
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Gandhiji, Shastri remembered Fatehabad, October 2 Yamunanagar: The birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi was celebrated by the Congress here today by holding a ‘parbhat pheri’ from the railway station to Ballarpur Industries where office-bearers of various party units garlanded a statue of the Mahatma. They also remembered Lal Bahadur Shastri, whose birth anniversary falls on the same day. |
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Akali activist alleges bid on life Chandigarh, October 2 Talking to newsmen here today in the presence of Mr Khyala, Mr Dalwara Singh, a resident of Sirsa district, said his nephew, Mr Charanjit Singh, had filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the selection of Sub-Inspectors in the Haryana Police. He alleged that he and his nephew were threatened with dire consequences by Abhay in the presence of the Chief Minister and the Chairman of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission, Mr Amir Chand Chawla, in a Sirsa rest house on July 24. His nephew was asked to withdraw his writ petition by Mr Abhay Singh. He said when his efforts to get a case registered against Mr Abhay Singh failed, he filed a criminal writ petition in the High Court seeking directions to the police for registering a case against the INLD MLA from Rori and others as well as for providing him with security from the central forces. He said the High Court had issued notice to the respondents for October 21. Mr Dalwara Singh said when he was standing outside a shop in the grain market of Kalanwali on September 25, three persons, carrying handles (Hathi) of water handpumps, attacked him at 12-40 p.m. When he resisted the assailants and a crowd collected there, the assailants ran away, leaving the handles and a mobile phone. However, he received a long cut on his right hand. He said the police also reached the spot and seized the mobile and the handles of the water pumps. He was also medically examined in the civil hospital. He alleged that the police thereafter developed cold feet and did not register the case. Mr Dalwara Singh said the National Human Rights Commission had also sought a report from the Director-General of Haryana about the July 24 incident. In telegrams sent to several constitutional functionaries, including the Haryana Governor, Mr Dalwara Singh has demanded security for him and his family. |
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Lawyers averse to complex’s inauguration without
chambers Ambala: The newly constructed multi-storey judicial
complex in Ambala City is ready for inauguration but the Ambala Bar
Association is demanding that it should be made functional only when
the chambers for the lawyers are constructed in the complex.
Initially, the basic plan of the complex had no provision for the
lawyers’ chambers. At present the district and local courts of
Ambala are operating from century-old buildings, some of which have
already been declared unsafe. After the inauguration of new judicial
complex, the local courts of Ambala City and Ambala Cantonment and the
District Courts will come under one roof. The District Courts and
local courts of Ambala City are currently located at a distance of 1
km from each other. Most of the lawyers who practice in the courts
have to face inconvenience while attending their clients in the
courts. The president of the District Bar Association, Mr J.S.Kohli,
has taken up the case of chambers for the lawyers with the Deputy
Commissioner and Punjab and Haryana High Court. He said before the
opening of the judicial complex the lawyers should be provided with
proper place to attend their clients. The president of the Ambala
Cantonment Bar Association, Mr Devender Bansal, in a memorandum to the
Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court has demanded that the
newly constructed judicial complex be made functional only when the
chambers for the lawyers were constructed. A number of advocates of
Ambala Cantonment have been demanding not to shift the local courts
there to the newly constructed judicial complex. Instead these courts
should be based in Ambala Cantonment so that the residents were spared
from travelling 10 km to Ambala City for their cases. During the
Mandal Commission agitation a decade ago, the building of the local
courts of Ambala Cantonment was set ablaze by the agitators. The
courts were then temporarily shifted to the Sessions Court in Ambala
City. A senior advocate of Ambala Cantonment, Mr Om Prakash Malik, has
been on protest for quite a long time to bring the Courts back to
Ambala Cantonment. When contacted, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr D.D.
Gautam, said the administration had already earmarked the site for the
lawyers’ chambers. He said a proposal to construct 500 chambers for
the lawyers had been sent to the Chief Architect of Haryana for
approval. The chambers would be constructed at the current CJM court
building and the demolishing work on the building would be started
soon, he added. |
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Reena’s mother feels free of guilt Surajpur (Pinjore), October 2 Thankfully, at least I can die peacefully now that I know that she is alive. I was at my brother’s house at Tikkar in Morni yesterday afternoon, when my eldest daughter Vijay informed me on the telephone that Reena was alive. I was so filled with emotion that I just ran out of the house and in spite of my years, I ran all 13 km to
Morni, so that I could catch a bus back to Surajpur and see her,” says 60-year-old Bimla Devi. Her daughter,
Reena, who everybody had thought of as dead, was by chance discovery found alive in Barnala and the case solved by the Panchkula police yesterday. However, Bimla Devi is
still sad because though the mystery of her daughter’s disappearance has been solved, the relations between her estranged daughter and the rest of the family have not been resolved. “By the time I reached
Surajpur, Reena and her second husband, Jaipal Singh, had already left with the police. They did not even come home. My elder daughter, Vijay, and her husband, Dalip Singh, went to meet her at the police headquarters in Panchkula. But she was afraid of us and was quite unemotional while meeting them. They asked her to come home and even told her about her father’s death, but she seemed reluctant to come back,” says Bimla Devi. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks as she spoke of her daughter and said she wanted to have her new son-in-law at her house so that she could give him some
gift. Reena, who had been married by her family to Raj Singh of
Daffarpur, near Mulana, in Ambala district, had gone missing on August 8, 1997. At that time Reena had been married for three months, and had often complained to her parents of the ill-treatment meted out to her by her husband and his two cousins, Nakli and
Mahipal. She had earlier walked out on her husband, after being brutally assaulted by him. She had also told her mother that her brother-in-law, Nakli had “evil designs” on her, but her parents forced her to go back to her husband. It was while Raj and Reena were coming to Surajpur from
Maulana, that she managed to give him a slip. It was in such a background that Bimla Devi had registered a case of abduction against Raj Singh and his cousin Nakli at Maulana police station. “As the investigation in this case was on, the police came across the case of an unsolved murder of a woman in the Chandimandir area. The woman’s body was found at Mandhana in the Morni area under Chandimandir police station. “Since the victim was of the same height as my daughter, I believed that it was my daughter as the photographs shown to me by the police were of a maggot-infested body and not very clear. Moreover, my daughter had often complained of torture by her husband, and I believed he could have killed her,” she said. “Even if she does not want to be with us, I will go to her house in Barnala, ask her forgiveness and get my daughter and son-in-law back home. I have to reunite my family before I die, so that my dead husband’s soul can also rest in peace, “she says. |
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KU Zonal Youth
Festival ends Kaithal, October 2 Teams from 16 colleges participated in various cultural events. The chief guest, Dr A.K. Chawla, Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, gave away prizes to the winners. The following are the results of the youth festval: One-act play: University college (1), UTD (2) Best actor: Narinder Singh, R.K.S.D. College, Kaithal Haryanvi group dance: IGMMV, Kaithal (1), UTD (2) Group song general: Dayanand Mahila Mahavidyalya (1), UTD (2) Sanskrit play: University College, (1) Mime: R.K.S.D. College, Kaithal (1), D.A.V. College, Pundri (2) Orchestra Indian: Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Pundri (1), Dayanand College (2) Haryanvi folk song: UTD (1), Shikshan Mahavidyalaya (2) Folk song general: Dayanand College (1), UTD (2) Western solo song vocal: UTD (1), D.A.V. College, Pehowa (2) Western group song: UTD (1), IGMMV College, Kaithal (2) Geet/ghazal/bhajan: Dayanand College, (1), D.A.V. College, Pehowa (2) Classical song (solo): UTD (1), Dayanand College (2) Choreography: Dayanand College (1), D.A.V. College, Pundri (2) Haryanvi skit: R.K.S.D. College, Kaithal (1), D.A.V. College, Cheeka (2) Group song Haryanvi: Bhagwan Parshuram College (1), UTD (2) Haryanvi orchestra: R.K.S.D. College, Kaithal (1), UTD (2) Group dance general: D.A.V.
College, Pehowa (1), Chaudhary Ishwar Singh Kanya Mahavidyalaya,
Pundri (2) |
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War memorial under construction at Sainik School Ambala, October 2 “Major-Gen Lakhvinder Singh had played a crucial role in the Kargil operation. The role of the artillery during a war was given a new meaning during Operation Vijay. The precise artillery firing had turned the tide of the Kargil war in favour of India with Pakistanis scampering for cover during shelling,” Mr Mattewal said. The pride in his voice was evident when he said there were four serving Major-Generals from Sainik School, Kapurthala. “We have about eight Major-General rank-level officers in the Army, Navy and Air Force. Group Captain H.S. Hoti, who was in charge of Air Force operations in Kargil sector, is also from the same school,” he stated. The school motto is “vidya, vinay, anushan”, which helps shape the future of a student. Col G.S. Sandhu (retd) said the school was established in 1961. “Besides Major-Generals, 26 Brigadiers and about 100 Colonels are from our school. I have a list of 400 serving officers in the defence forces who are former students of the school,” he said. Colonel Sandhu said former students who were settled abroad have formed an overseas association based in London. “The Old Boy’s network is active towards improving the school. We have contributed towards white-washing, renovation and construction of toilets,” he said. “We have also requested the former students to look after the rooms in which they were residing,” he added. Former students belonging to 10 school houses were present last night. The former students fondly recalled their association with the school. |
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Brain research centre at Gurgaon mooted
Hisar, October 2 The Central Government has sanctioned Rs 100 crore for the centre in Manesar which would be equipped to conduct research and treatment of various diseases related to the brain. Mr Rawat said the Union Government had also sanctioned a grant of Rs 400 crore to various research institutions and universities of the country for strengthening research facilities.
— PTI |
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Man gets life term for killing wife Sirsa, October 2 According to information received today, Bhura Ram of Gandhi Basti, Bathinda, had lodged a complaint with the police on February 12, 2002, alleging that Vijay Kumar of Chattergarh Patti had harassed his niece for dowry and killed her. In the complaint, he said Chhinderpal, daughter of his elder brother, who was married to Vijay Kumar was tortured by her husband. The police registered a case under Sections 316 and 304B, IPC, and arrested Vijay. The judge found the accused guilty and changing the Section to 302, sentenced him to life imprisonment. |
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Power staff donate blood Sirsa, October 2 Haryana Roadways employees Rakesh Kamboj and Bimla Devi were honoured by the samiti for their contributions. |
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