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October
3, 2003,
Chandigarh, India
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When the town’s sanitary health held Mahendragarh, October 2 For three years without a break, the sanitary health of this town situated at the southernmost tip of Haryana as well as development works were held hostage to the cold war among a majority of the elected members and the group headed by the president of the municipality, Mrs Shakuntala Mittal. The municipality was, in fact, plagued by factionalism as soon as it was constituted. About six months back, the rebels won a legal battle leading to the ouster of Mrs Mittal. The vice-president of the civic body, Mr Ram Chander Jhangra, who represented the rebel group, was made in-charge of the affairs of the body after the ouster of Mrs Mittal. The new dispensation apparently tried to set things right for sometime. But things are back to square one. The ruling group attributes the lack of developmental works and civic amenities to paucity of funds. The major casualty of the lackadaisical approach of the authorities is the upkeep of streetlights. There are about 500 points in the town. Except for a handful of the points, the streetlights are not functioning. A majority of the points do not have functional tubelights. Most of them are said to have been installed about six months ago. The allegation is that the tubelights purchased were of inferior quality. To cap it, they were not maintained properly. Consequent to the lack of streetlighting, a majority of the town remained engulfed in pitch darkness at night. Women, who used to venture out in routine course, do not feel secure outdoors in the evening. Normal life of the general residents has also been disrupted. The poor condition of road and heaps of filth and dirt scattered in almost all pockets of the town also act as a deterrent to going out in the evening. Name any road or street which does not have signs of wear and tear in varying degrees. Some roads are conspicuous by a large number of big-sized potholes. |
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JNU election schedule: Fair for some, New Delhi, October 2 The factions led by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the National Students Union of India (NSUI) are keen on having the election before the students disperse for holidays and are alleging that the Students Federation of India (SFI), which is considered to have a stronghold in the university, is trying to “manipulate the dates”. “The SFI is trying to get the election scheduled for the third week of October, when most students from the Hindi-speaking belt will be ready to go home for Divali and other festivities,” alleged an ABVP activist. He added, “This has been happening for the last couple of years and we have decided to oppose it this time.” The ABVP and the NSUI activists claim that with the election dates coinciding with the festival season, the parties miss out on votes. “When most of the students are away for the holidays, the loss is borne by the NSUI and the ABVP. The SFI deliberately manipulates the dates to suit themselves,” claimed a NSUI activist. These allegations are, however, refuted by the SFI, “we are all for early election. Why should we want to defer election, we have already handed over charge and we understand that students start preparing for their examinations starting November,” said Rohit, the outgoing president who won last year on the SFI ticket. The SFI offered, “The charge is baseless and the NSUI and the ABVP are misleading the students. The all-party meet will be held later tonight to discuss the election schedule, besides the constitution says that we have to have election not later than October 26.” While the dates for the D-day are being finalised, the parties have begun the groundwork and the students emphasise that the pattern of students’ politics in the not so far, Delhi University, has no impact on the politics in JNU. “Unlike DU, JNU has a different genre of student politics and ideology. We cannot be bought over by money or muscle. Here what matters is ideology and how true you are to the cause of the students,” pointed out a student of the School of Languages. The parties contesting the election echo similar views. “We have always had a fair share of support in the JNU. Unlike others, we have a sound ideology and are confident that we will perform well in the election,” said Jatin Mohanty, ABVP spokesperson. The NSUI, which swept the DU election this year are brimming with confidence, but observers claim that that the elections are based on ideology and the NSUI’s alleged money power may not hold them in good stead. “DUSU elections are influenced by money and muscle power, but here the election is driven by ideology. And NSUI lacks a cohesive ideology”, claim a section of students. While the SFI and the AISA are confident of their cadres and are hoping for an encore of last years’ performance, the ABVP claims to be “unaffected” by the NSUI’s assertion that their activists are joining them. “Students vote for ideology and not individuals, a few defectors are not going to make much of a difference,” said
Mohanty. |
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Autumn hols: Different schools, different norms Faridabad, October 2 While several schools have declared a 10-day autumn break from today, there are certain schools which have decided to resume work from October 6 (Monday) immediately after the Dasshera holidays, leading to resentment among a section of students, staff and parents. A resident of Sector 9 here who does not wish to be identified said his children were studying in a school in Sector 14, but he said the school had declared the autumn break up to October 5 which he said was against the earlier norms. He said many other schools had declared autumn holidays up to October 12, which cover Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti and Dasshera. This had helped many families plan a visit to other places. Mr Kailash Sharma of the Faridabad Abhibhavak Ekta Manch, said many schools had formed their own norms even about the weekly offs. He said there were at least two or three schools in the town which observed a five-day week. He said changing the well-set pattern of holidays and breaks at one’s own ease was not justified. He alleged that many schools in the town had been violating the rules laid down by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) as a precondition for allotting plots and there was no one who could take action against the defaulters. |
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CRIME
MAZE Ghaziabad, October 2 The robbers started looting the passengers when the train reached near Aligarh. When Padam Singh tried to thwart their attempt, the miscreants fired at him. The DSP returned the fire and injured one of them, identified as Manish. According to police, Manish is a resident of Vijay Nagar and the incident occurred under Dankaur Police Station area near Chola yesterday. Dengue larvae
in DM’s house The larvae of dengue mosquitoes have been found in the water coolers at the official residence of District Magistrate and Collector, Ghaziabad. In view of this, the District Magistrate had issued strict orders to the health department to carry out fogging in the area. A survey of coolers is being done now. Larvae have reportedly been found in Sector-23 of Sanjay Nagar as well as in many colonies of Loni. The Delhi government, in its letter, has also urged the UP health department to stem the spread of dengue larvae in the area. As a result of which fogging and insecticide sprays were conducted in some areas of Loni, Sanjay Nagar and Alipur block. The medical teams found that the number of patients was increasing in the area. Many were suspected of having malaria. |
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Taj Expressway: Panel asked to submit Noida, October 2 The Judicial Commission has started its functioning and probe into the Taj Expressway issue in the office of the Taj Expressway Authority in Sector 41, Noida. Justice Mishra has been asked to submit his report within two months to the government. The UP Governor, Dr Vishnu Kant Shastri, had in view of the public complaints set up this commission on September 26, 2003, under sub-section (1) of the clause 3 of the Commission of Enquiry Act of 1952. The Governor has also asked the state government to make all documents related to this project available to the commission within two days. Justice Mishra said the government had asked him to inquire into all the important points and aspects connected with the Taj Expressway project. |
Cong to hold rally against ‘anti-public’ Bhiwani, October 2 He said Mr Hooda would also attend the Balmiki Jayanti being held at Buwani Khera on October 10. Lashing out at the INLD government, Dr Sharma said the discriminatory attitude of the state government with this district had forced even industrialists and traders to migrate for their livelihood. Expressing concern over the dilapidated condition of roads, he said several potholes had developed on the main roads of the town and its approach roads but the administration behaved in such a manner as if it had no concern for civic amenities. He termed Bhiwani as the worst district for living in the state. He said that the students resorted to peaceful agitation for the cancellation of the affiliation of their colleges with the new university but the state government even did not listen to their grievances. He said the new affiliation was not practical for a district which was far away from Sirsa and students would have to spend a day or two for their official formalities. He said Bhiwani town had fallen victim to the apathetic attitude of the district administration. “The whole town, its roads, streets and even roundabouts presented nasty and turbid scenes and no one was answerable to the public for this”, he said, adding the epidemic could break out if no action was taken by the administration. |
Art
frat flays Pak govt for refusing visa Rohtak, October 2 The festival is being organised by Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) at Lahore’s Cultural Complex. The organisers have invited 150 artists from 15 countries, including 40 artists from India. Whereas the artists from 14 countries have been issued visa, the Indian delegation has been denied on the whimsical grounds of disturbed political situation between the two countries. Four Indian groups-Saptak Cultural Society, Rohtak, Anupriya Group (Violin), New Delhi, Nipa Rangmandli of Lucknow and Natyadarsana Puppet Theatre from Kerala, were invited by the organisers to perform at the festival. The RPTW president, Mr Faizan Pirzada, has pleaded with the Pakistani High Commissioner in Delhi to allow the Indian artists to visit Pakistan. In a strongly worded letter to the Pakistani High Commissioner, Mr Pirzada said that “throughout the history of these festivals, we have welcomed Indian groups to come and take part in this prestigious cultural event. We strongly believe that this practice would not forgo now”, he wrote.  |
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Former
Haryana minister remembered Rewari , October 2 Born
in a prominent Gujjar family of Rewari in 1921, he rose to superb
heights in politics, sports and other fields of life through his
diligence, determination and innate resourcefulness. He captained the
school, college and Delhi university hockey eleven in succession and
won applause for his stylish game of kabaddi both at the state and
national level on the one hand while on the other hand he successfully
played his long innings as president of the Rewari Municipality from
1954 to 1963. From civic politics he was catapulted into the Congress
party in 1962 where he adroitly occupied ministerial berths with
varied portfolios of Home, Food and Supplies, PWD, Irrigation and
Power, Transport, Sports, Civil Aviation and Tourism from 1968 to
1982. Besides he entered Rajya Sabha as an elected member in 1996 and
also presided over the fortunes of the Prestigious Public Education
Board (PEB) of Rewari gram 1996 to 1999. Poswal was also president of
Haryana Urdu Academy from 1985 to 1987. Simultaneously, he also
remained actively associated with the Rewari unit of the National
Society for Prevention of Blindness, the Bharat Krishak Samaj and
several other social organisations. He also donated his ancestral
house here to the Rewari unit of the All India Women’s Conference
(AIWC) in which it had been running its social service activities for
the past about 10 years. Apart from all these traits of his
personality, his ever-smiling face, mild mannerisms and innate
sociability had endeared him to one and all. Thus in his death Rewari has lost one of its most celebrated sons while the PEB has lost a true patron , the congress party a veteran leader and his numerous friends and associates a father figure. Prominent among those who paid homage to Poswal were Rewari DCC president Harish
Saini, Rewari city Congress chief Kotu Ram Dhamija, HPCC vice-president Shakuntala
Bhagwaria, former BJP chief Om Prakash Grover, Rewari district Beopar Mandal president Ratnesh
Bansal, Mrs Sneh Lata, president of the Rewari Mahila Parishad, Dr Tara
Saxena, president of the Rewari Obstetric and Gynaecological Society, former minister Mohan Lal
Pipal, noted singer Vipin Suneja, Ashok Somany, chairman of the Somany Vidya Peeth Public School, Satyander
Prashad, secretary of the PEB, Anand Swaroop Data, J.P. Purohit and V. D.
Randev. The condolence congregation, which was organised by Dr S.N.
Saxena, an eminent ophthalmologist of Haryana, and other close
associates of Poswal, comprised a number of prominent citizens,
friends and relatives of the Poswal family. |
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PM releases book on vintage Chandni Chowk New Delhi, October 2 While releasing a picture book on Chandni Chowk, the Prime Minister said, “A man is full of talent, but he does not usually get an opportunity to show it. If he gets an opportunity, then his talent blooms like a flower,” the Prime Minister said referring to Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Vijay Goel, the author of the 178-page book, “Delhi: The Emperor City”. Mr Vajpayee expressed confidence that the book, containing pictures of more than 100 ‘havelis’ of Chandni Chowk, would make a mark in the history of publication in Delhi. Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani said the book showing beautiful ‘havelis’ was unique in itself. Mr Goel said Chandni Chowk could be saved from being consigned to the history books “if all of us make a united effort, because now only the chowk is left, ‘chandni’ (brightness) is no more”. |
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SPECIAL
FOCUS ON ROHTAK Rohtak, October 2 Mr Krishan Murti Hooda, a former minister and spokesman of the HPCC, said Congressmen performed havan in different parts of the state. After performing the havan here, Mr Hooda highlighted the vital role of Gandhiji in the freedom movement. He said Gandhiji ousted the British from India only with the weapons of peace and ahimsa. Referring to Lal Bahadur Shastri, he said Shastriji displayed a rare sense of courage during the Indo-Pak war in 1965 and made every effort to make India self-reliant and powerful. Mr Karamvir Maina, vice president, Haryana Youth Congress and in-charge of the Delhi Youth Congress, also paid floral tributes to Gandhiji. Mr Rajiv Gugnani, convenor, Akhil Bhartiya Congress Sewa Dal, Mr Suresh Rana, president, district (rural) Congress Sewa Dal, and Mr Laxmi Devi Solanki, state president, Jai Majdoor Forum, also remembered Gandhiji. |
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MDU students demand fee hike withdrawal Rohtak, October 2 Mandeep, president of the district unit of the SFI, claimed the strike was successful. She said the students submitted a memorandum to the Registrar of Maharshi Dayanand University regarding their demands. The students have been demanding withdrawal of fee hike and fine imposed on certain research scholars of Maharshi Dayanand University, bus service from old university campus to the new campus and from bus stand to different colleges and the university, reduction in fee for admission to M Phil course, withdrawal of revision in the process of registration to Ph D and restoration of election to students’ bodies. The SFI activists also held a gate meeting at Jat College and condemned the repressive tactics adopted by the police to crush the students’ agitation. |
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Floral tributes paid to freedom fighter Rohtak, October 2 They offered prayers and garlanded the statue of the freedom fighter, which has been erected at the main gate of Government College for Women here. Pt Sharma graduated from Delhi in 1919.Highly influenced by the personality and policies of Mahatma Gandhi, he participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922.He published an Urdu paper, Haryana Tilak, from Jhajjar in 1923 to mobilise people against the British rule. He was arrested in 1942 for participating in the Quit India Movement. He was selected as a member of the Punjab Council for the second time in 1946. |
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Countering disability: Delhi plays host New Delhi, October 2 The IIF has initiated a Disability Reduction Project (DRP) in Orissa to reduce disability among the people, including newborns, through preventive and curative measures. The foundation has adopted Bargarh district, having one of the highest disability ratio of 99 per 1,000 in the country, to launch the project. The district, having more than one million people in its six blocks, would be provided with curative medical facilities, said Chairman, IIF, Mr A. H. Tobaccowala. The foundation, which runs the world’s first hospital on train, Lifeline Express, extends the medical facilities free of cost to the patients. ‘’The status of disability in India is alarming with more than 70 million disabled people. The ratio of disabled persons to the population of India is one of the highest in the world. This costs the nation dearly in the long run as the state has to provide for more resources to cure diseases, frame policies, provide administration staff and more importantly, the nation has to live with a stigma that gets only worsened over time,’’ said Mr Tobaccowala. The IIF, launched on October 2, 1983, by the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF, WHO, in association with the Government of India and endorsed by the UN General Assembly, has so far helped cure over 3,60,000 people with the help of 60,000 medical professionals.
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Girl
alleges threat to life from brothers Sonepat, October 2 In a complaint addressed to the National Human Rights Commission, the National Mahila Ayog, the Chief
Minister, Haryana, the DGP, Haryana, and the IGP, Rohtak Police Range, on September 25, Usha Aggarwal, an unmarried girl, has alleged that on
September 18 she was attacked by Vinod Aggarwal, Ashok Aggarwal, Ashok Gupta and Praveen Goyal along with Sulekh and Kulbhushan and a file containing some papers relating to a case in the court was snatched from her. She has alleged that in the attack she sustained injuries on her lips which started bleeding. They also threatened to get her killed, she has alleged. She has further complained that the Gohana police have not recorded her factual statement. Rather, the statement has been written by the police forcibly by threatening and obtaining signatures from her. In the complaint, she has urged the inquiry of the attack on her be assigned to the police of some other district. She has also sought protection for her life and property from the alleged accused. She has also mentioned in the complaint that after the death of her father she had looked after her aged and sick mother for 15 years. After the death of her mother, she got share in the property and her brothers allegedly wanted to grab that property.
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NCR
BRIEFS Jhajjar, October 2 Office-bearers’ poll Gurgaon: Almost all candidates supported by the outgoing general secretary T. K. Satheesan’s group won all seats in DLF Qutab Enclave Resident Welfare Association. The elections for the office-bearers of the association were held on Sunday. Elected president R. S. Rathee secured 503 votes, while his opponent Sanjay Khosla got only 320 votes. D. B. Anand and K. K. Arora received 509 and 405 votes for the post of general secretary and assistant honorary treasure respectively, defeating Bhupesh Nidhi and R. V. Subramaniyam, with a margin of 208 and 39 votes.
OC
Sheila goes on padayatra New Delhi: The Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, on the final day of the Clean City Campaign launched by the Delhi Government went on a padayatra aimed at generating awareness and initiating civic consciousness among the citizens of the Capital. She went to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital and Trilokpuri in Mayur Vihar Phase – II. The Standing Committee Chairman, Mr Ram Babu Sharma, area MLAs, Mr Brahm Pal and Mr. Amrish Singh Gautam, and the Muncipal Commissioner, Mr Rakesh Mehta, accompanied the Chief Minister in the padyatra. Thousands of residents of neighbouring government quarters and jhuggi clusters joined the padyatra and interacted with the Chief Minister providing her with an insight into the various developmental works, status of different civic amenities and their grievances.
Lovers end it all Unable to continue with their marriage plans due to protest from their families, a youth (26) and his girlfriend committed suicide on Thursday afternoon by consuming poison in the Khazuri Khas area. The police said the deceased Sumit (26) and his girlfriend Babita (20) had planned to marry. Since their families did not agree to their marriage, Babita went to Sumit’s house and consumed poison. The two were immediately rushed to the hospital and declared brought dead. In another suicide incident, a 22-year-old woman, who was under depression for the past two months, committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in the Badarpur area of South district. The police said the deceased was staying with her uncle and aunt in the Badarpur area for quite some time. This evening when her aunt and uncle returned home they found her hanging from the ceiling fan.
TNS |
Nursery student crushed to death Faridabad: A three and half years old nursery student of a public school at Palwal town was crushed to death by the school’s own bus yesterday. The deceased identified as Sanya Chhabra was trying to lift her water bottle from the road when a bus of the school hit her while reversing. She died on the spot. The girl, a student of LKG, was dropped by her father at the school gate a few minutes earlier when the incident took place. The bus driver has been arrested. Rapist
sentenced A District Court
has sentenced a resident of Bhulwana village here to five years and a
fine of Rs 3,000. The accused identified as Mahender had raped a
married woman of the same village in May last year. TNS |
SHORTAGE WOES New Delhi, October 2 A Mother Dairy spokesperson said that though the dairy was maintaining its normal supplies of around 17 lakh litres per day the rise in demand due to festivals and reduced supplies from the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation and the Capital’s neighbouring states had naturally affected milk availability to some extent. Moreover, according to Delhi Development and Civil Supplies Minister Haroon Yusuf, 1000 metric tonnes of SMP would soon be coming from Gujarat as ‘’the differences between GCMMF chairman V. Kurien and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) had almost been settled’’. Besides, he said, the government had warned that it would deal strictly with those found unnecessarily hiking prices or hoarding milk. A task force had already been constituted to monitor the situation, he said.The Capital had faced severe milk crisis in July-August, mainly because Mother Dairy had not renewed the contract with the federation in December due to which supplies were stopped. The GCMMF Chairman, Mr V. J. Kurien, had blamed the crisis on mismanagement by the National Dairy Development Board (NDBB) and its subsidiaries, main among which is the Mother Dairy. Diversion of liquid milk by private suppliers to other states following the milk-testing drive of the government had also contributed to the crisis.The Mother Dairy spokesperson blamed the shortages also on a good monsoon. He said that due to a good monsoon this year, farmers assured of a good crop, had started retaining milk for their consumption, whereas when crops fail they sold milk to enhance their income. He said the Mother Dairy was getting 32 to 35 per cent less milk from Rajasthan because of the changed situation following a good monsoon. The same was almost the position of supply from Uttar Pradesh. He said as the imported milk powder would reach the country by October 10 Mother Dairy would be fully capable to meet the enhanced demand during the festivals by increasing supplies by five to 10 per cent. The milk had mainly been imported from Ireland and Australia, he
added. The country had felt a shortage and gone in for import of milk five or six years ago. Last year, it exported 26,000 tonnes of SMP. |
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