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News Analysis Sky bus project offer to Haryana 5-day Kurukshetra Utsav from Nov 30 Reconstruction
of Spitfire was Herculean task Governor distributes sewing machines, tri-cycles
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High Court Minakshi, husband released 2 killed in road mishap Two booked for raping minor Fake certificate racket busted Bird safari has winged visitors
Teachers
meet VC Major R.N. Kapoor DAV Public School wins overall trophy Dowry Prohibition
Day today Competitions mark Anti-Dowry Day
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News Analysis
Chandigarh, November 25 Now the Supreme Court has ordered a CBI inquiry into the appointment of over 3,200 JBT teachers in Haryana in 2000. In a way the apex court’s orders are the first judicial endorsement of Opposition allegations about recruitments being made in Haryana on considerations other than merit. The Supreme Court ordered the CBI inquiry after the state had conceded that it was willing to have the matter enquired by a Commission of Inquiry to be headed by a retired High Court judge to be set up under the Commissions of Inquiry Act. The state had initially attacked the antecedents of Mr Sanjiv Kumar, an IAS officer under suspension, who had moved the apex court alleging that he was being harassed for not “obliging” Mr Chautala in the matter of appointment of JBT teachers when he was the Director, Primary Education. Mr Sanjiv Kumar had alleged that the Chief Minister wanted that he should substitute a list of candidates selected by his predecessor, Mrs Rajani Sekhri Sibal, by another list of candidates supplied to him by the Chief Minister’s office. The officer also alleged that after he implemented the original list on November 7, 2000, he was transferred from his post on December 3, 2000. After that the government started harassing him on “flimsy grounds” and placed him under suspension. The government pointed out to the apex court various “acts of omission and commission” by Mr Sanjiv Kumar and pleaded that he had not come to the court with clean hands. Hence, not much credence should be attached to the allegations levelled by him. Meanwhile, several unsuccessful candidates also moved the apex court and levelled allegations of corruption against a senior functionary of the Chief Minister’s office. Rattled by the candidates’ petition, the government brought in an eminent lawyer, Mr Harish Salve, to represent its case before the apex court. It was Mr Salve who offered on behalf of the state to get the matter enquired into by a Commission of Inquiry. However, the Division Bench comprising Mr Justice R.C. Lahoti and Mr Justice Ashok Bhan felt that a Commission of Inquiry took a long time to complete the inquiry. Further, its report was not binding on the government. The Judges said: “It is the discretion of the government not to take any action on the commission’s report. Experience is that the follow-up action on its report will be in the political, rather than the public, good.” Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered CBI inquiries into two cases. A couple of years ago, the High Court had asked the CBI to enquire into the allegations of illegal mining in Faridabad and Gurgaon districts after a public interest litigation was filed alleging illegal mining by the Cooperation Minister, Mr Kartar Singh Badhana. Its report is still awaited. Recently, the High Court had again asked the CBI to investigate the murder of a Sirsa-based journalist, Ram Chander Chhaterpati. Today’s orders of the apex court have assumed importance because in this case the Chief Minister himself is a party. Mr Sanjiv Kumar had alleged mala fide against Mr Chautala, who had to file an affidavit rebutting the allegations. In the cases in which the High Court had ordered the CBI inquiries, private persons are the parties. The Supreme Court orders have galvanised the otherwise disheartened opposition to demand the resignation of Mr Chautala. The Secretary-General of the HVP, Mr Surender Singh, said Mr Chautala should immediate quit to ensure an independent inquiry. He said since the BJP was supporting the Chautala government, if it failed to withdraw its support from it, it would be presumed that it (the BJP) was also a party in the misdeeds of the INLD leader. The Haryana Congress President, Mr Bhajan Lal, and the party General Secretary, Mr Mange Ram Gupta, have also welcomed the Supreme Court orders and have described these as “Mr Chautala’s moral defeat”. \The Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the All-India Youth Congress President, Mr Randeep Surjewala; and the RPI MLA, Mr Karan Singh Dalal, said either Mr Chautala should quit or the Governor should dismiss him immediately. Otherwise, the Chief Minister would try to create hurdles in the path of the CBI. |
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Sky bus project offer to Haryana Chandigarh, November 25 Mr Srinivas claimed that the KRC has developed this technology which had a potential to address the problem of traffic congestion, vehicle and
noise pollution. The corporation has been already given a green signal for metro project in Margaon. The corporation has also signed an MOU with the Maharashtra Government to lay an 18-km track between Ghatkopar and Andheri — two suburbs of Mumbai. The Kerala Government has also approved a similar project involving a capital outlay of Rs 800 crore. Later talking to TNS, Mr Srinivas claimed that it was the most cost-effective technology to address the urban traffic. While the underground metro involved a cost of Rs 300 crore per km, the cost of elevated metro (Shahdra to Rithala) would be Rs 130 crore per km. As against this, the sky bus metro project, he said, would cost only Rs 50 crore per km. With the development of technology, the cost would come down to Rs 30 crore per km, he added. He added that the system would not require additional land, and could be implemented just within two years. It would provide transport service every minute at the speed of 100 km per hour. Further, the cost of travelling would come to about 50 paise per km to a customer, against Rs 5 per km through taxi and Rs 2 per km through auto rickshaw and Rs 1 per km through buses. It is with this huge savings in costs, that the sky metro technology has started receiving attention of the states looking for developing Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS). Since the industrial model township at Manesar is shaping up into mega industrial hub spanning across 5000 acre, the traffic compulsions would encourage the government to think about the viability of the project. Mr R.N. Malik, Engineer-in-Chief of HSIDC, informed that the Corporation was working to prepare a pre-feasibility report before obtaining the consent of the state government to implement the project. He added once the project was implemented by the KRC in Goa, and the technology was tested, the state governments would go ahead to adopt the technology. |
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5-day Kurukshetra Utsav from Nov 30 Chandigarh, November 25 While stating this here today, an official press statement said Mr Advani would dedicate the newly constructed southern parikrama on the western Brahm Sarovar to the people. The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had laid the foundation stone of the parikrama in 2001. A national-level seminar on heritage tourism will be organised with the collaboration of Union Ministry of the Tourism and Culture on December 1 as part of the samaroh. Professionals, academicians and administrators will participate in the seminar to deliberate upon various aspects of development of tourism in Kurukshetra. The Governor, Babu Parmanand, will inaugurate the seminar which will take place in the Senate Hall of Kurukshetra University. The findings of the seminar shall be sent to the Union Government for follow-up action. The statement added that the festival was being held to spread the philosophy of the Gita which had been inspiring humanity through the ages. A cultural programme based on various episodes of the Mahabharata would also be organised in the festival. The festival is being organised jointly by the Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Haryana Tourism Department, North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala, and Kurukshetra Development Board. The Public Relations and Cultural Affairs Department of Haryana will also present cultural programmes at the festival. A state-level painting exhibition and competitions in rangoli, mehndi, clay modelling, pot decoration, and on couplets of the Gita will be organised. The Haryana Police will also set up an exhibition. The exhibition will have one section on ‘Police through ages’, another on police personnel who had been awarded President’s Police Medals and a third on finger print examination. There will also be an exhibition on the developmental activities of the state government in which the focus will be on the Sarkar Aapke Dwar programme. The VIPs attending the festival will include the Union Tourism Minister, Mr Jagmohan, and the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala. |
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Reconstruction
of Spitfire was Herculean task Ambala, November 25 The reconstruction of the Spitfire aircraft, the wreckage of which was extricated from the Markanda river bed, took more than five months. The Repair and Salvage unit team headed by Wing Commander P.K. Shrivastava undertook the reconstruction task with single-minded devotion. It was difficult to identify many parts of the aircraft. Only the tail portion without control surfaces main fuselage along with broken wing, some portion of cockpit and retracted undercarriage of the Spitfire were recovered from the river bed. After receiving the wreckage, the team drew up a reconstruction programme. The problem was compounded by the fact that no document regarding the exact dimensions of the Spitfire aircraft were readily available. So, the team undertook a trip to the Air Force Museum in New Delhi to measure the original Spitfire displayed there. The team took more than 3000 photographs from various angles and measured dimensions of each and every section of the original fighter aircraft. The team began cleaning the wreckage. The cleaning of the wreckage filled with sand and small stones and removal of burnt fuel tank took about a week. After designing the centre fuselage, front fuselage, propeller and canopy, the fabrication of various parts as per the original design was carried out. The fabrication of the canopy proved to be a challenge. The team used 0.5 mm thick polymethyl methacrylate plastic sheet to mould into a bubble shape canopy. The team restored a 31-feet Spitfire out of a 5-feet wreckage. The Spitfire Super Marine (VIII C MV 459) was inducted into the RAF on September 9, 1944, and thereafter it was flown to India. The aircraft arrived at Mumbai and was inducted in No.8 RFU RIAF under Air Command South East Asia. During
a sortie, the Spitfire which has now been restored, developed engine
trouble and it belly landed in dry river bed near Mullana on May 23,
1947. The pilot of the aircraft Pilot Officer AD Cruz survived the
crash. |
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Governor distributes sewing machines, tri-cycles Ambala, November 25 Babu Parmanand distributed 100 sewing machines, 26 hearing aids, 50 tri-cycles and 200 food bags. He also distributed 40 tool kits for beauty parlour trainees and 50 cutting and tailoring kits, including sewing machines. The camp was organised under the Swaran Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojna on behalf of the District Urban Development Agency. Babu Parmanand said different welfare organisations were providing adequate relief and services to the poor, needy, physically challenged, women and children. He said that Haryana State Red Cross Society was encouraging the youth to donate blood so that accident victims and patients could be assisted. Babu Parmanand called upon the rich to help voluntary organisations like the Red Cross and the Child Welfare Council so that they could help the needy. He asked the officers to identify right persons to get the benefit out of the different schemes run by the Centre and the state government. Deputy Commissioner, Mr D.D. Gautam, said the District Red Cross Society had provided timely help and relief to the people of Gujarat, Orissa and J&K in the wake of earthquakes etc. He said the District Red Cross society had spent Rs 1.52 lakh for mass marriage of poor girls and Rs 1.61 lakh for the treatment of poor patients. Among others, Ms Veena
Chibber, Mr ML Kaushik, Mr N.S. Dhull, Mr Maheshwar Sharma, and Mr Gurmeet Singh were present. |
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High Court Chandigarh, November 25 Pronouncing the orders in an open court, the Bench, headed by Chief Justice Mr Justice B.K. Roy, also directed Haryana to provide necessary infrastructure, including furniture, to Justice Garg both in the courtroom and at the residence. The fire tragedy victim’s association had initially sought directions for granting compensation to the families of the deceased, besides free treatment for the injured, including plastic surgery. Several photographs of the victims had also been enclosed along with the petition. |
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Minakshi, husband released Karnal, November 25 The village panchayat had asked them to get separated on the grounds that the marriage of a couple within the same village was against their
traditions. Minakshi had run away from home on August 14, to marry her boyfriend Balwinder, of the same village. Their miseries began when her father Dalip Kumar lodged a complaint with the Jind police after her daughter went missing, saying that she had been abducted. On October 9 the police recovered the couple and produced them before a local court in Jind. Adding to her woes, the court ordered to keep her in custody at the Nari
Niketan, Karnal, and sent her husband to judicial custody when she was pregnant. She delivered a baby girl at the Civil Hospital here yesterday. However, both of them had stated before the court that they had tied the knot on September 26 and the marriage registered at the office of the District Magistrate of
Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh. Minakshi had also alleged that she was illegally married to the boy, Vipin, when she was just 13 years old. Both were granted bail after they recorded their statements that they would prefer to stay together. On the other hand, sources in the police said the situation was still tense at Ramgarh village. The villagers were not prepared to accept them. |
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2 killed in road mishap Ambala, November 25 According to the police Sandeep and Gurbaksh were employed in a factory near Baldevnagar in Ambala city. They were going to their village on a bicycle after the duty. A Haryana Roadways bus hit them near Tasambli village. They were brought to Civil Hospital here where they died. |
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Two booked for raping minor Jind, November 25 The girl reported the incident to her parents. On the complaint of her father the police has registered a case of rape against Dharambir and Satish of the same village at the Pillukhera police station in the district. The youths have reportedly absconded. Meanwhile, the police yesterday registered a case against Chander and Harpal, residents of Bishanpura village, on the charge of abducting a youth, Rajhans of the same village. Rajhans has been missing since November 2. Mr Krishan Chander, father of the youth in his complaint to the police had alleged that due to some enmity Chander and Harpal had abducted his son. |
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Fake certificate racket busted Kurukshetra, November 25 In a raid conducted at the residence of Jagdish, the police had seized fake rubber stamps and blank certificates. A case was
registered by the Madhuban Crime Branch. Jagdish was produced in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Krishan Kumar here yesterday and was remanded for 14 days in judicial custody. |
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Bird safari has winged visitors Panchkula, November 25 A team of bird watchers, including the Chief Wildlife Warden, Haryana, Mr R.D. Jagati, Lt-Gen Baljit Singh and Mr S.D. Sharma yesterday visited the safari and watched the birds for almost five hours. They found that birds like red start, wall climber, Himalayan griffin and whistling thrush, have migrated from the upper Himalayas because of the cold wave. It may be noted that this bird safari was set up in 250 hectare area in June earlier this year. A trail of about 3 km. leads to the safari from the Barwala-Morni road. Over 400 species of birds, including the rare species like Indian
pitta, barbets, hornbills etc. are the special attractions of the bird safari. Wildlife officials have interfered little with the natural surroundings. Other than a “Machaan” and a small hut, no other structure has been erected. The Wildlife Department had earlier proposed to set up a lion safari in these forests. However, an avid bird lover, Lt-Gen Baljit Singh (retd), then met with wildlife officials and proposed that considering the biodiversity of the flora and fauna here , a bird safari should be set up instead. Thus, the bird safari was proposed and a team of bird watchers- Mr. Vibhu Prakash from the Bombay Natural History Society, Mr S.D. Sharma, Lt-Gen Baljit Singh — found this site and the safari was set up. |
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Leaf from History AMBALA: The Leprosy Mission (TLP), which is today a worldwide organisation, began in Ambala in 1870s. The residents of Ambala perhaps do not know that the effort to lessen the suffering of lepers began in Ambala City. The building where the noble work is believed to have begun is still standing but it seems to have been forgotten. And there is not even a passing mention of The Leprosy Mission. Interestingly, the building is located on the main highway leading from Ambala to Amritsar. Innumerable motorists pass on the road everyday without even being aware of the historic importance of the place. Located close to the Kalka chowk, the red brick single-storeyed building can be seen behind trees and overgrown shrubs. The building, which has been constructed in the typical architectural style with arches, is in shambles. Sadly, the area is now being used as an open toilet. Dr Sunil Sadiq, Director of Mission Hospital, said The Leprosy Mission began at Ambala. "It started at the building which is located on the main highway. Nobody seems to be aware of this very important fact," he said. An Irish missionary and teacher, Mr Wellesley Cosby Bailey, founded The Leprosy Mission in 1874 at Ambala. Born in Dublin, he chased his ambition to find a fortune in gold in Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. He returned home dejected. The annual report of The Leprosy Mission states that coming to India on the invitation of his brother Christopher, Wellesley's tryst with leprosy sufferers occurred in 1869. The sight shocked him : "I almost shuddered, yet I was at the same time fascinated, and I felt, if ever there was a special Christian work in this world, it was to go among these needy sufferers." Wellesley was only 23 when he decided to serve the cause of leprosy eradication. His fiancee, Alice, later joined him. They were married and on their return to Ireland he approached his friends to support his vision of caring for and curing those affected by leprosy. Set up as Mission to Lepers (changed to The Leprosy Mission in 1966), the first year's budget was £ 30. The birth of The Leprosy Mission coincided with the discovery of the causative organism of leprosy, mycobacterium leprae, by the Norwegian physicist GHA Hansen. The Baileys themselves established a comprehensive infrastructure to promote their cause, the annual report states. Dr Sadiq said a few years back, a French team had come to Ambala to film the building where The Leprosy Mission began. "We must take steps to ensure that this important building is not lost forever. The importance of the building needs to be highlighted so that future generations can become aware of the developments in Ambala, " he said.  |
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Teachers
meet VC Ambala, November 25 Welcoming the step taken towards senior and selection grade teachers by Dr Chawla, the delegation suggested improvement in examination system. The delegation hoped that the issues pertaining to the teachers would be positively considered as the Vice Chancellor had himself been an educationist. The delegation assured the Vice Chancellor, that they would extend cooperation in bringing about improvements in the education system. |
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Major R.N. Kapoor DAV Public School wins overall trophy Ambala, November 25 The Principal of the school, Ms K. Relan, said the school team won the overall trophy at the All-India inter-state, inter-school cultural competition held recently. The school had won the trophy for the 10th time in 11 years, she added. “Our school won the first prize in classical music and orchestra, second prize in bhajan and group song, third spot in group dance and a consolation prize in ghazal,” she said. |
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Dowry Prohibition
Day today Chandigarh, November 25 The Vice Chancellors of Kurukshetra University, Guru Jambheshwar University of Hisar and Maharshi Dayanand University of Rohtak, as well as the Higher Education Commissioner, Director, Secondary Education, Director, Industrial Training and Vocational Education, all Deputy Commissioners and all Dowry Prohibition Officers had been directed to organise programmes in schools and colleges and in other institutions tomorrow to create public opinion against dowry. |
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Competitions mark Anti-Dowry Day Yamunanagar, November 25 Mr Supraveen Kumar, ADC, flagged off the awareness rally, which passed through various parts of the town. He also distributed clothes and books among poor students. At DAV
Senior Secondary School, Yamunanagar, essay and declamation contests were organised. In the senior group Shalini Sharma of Hindu Girls College, Jagadhri, won the first prize essay writing competition. Harpreet Kaur of Government Senior Secondary School, Yamunanagar, and Narender Singh of DAV Senior-Secondary School, Yamunanagar won the second and third prizes, respectively. Rajeev Kumar of MLN Senior School was given a consolation prize. In the junior group Deepa Aggarwal of Seth Jai Parkash MLN Senior Secondary School stood first, Pankaj Bhatia of Swami Vivekanand Public School second and Vandana of DAV Girls Senior Secondary School third in essay-writing contest. |
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Flag Day observed Jind, November 25 The Deputy Commissioner of Jind, Mr Rajiv Sharma, apprised the students of rich heritage and traditions of India. He said India was giving a message of unity and brotherhood to the world for centuries despite social, cultural, lingual and religious diversity. A quiz competition was also organised and cash prizes given to the students who got first, second and third positions in the contest. The students donated the prize money to the Flag Day fund. The APRO of Safidon, Mr Dev Raj Sirohiwal, gave a lecture on the heritage of Jind district. |
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Women’s day
celebrated Sirsa, November 25 The coordinator of the women cell, Dr Deepti Dharmani, said 89 per cent of the work in the world was performed by women but most of them either work at home or in the unorganised sector. Not only were they underpaid but own only 1 per cent of the world’s total private property. |
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Defaulters warned Chandigarh, November 25 |
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