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Will state go for mid-term poll? Ekta Shakti to contest 3 LS seats Mr Maratha Virendra Verma, president of the Ekta Shakti, addresses a rally at Indri in Karnal district on Saturday. Barara robbery: patrolling intensified, manhunt launched |
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Suraj Bhan demands Ambedkar regiment
NDRI to the aid of Gujjars Varsity to start MSc in Haryana Agricultural University here will start M.Sc in bio-informatics from the next academic session in July, 2004. This decision was taken at a meeting of the Academic Council of the university here today. GND varsity wins youth fest trophy Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, won the overall championship in the five-day North Zone Inter-University Youth Festival, which concluded at the Kurukshetra University auditorium here last evening. Women’s panel holds ‘open darbar’ An ‘open darbar’ was organised by the Haryana Women’s Commission at Rattia in the district yesterday. Ms Sheela Bhayan, chairperson of the commission, presided over the darbar.
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Will state go for mid-term poll? Chandigarh, January 17 The answer to this million-rupee question lies with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief and Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who has been weighing pros and cons of coinciding Assembly polls with those of the Lok Sabha. Though the term of the present Haryana Vidhan Sabha is until February next year, the odds favour that Mr Chautala may follow the lead taken by his friend and Andhra Chief Minister, Mr Chander Babu Naidu. Mr Chautala has convened a meeting of the state Cabinet on January 20 which as a preparatory step to advancing Assembly elections may approve a series of sops to various sections of electors in the state. With eyes set on the coming Lok Sabha elections, the neighbouring Punjab and Himachal Pradesh Congress governments have already announced many concessions to farmers, traders, youth and ex-servicemen. The Punjab Council of Ministers, which meets on January 21, may approve some more sops. Though the agenda for the January 20 Cabinet meeting was still not known, the chances of the dissolution of the state Assembly being debated cannot be ruled out. Mr Chautala has been pursuing the wait-and-watch policy. In spite of sharp division in the Haryana Congress, he appears to be cautious in deciding whether to go for fresh mandate now or wait till the completion of the normal five-year term. His advisers maintain that coinciding Assembly elections with those of the Lok Sabha would be ideal as chances of the INLD returning to power are better now than what they would be five or six months later. Mr Chautala has been travelling extensively throughout the state. He had set a target of visiting each and every Assembly segment, besides a large number of villages as a part of his “Sarkar aap ke dwar” programme. His actions too have been at times indicative of a mid-term poll. Highlighting achievements of the government through huge hoardings and wall paintings, bringing out printed booklets and pamphlets and announcing concessions and relief for various sections of the society from time to time, all point towards his poll preparedness. He also expanded the area of his political influence to Rajasthan, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh and met with some success in Rajasthan during the last Assembly elections. Mr Chautala has already announced that the INLD will contest the Lok Sabha elections in these four states indicating that his party will continue to be a part of the NDA. Though the relations between the INLD and the BJP in Haryana have remained far from friendly, yet opposing the Congress has been their common agenda. A formal poll pact with the BJP may clinch the issue on advancing the Assembly poll. It is not only the INLD, but other major players — the Congress and the Haryana Vikas Party — too have been preparing themselves for the electoral battle. Both Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda have been separately holding rallies to “highlight the rampant corruption and the rule of the rod of the INLD government in the state.” Mr Bansi Lal’s HVP will hold a major rally in Sonepat on Sunday. |
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Ekta Shakti to contest 3 LS seats Indri, January 17 He announced that the Ekta Shakti would contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala constituencies on its own. Lashing out at the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, he said the state government had formulated “anti-farmer” policies to arrest debt-ridden farmers for failing to pay loans. He said the farming community was passing through hard times and it was the duty of the government to frame policies which benefited them economically rather than putting them behind bars. He promised the gathering that if voted to power in the next elections, he would scrap the law that allows the arrest of farmers for non-payment of loans. He said VAT would be abolished old-age pension increased to Rs 500 per month, and a special law would be formulated to regulate the services of private medical practitioners and educational institutes, besides provision for free medical aid in government hospitals. |
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Barara robbery: patrolling intensified, manhunt launched Ambala, January 17 The Inspector-General of Police, Ambala Range, Mr Alok Joshi, said they were working on certain clues and special teams had been constituted. “Persons in mofussil areas should inform the police if they suspect anything. They should get the antecedents of outsiders checked,” he said. Regarding precautions for night travellers, Mr Joshi suggested that vehicle doors should be locked from inside. “Vehicle drivers should immediately take a U-turn if they find any obstruction on the highway. They should inform the nearest police post,” he said. The police was working on several leads. The possibility of the looters being informed about the marriage party was not ruled out. The police suspected that some looters could be from Uttar Pradesh. The suspicion was based on the language used during the looting incident. Four teams were formed to trace the looters. Three of these were sent to Uttar Pradesh and the fourth to Delhi. The possibility of some looters hailing from south Haryana was being investigated. The police was having a difficult task of patrolling the highways because of the number of busy roads. The modus operandi of the gang was the same in all highway looting incidents in Ambala and neighbouring districts. The gang used to place a tree trunk on the road in the night, forcing vehicles to stop. After looting the passengers, the gang used to escape in the cover of darkness. The gang had looted a car owner in Ambala about two years ago. Bus passengers were looted in Raipur Rani. Similar incidents had taken place at Sadhaura and on the Naraingarh-Sadhaura road. The only incident of the gang failing to strike had occured in the Shahzadpur area. A police patrol party had spotted a tree trunk lying on the road. The Panchkula/Dera Bassi: The Panchkula police and the Patiala police have sealed the borders under their jurisdiction and have sounded an alert. All exit and entry points on highways, main roads and village link roads have been
The police has intensified patrolling on all link roads and main roads connecting Panchkula with Ambala and Yamunanagar districts. Policemen have deployed at nodal points. The Haryana police has sought police assistance from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and other neighbouring states. At certain places, Punjab police and Haryana police personnel have laid common nakas. Some migrant labourers have been rounded up. THe
DSP, Dera Bassi, Mr Manmohan Kumar Sharma, said nakas had been set up on every road linking Punjab with Haryana. |
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Suraj Bhan demands Ambedkar regiment Ambala, January 17 Talking to mediapersons here today, Mr Bhan said before Independence there were two regiments — Mahar and Chamar regiments — in which people from backward classes were enlisted. “After Independence, the Mahar regiment and the Chamar regiment were disbanded. Following opposition by Mr Ambedkar, the Mahar regiment was re-instated but the Chamar regiment was not formed,” he said. Mr Bhan said nearly three decades back the three service chiefs were called before a Parliamentary Committee. “The committee was informed that it was a policy matter that there will be no reservation in the Army,” he said. He demanded that either the names of the Army regiments should not be on the basis of caste or the Ambedkar regiment should be formed. “Educated and physically fit Dalit youth should get an opportunity for getting enlisted in the Army,” he said. Mr Bhan claimed that the Congress was
anti-Dalit. “During the Congress rule, the Lokur Committee and the Perumal Committee were formed. An attempt was made to scuttle reservation for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Even
N.K. Bose, who had made certain startling recommendations against the
Dalits, was given extension by the Congress government,” he said. He said according to Waste Land India Atlas 2000, there was 45 crore acres of waste land and out of which it was possible to use 20 crore acres. “This land should be given to those who are living below the poverty line. About four crore people will stand to gain if five acres each is allotted to them,” he said. The local MP, Mr Ratan Lal Kataria, said the state unit of the BJP had requested the party high command to allow them to contest elections in Haryana alone. “We have sought the high command’s blessings to contest the elections alone. However, the final decision in this regard will be taken by the party high command,” he said. |
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NDRI to the aid of Gujjars KARNAL: Gujjar nomads of Kangra and Una districts in Himachal are getting acquainted with technological advancements so as to compete with the changing world order. They have been feeding milk to thousands of families not only in these districts but also the adjoining areas of Punjab for the past several decades. Mr Mohammad Raffi, a resident of Lodhwan village in Indora (Kangra) block, who visited the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) here along with 20 Gujjars from Kangra and Una districts of Himachal Pradesh this week, said “increased human and bovine population has reduced the grazing area in our 140-km-long native tract we have been using for decades to feed our buffaloes with natural grass grown in the pasture lands of Tissa, Bharmour, Chamba and Bandal Kahar from April to September.” Gujjars were now coming out of their conservative tribal life to improve their economy primarily based on dairy farming. Mr Mehram Deen, another Gujjar of Barikhad (Kangra) village, said the traditional practice of moving the herd from one place to another is gradually declining due to the limitations imposed by the Forest Department. “The Forest Department has not increased for decades the number of buffaloes that can be taken to these pasture lands even though their population has grown manifold. The Forest Department had issued permits to take eight, 16 or 35 buffaloes to the pasture lands, especially to gujjar families, but this limit has not been reviewed for long. Yussuf Dean of Barikhad (Kangra) village said that breeding bulls provided under the Integrated Watershed Development Project (IWDP) were not sufficient as all villages did not have such animals. Sometimes buffaloes had to be taken far for the purpose. It may be mentioned that Gujjars have visited the NDRI for the first time. IWDP officials approached Dr Nagendra Sharma, Director of the NDRI, in November, 2003, to develop a special programme for these nomads to help them improve their dairy production. Accordingly, Mr Dalip K. Gosain, a senior scientist at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) of the NDRI, chalked out a special programme with particular emphasis on improving the overall yield of murrah buffaloes under rugged topography having scarce feeding sources. Various dairy production technologies developed by the NDRI were demonstrated to them. Dr P.S. Oberoi, another senior scientist at the KVK, demonstrated various methods to improve the nutritive value of the available feeding resources. He stressed the need for keeping crossbred cattle along with buffaloes to improve their economy. Most of the Gujjars who visited the NDRI were of the view that their lifestyle was changing. Mohammad Raffi is not illiterate. He has studied Arabic and Persian at madarsa in Malerkotla and knows how to read and write in these languages. He aspires to send his children to school. Improving the breed of their buffaloes and helping them to keep crossbred cows is the only hope to uplift their standard of living as Gujjars do not want to leave their vocation of dairying, feel NDRI scientists. |
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Varsity to start MSc in bio-informatics Hisar, January 17 A university spokesperson said admission to this course would be made on the basis of an entrance test and there would be 20 seats. The council also approved to continue the one-year Postgraduate Diploma on Gender Development at the university. The Directorate of Human Resources of the university had started this course in collaboration with the University of Hull, UK. The council also decided to reconstitute the university’s Sports and Co-curricular Activities Council. The Director, Students’ Welfare, would be the member-secretary of this council while the Joint Director, Students’ Welfare (Cultural Activities), would be associated as member in the council. The council decided to include 2 +1 credit hour on environment study. The council also approved the course contents of this credit hour and decided to include it in the curricula of the second year of all on-going undergraduate degree programmes. Environment study for all undergraduate degree programmes is compulsory in the university. |
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GND varsity wins youth fest trophy Kurukshetra, January 17 Punjabi University, Patiala, was the first runners-up while Kurukshetra University was the second runners-up. In other events, Guru Nanak Dev University won the contest in music and also in theatre and fine arts. Punjabi University won the dance contest. The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, who was the chief guest, gave away prizes to the winners. Mr Dhindsa said participation in a competition was as important as winning a position and therefore both winners and participants deserved appreciation. The guest of honour and Haryana Transport Minister, Mr Ashok Kumar Arora, said the government was taking steps to preserve and promote Haryana culture. The Kurukshetra University Vice-Chancellor, Dr A.K. Chawla, appreciated the participants who performed in a disciplined manner. |
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Women’s panel holds ‘open darbar’ Fatehabad, January 17 In all 53 complaints, mostly related to dowry, domestic discords, harassment of married women and drug and liquor addiction of men, were brought before the commission. The chairperson issued instructions to the officers concerned for prompt action on these complaints. Addressing women, Ms Bhayan asked them to approach the commission without any hesitation in case of any problem. She said a number of women had benefited from the commission eversince it was constituted by the present government. |
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‘Dead’ man comes alive Hisar, January 17 According to reports, the local police today found an unconscious youth near the bus stand. He was admitted to the local Civil Hospital by the police. Later, doctors declared him dead. His body was shifted to the mortuary on the hospital campus. He was registered as dead in the hospital record. However, the mortuary staff noticed some movements in his body and informed the doctors. He was re-admitted and the doctors began treatment. |
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