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Tosham
to get subdivision status
Chautala
promises 50,000 jobs Security
beefed up in Karnal jail HVP may
support Vajpayee, BHEL
working hard to achieve target |
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Karnal
to have new bus stand by March Special
traffic drive launched Judicial
remand for woman in firing case
Miglani
lauds launch of Kisan TV Channel Pandals
throw fire safety to winds Murdered
kid’s body found from well Life
term for six in murder case Bangladeshi
girl sent to Nari Niketan 
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Tosham to get subdivision status Bhiwani, January 23 Mr Chautala, who was addressing a public rally at Tosham, also announced to set up a polytechnic institute to provide technical education to the youth of this area. The Chief Minister said that the Tosham area would be given a massive face-lift by undertaking a number of development works. He said that despite drought conditions last year, the government had provided 25 per cent more water to the farmers so that they could be provided sufficient irrigation as well as drinking water. He said that the installed capacity of power had increased by 825 mw, whereas only 209 mw of power was generated during the tenure of the previous government. He said that the seventh and eighth units of Panipat Thermal Plant would be commissioned by the end of this year. Mr Chautala also launched a campaign to make the livestock free from disease. He said that under this campaign, immunisation of livestock would be carried out at the doorstep of the farmers so as to make the animals free from the foot and mouth disease. The government had also constituted a Livestock Development Board. He said that a scheme had been introduced to provide incentives to the owners of milch animals. Under this scheme, cash incentives ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 6000 were being provided. |
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Chautala promises 50,000 jobs Sirsa, January 23 Mr Chautala claimed that so far his government had provided employment to 50,000 youth and these jobs had been given purely on the basis of merit. Mr Chautala praised the party workers for their sense of discipline and patience. He called upon them to be prepared for the Lok Sabha elections. He asked them to highlight the achievements of their party and the weaknesses of the Opposition. The party workers expressed their confidence in Mr Chautala. Mr Chautala expressed his hope that construction work on SYL would begin soon. Later the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the building of the municipal council to be constructed at a cost of Rs 80 lakh. He also inaugurated Acharaya Tulsi Chowk in the city. |
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Security beefed up in Karnal jail Karnal, January 23 Confirming this, Deputy Superintendent of Karnal jail Hira Singh Yadav told TNS that Avtar Singh and his wife Jaspal Kaur, alias Sonia, both resident of House No. 14/97, Gita Colony- New Delhi, were in judicial custody for the past several months as they were suspects in a murder case. Although he did not comment upon the relationship of Avtar Singh and his wife Sonia with Paramjit Singh, he said security measures had been strengthened in the jail. “Both have now been shifted to separate cells as a precautionary measure”, he said. Earlier, they were lodged together in one of the cells in the jail. Further, investigations made by The Tribune revealed that Avtar Singh is a brother of Paramjit Singh. He and his wife both were suspects in at least two cases of murder. Mr Yadav said the local police had brought the couple here after seeking remand from a Delhi court in the first week of July 2003 in a murder case. The couple was suspected to be involved in the murder of a person at a village falling under Butana police station, Karnal. The murder had taken place in March 2003. The Deputy Commissioner of Karnal said he had ordered the police to beef-up security in and around the local jail. However, he said he was yet to confirm officially that the undertrial couple was related to the alleged accused in the Beant Singh murder case. Meanwhile, intelligence agencies and the Haryana Police has been put on alert following the escape and the highway police has also set-up special nakas to keep a check on commuters on the national highways. Borders with Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have been sealed, revealed a senior official of the Haryana Police. |
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HVP may support Vajpayee, says Surender Singh Fatehabad, January 23 Talking to mediapersons here today Mr Surender Singh, secretary general of the HVP said the party could extend issue-based support to anyone except Sonia Gandhi after the elections. Mr Surender Singh was in town to address a meeting of party workers in the local Ram Sewa Samiti Dharamshala. Mr Prahlad Singh Gillankhera, in charge of party affairs for Fatehabad and Sirsa district, Mr Gian Chand Pruthi, district president of the party, Mr Ram Murthy, president of the youth wing of the party and Ms Dayawanti Verma, president of the women wing of the party, were present on the occasion. He, however, reiterated his party’s stand of not forging electoral alliance with any party. He declared that he himself would contest election from the same constituency as Haryana Chief Minister’s son Ajay Singh Chautala. The HVP leader predicted that both the BJP and the Congress would lose in the forthcoming parliamentary poll and added that regional parties would get more share in these elections. The HVP leader assailed both the Congress and the INLD in Haryana and said while the Congress was a spent force now, the INLD had lost its mass base and was on its way out. The HVP leader also addressed party workers and called upon them to be prepared for the elections. |
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BHEL working hard to achieve target Panipat, January 23 However, the company will get a Rs 2 crore reward if it completes the project before the end of the agreement period. This condition was set by the Haryana Government before giving the Rs 1438-crore project to BHEL, sources said. Engineers and thousands of labourers have been working round the clock to complete the work in time. BHEL has to complete the seventh unit in 31 months and the eighth unit in 35 months. The authorities maintain that with the commissioning of these two units, the power station will start producing 1360 MW electricity. Political observers are of the view that the government is keen on completing the work as soon as possible so that it can be projected as its achievement and to attract voters in the forthcoming elections to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. To keep a watch on the day-to-day progress of the project, the government has set up a committee consisting of the Chief Secretary, senior officials of the power station and other departments. The Chief Engineer (construction wing) of the power station, Mr M.S. Dhanda, confirmed that the government had imposed a condition on BHEL that it would have to pay a penalty of maximum Rs 72 crore if the project was not completed in time. However, BHEL would get a reward of Rs 2 crore if the work was completed well before the fixed date. |
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Karnal to have new bus stand by March Karnal, January 23 Revealing this, Mr Ashok Kumar, Arora, Transport Minister of Haryana, said the state Transport Board had already approved the construction of modern bus stands at Pataudi, Hathin, Dhand, Kaithal, Kalayat, Babain, Behal, Satnali, Pipli and Jhajjar. The old bus stands at Palwal and Ambala City that had been declared unsafe would be demolished and new bus stands would be constructed at these places, he said. The existing bus stand on the old GT road at Karnal had become very congested and posed problem of traffic management in the city. A team of senior officials of the transport department had recently visited the new proposed site of the bus stand and had recommended that a modern bus stand based on European pattern should be constructed here. New roadways workshops should be constructed at Ballabhgarh, Sirsa and Jhajjar. It may be mentioned that the new bus stands at Kalka, Barwala and Kalanwali were nearing completion and would start functioning within a month. All types of hoardings put up in front of certain bus-stands and obstructing its view would be removed and fresh sites for putting up hoardings and glow signs would be identified at the depot level, the minister said. He said the parking rates of cycles, scooters and cars on the bus stands would be reduced to Re 1, Rs 2 and Rs 5 respectively, during the day time. Dhabas at most of the bus stands would be removed by April 1, 2004, he added. However, the dhabas would continue to run at the bus stands in Rohtak, Hisar and Jagadhari. He said the buses operating on the GT Road would stop for refreshment only at the Haryana Tourism complexes. The STD booths at the bus stands would now be allotted only to 100 per cent orthopaedically handicapped persons or family members of the deceased employees of the Transport Department on a confessional rent of Rs 500 per month, said Mr Arora. The Jai Jawan tea stalls on the
bus-stands, allotted to eligible ex-servicemen, disabled soliders or widows of those killed in action for token rent of Re 1 per month, would now be allowed to sell packed snacks, like potato chips and
namkeen for increasing their income. |
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Special traffic
drive launched Karnal, January 23 A decision regarding this was taken at a meeting of senior police and civil officials held under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.S. Doon here yesterday. The Deputy Commissioner has asked the traffic police to ensure that traffic rules and orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court were implemented. The district administration has warned residents, especially the youngsters, to obey traffic rules. Mr Doon has asked government officials who were not eligible for use of red lights/hooters to remove these to ensure the implementation of the High Court orders and the Motor Vehicle Act. |
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Judicial remand for woman in firing case Hisar, January 23 Usha, a local resident, had opened fired at Ms Sangeeta, a teacher in a local private school, with her revolver at Sector 15 here while she was going to school in her car. According to sources, the police yesterday recorded Ms Sangeeta’s preliminary statement in a private hospital where she was admitted. In her statement, she told the police that there was a dispute over some money between her and the accused. However, she was not allowed to give a detailed statement by doctors due to her critical condition. Later, she was operated upon at the hospital. Doctors took out three bullets from her body. According to doctors, she would be able to give a detailed statement in the next five days. |
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Folk artistes
perform at SPICMACAY function Fatehabad, January 23 Mr Dev Raj Batra, president of the Manohar Memorial Education Society, was the chief guest. Mr Subhash Sharma, principal, Daya Nand College, Hisar, was the special guest. The audience included a number of music lovers of the town besides students and teachers of the college. The music party rendered a number of Rajisthani classical numbers. A dance performance by a woman artiste was a treat to watch. |
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Miglani lauds launch of Kisan TV Channel Hisar, January 23 The channel was launched by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at New Delhi yesterday. Talking to mediapersons here, he hoped the channel would prove an effective link between technology generators and users as more than 70 per cent of the population in the country depended upon agriculture, directly or indirectly. He said now the improved technology in agriculture and animal husbandry would reach a larger section of farming community, living in remote areas of the country. Mr Miglani also urged other TV channels to telecast agriculture-related programmes. Meanwhile, the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has awarded the Career Award for Young Scientist to Dr Dharm Pal Malik, an assistant scientist in the Department of Agricultural Economics, HAU. According to a university spokesperson, Rs 10.5 lakh would be granted to conduct research for three years in agricultural economics. |
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Pandals throw fire safety to winds Rohtak Inquiries by The Tribune from different towns of the state indicate that hardly any one erecting a pandal is seeking a no-objection certificate from the Fire Department. In Rohtak, where on an average, about 5000 such pandals are erected every year, not a single NOC has been issued by the local Fire Station during the past six months. The only exception is a local Ram Lila Committee which has a permanent venue for its shows. Acting Fire Officer Mr Ramesh Sihag said no applications for NOCs had been received by his office for the past five months. Inquiries reveal that in Hisar, no NOC has been issued for over a year. Being a bigger town than Rohtak, the average number of pandals erected there annually far exceeds that in Rohtak. Fire officials there said no NOCs were being sought even for pandals erected for functions which VVIPs were supposed to attend. A similar situation prevails in the rest of the state. After the Dabwali blaze the number of applications for NOCs shot up considerably. However, after another year or so, people stopped approaching them. The Dabwali tragedy heightened public awareness about fire safety. People not only asked for NOCs but also sought information about fire safety measures required in their houses. However, it is no longer so. Hazardous pandals are not limited to private functions or private premises. Even government functions are being held under unapproved pandals. In Rohtak, the Services Club is rented out for marriages but the authorities never insist on the NOC. Likewise, most municipal bodies rent out public places and parks for marriages without asking for the NOC. The Tribune found that no municipal body in about six towns had any NOC on its record. Under the fire safety rules circulated after the Dabwali blaze, a pandal should have four entry and exit points. This was prescribed to avoid a Dabwali-type tragedy where the pandal had only one opening as a result of which the victims were trapped inside. This most important requirement is not being met. Another important requirement is that not more than 100 kg of LPG can be stored in the vicinity of the pandal. However, this limit is exceeded without exception. Officials say the pandals are supposed to have insulated wiring for lighting. But most joints are
not insulated, especially where wires come from standby generating sets. Adequate ventilation has to be ensured inside the pandals. This rule, too, is being flouted with impunity. Most pandals are poorly ventilated. No attention is being paid to parking outside the pandals. This can prove fatal as haphazard parking can prevent the entry of a fire engine in the case of a fire. Fire officials say they have no way of finding out where a pandal is being erected. No inspection is, therefore, possible. They say they lack adequate legal muscle to punish those flouting the law. |
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Murdered kid’s body found from well Hisar, January 23 According to the police, Arvind, a resident of Model Town Extension Colony, and his friend Raj Kumar, a resident of Jindal Colony, had kidnapped Kaushal Kumar (7), a resident of Jindal Colony, on January 14. The police had registered a case in this connection on the complaint of the boy’s father Prabhu Nath. After the kidnapping, Arvind and Raj Kumar started demanding a ransom of Rs 5 lakh from Kaushal Kumar’s family members on the telephone. They reported the matter to the police. The police arrested the two last night and interrogated them. They revealed that they had allegedly killed Kaushal Kumar with sharp-edged weapons on the night of January 14 and thrown his body in a well in the industrial area. Later, the police recovered the body from the well. |
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Life term for six in murder case Sirsa, January 23 According to information received yesterday nine persons namely Jagmail Singh, Mahinder Singh, Teja Singh, Gurmail Singh, Jagdev Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lela Singh and Harbans were booked by the police for murdering Gurdev Singh of Kamaal village in June 1999. Gurdev Singh and Jagmail Singh had a dispute over 15 acres of land. According to the complaint lodged by the brother of the deceased Jagmail Singh along with his accomplices shot his brother dead. After about three years of hearing the court found six of the accused guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment whereas three of them namely Gurjant Singh, Leela Singh and Harbans were acquitted for lack of proof. |
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Bangladeshi girl sent to Nari Niketan Panipat, January 23 The girl, who had reportedly eloped from Bangladesh with her boyfriend, was deserted by him in Delhi. Police sources informed that finding her alone and not conversant in Hindi or any other regional language, some unscrupulous elements raped her. She was given shelter for a few days by a local woman. However, when the police came to know about the girl through some other Bangladeshis, she was taken into police custody and sent to Nari Niketan in Karnal.
— OC |
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Hearing adjourned Chandigarh, January 23 The hearing was adjourned after counsel for the High Court and the state government sought time to file replies. The respondents were asked to file their replies within two weeks. |
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Special traffic drive launched Karnal, January 23 A decision regarding this was taken at a meeting of senior police and civil officials held under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.S. Doon here yesterday. The Deputy Commissioner has asked the traffic police to ensure that traffic rules and orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court were implemented. The district administration has warned residents, especially the youngsters, to obey traffic rules. Mr Doon has asked government officials who were not eligible for use of red lights/hooters to remove these to ensure the implementation of the High Court orders and the Motor Vehicle Act. |
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Rain plays spoilsport
at mushaira
Ambala, January 23 The turnout of listeners was rather low at the Rukmini Devi Memorial hall. Their number was further reduced after the chief guest, Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, left the venue. However, the low number of listeners failed to dampen the spirits of the Urdu poets. Noted poet Dr Bashir Badr conducted the mushaira, which began with a couplet from Arifa Shabnam. An Urdu poet from Pakistan, Anwar Azmi, made a critical comment on politics. The Secretary of the Haryana Urdu Academy, Mr Ramendra Jakhoo, was present on the occasion. Urdu poet Sagar Khayammi recited: “Muft mein kaun se hathiyar bana sakte ho, ishq to voh shey hai, jo phokat mein lada sakte ho.” Pakistani poetess Gulnar Afri delivered a couplet full of hope for India as well as Pakistan: “Suno hum aisa karte hain ki tazdeed vafa kar lein, na tum dohrao un guzre dinon ki talakh yadon ko, na hum sochein ki kisne kiska pahle haath
chhoda.” |
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Exam duty made compulsory Chandigarh, January 23 According to a statement issued here today, the DEOs have been asked to ensure the presence of centre superintendents at examination centres and issue them identity cards. The DEOs have also been asked to personally supervise the distribution of question papers at the district level which the Subdivisional Education Officer will do so at subdivisional level. |
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2-day police remand for Asst Engineer Ambala, January 23 Earlier, the Additional Sessions Judge, Mr B.M. Bedi, accepted the revision petition in the case filed by the state while another revision petition in the case was dismissed. The state through the SHO, Mahesh Nagar police station, had filed the revision petition against the order of January 10 of the Judicial Magistrate in which the court had declined to grant the police remand of Zakir and Avedna and had sent the duo to judicial custody for 14 days.
OC |
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Blood donation camp Ambala, January 23 The Commissioner, Ambala Division, Mr Alok Nigam, inaugurated the camp. Doctors from the PGI, Chandigarh, and the Red Cross, Ambala, conducted the camp. A total of 156 students donated blood. The blood donors included the college Principal, Dr R.R. Malik, Prof Sunita Sharma and Prof Seema
Kansal. |
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