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BJP to hold rallies from December 4
Chautala hijacking Sir Chhotu Ram’s legacy, says Pratap Anuradha Gupta shifted within fortnight of earlier posting
Work in 2,400 state mini-banks paralysed
Trust to tackle stray cattle menace
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Bodies of woman, daughter found in dry pond Ambala, November 18 The bodies of a woman and her 16-year-old daughter were recovered from the dry pond of a temple near the Jain College road in Ambala City this morning. Deep injuries were found on the necks of the bodies, which were put in two gunny bags.
Roadways honours 80 drivers, 20 mechanics
Plea against MC meeting dismissed
Dancing should be a subject,
says Koser Briton on
way to China on horseback Tax workshop organised Foundation stone of health centre laid
Four units of Bhur Kalana hydroelectric project shut
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BJP to hold rallies from December 4
Rohtak, November 18 Stating this, Haryana BJP general secretary Veer Kumar Yadav said here today that the party would hold a series of rallies in all Assembly segments of the state from December 4 to 31 as a pre-poll exercise. These rallies were aimed at mobilising public opinion on the issues the party planned to use as main poll planks, he added. Mr Yadav said after yesterday’s meeting the party had decided to contest the next assembly election on the twin issues of SYL Canal and inflation. Referring to the Congress charge sheet against the Chief Minister the BJP leader said the party had no right to release such a document since it had corrupt elements in it. In this regard he quoted Congress MP Bhupinder Singh Hooda as saying no corrupt Congress leader would become a chief minister ever and added that such elements must be weeded out first. Mr Yadav accused the Chief Minister of trying to exploit the legacy of the late Sir Chhotu Ram for electoral gains. Asked if the BJP would go to the polls by projecting one leader as its chief ministerial candidate or under collective leadership, he said, the decision had been left to the party high command to decide. |
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Chautala hijacking Sir Chhotu Ram’s legacy, Chandigarh, November 18 Addressing a press conference here, Mr Pratap Singh said the Haryana CM was now trying to project himself as the torchbearer of the ideas of Sir Chhotu Ram, a respected leader of the peasantry who was also Revenue Minister of Punjab in the pre-Partition days. Mr Pratap Singh said Mr Chautala’s attempt would not bear any fruit because people of Haryana had already accepted former Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Birender Singh, who is also Chhotu Ram’s only grandson, as his political successor. The former Haryana MLA said similarly Chautala had made attempts to hijack former Prime Minister late Charan Singh’s legacy also during the last Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. There too he was unsuccessful as all the candidates put up by Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal
(INLD) in UP lost their security deposits. Mr Pratap Singh said instead of trying to exploit the popular sentiment for late Chhotu Ram for political gains, Mr Chautala should implement the Gurnam Singh committee report and declare the Jats of Haryana as
OBCs. “My father Devi Lal wanted to include the Jats in the list of
OBCs. If Mr Chautala does it, it will be appreciated and the decision can fetch him votes as well”, he said. Mr Pratap Singh, however, added that people of Haryana would soon discard Mr Chautala as Mr Devi Lal’s political successor. “People are going to accept me as the carrier of Mr Devi Lal’s political legacy”, he asserted. He said the results of the coming assembly elections in Haryana would demonstrate the hollowness of Mr Chautala’s claim. Pratap said that though he himself would not contest in the elections. His son Ravi Chautala would try to contest on a Congress ticket. Mr Pratap Singh also talked about of tacit understanding allegedly existing between Om Prakash Chautala, Bhajan Lal and Bansi Lal (“three Lals”). None of the three Lals had ever tried to haul up the other two for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income, he alleged. He added that even the ‘charge-sheet’ recently submitted by the Congress to the Governor to underscore corruption by the Haryana Chief Minister did not have Bhajan Lal’s signature in it. “Interestingly Chautala has said he will sue the signatories for defamation. It follows that he is not going sue Bhajan Lal”, Mr Pratap Singh said. |
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Anuradha
Gupta shifted within fortnight of earlier posting Chandigarh, November 18 Official sources said last evening the order was issued by the state government making available Ms Gupta’s services for the central government. Ms Gupta was posted in the IT Department on November 4 by relieving Mr Harbakhsh Singh of the charge of Commissioner, IT. Even when she was posted in the IT department, the proposal regarding Ms Gupta’s going for central deputation was in a fairly advanced stage. Despite this her posting in the IT department and the inevitable exit has raised doubts about the state government’s seriousness vis-a-vis the IT sector. Significantly, the department has been functioning without a director or joint secretary for close to two months now. Mr Ashok Khemka, the maverick IAS officer, was the last Director, IT, who was later designated as Joint Secretary, IT. Mr Khemka was transferred out from the posts of JSIT as well as the Director, Secondary Education, when he rubbed the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, on the wrong side by opposing mid-session transfer of teachers. The transfer order was issued on September 26 and ever since the post had been lying vacant. There was reportedly a move to post Ms Shashi Gulati as the Director, IT, but it did not materialise. The state government, it may be mentioned, has boasted about its “achievements” in the IT sector in the ongoing India International Trade Fair in Delhi. However, in reality, the scenario in the IT sector is a classic case of sweet dreams gone sour. Inspired by Mr Chandrababu Naidu, the IT savvy former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Chautala had in the begining of his stint drew up an ambitious IT plan. The IT policy of the government announced in 2000 had promised generation of five lakh jobs in the IT sector during five years. Nothing of this sort has taken place. The CM is so much disinterested in IT that Rs 6 crore, which was supposed to be spent for wide area networking for connecting the districts to each other and to the seat of the government at Chandigarh and for setting up IT-based facilities in district headquarters for providing various services (issuing driving license, ration card, etc), was returned to the treasury earlier this month for spending elsewhere.
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Work in 2,400 state mini-banks paralysed
Chandigarh, November 18 The march was later converted into a rally outside the office of the Haryana Registrar, Cooperative Societies, in 30-Bays building in Sector 17. The agitators were demanding regular pay scales for employees of the mini banks. Addressing the rally the president of the Haryana Mini Bank Karamchari Mahasangh, said the agitation had been forced upon the employees by the stubbornness of the government and negative attitude of the bureaucracy. The staff of the mini banks constituted the backbone of the cooperative sector. He said the Registrar had already ordered the grant of regular pay scales to the employees of one mini bank in pursuant to High Court orders. The grant of pay scales would not put any additional burden on the exchequer. The organising secretary of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Mr Om Prakash Agghi, said under Article 14 of the Constitution, it was the fundamental right of the workers to get equal pay for equal work. The general secretary of the Haryana unit of the BMS, Mr Jang Bahadur, alleged that there was an unholy nexus between the government and the capitalists of the country and multinational companies. Mr Hawa Singh Mehla, organising secretary of the Mahasangh; Mr Subhash Chand, general secretary of the Chandigarh unit of the BMS; Mr Pawan Kumar, secretary of the Haryana BMS; Mr Kartar Singh, general secretary of the Punjab BMS; and Mr Karamvir Sandhu, working president of the Mahasangh also addressed. |
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Trust to tackle stray cattle menace
Hisar, November 18 With a view to putting an end to such problems, the Vaishnav Agarsain Gaushala Trust (Agroha), Hisar, has offered to tackle the problem. The trust is already running a gaushala (cowshed) near Agroha township. The gaushala, spread over 62 acres, has more than 2,000 heads of cattle. Talking to The Tribune here today, Mr Bajrang Jindal, president of the trust, said they could settle the issue once and for all, provided the government allowed them to manage the “Gau-sadan” located on the outskirts of the city. “No stray cow would be seen on the town roads if the trust is authorised to run the sadan,” he said. At present, the “Gau-sadan,” spread over an area of around 300 acres, is being managed by the government. Mr Jindal urged the district administration to hand over sadan’s management to them and see the difference. Mr Krishan Kumar Gorakhpuria, senior vice-president of the trust, claimed if the authorities agreed to their proposal, they would rid the town of the menace. He said the trust had launched an ambulance service for the diseased and injured cattle. Five helpline telephone numbers (232169, 228369, 241005, 9896390032 and 9896390061) have been provided in this regard. |
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Bodies of woman, daughter found in dry pond Ambala, November 18 According to information, Usha Rani (45) and her daughter Aarti, residents of the Heeranagar area, had gone to market on Wednesday at noon to do shopping for the marriage of one of their relatives. When they did not return by evening, Vijay Kumar, husband of Usha, who is a property dealer, started searching for them. When he could not get any clue about their whereabouts, he reported the matter to the police late in the night. Today morning, a labourer, who was filling part of a pond in the temple campus, noticed the bodies. He
immediately informed the matter to the manager of the temple, who informed the police. The police called for a dog squad but no clue was found. Aarti was a student of the local ITI, while Usha was a housewife. A large number of persons reached the site as soon as the news spread in the city. According to the police, Aarti was found in in semi-naked position in the bag. The police suspected that the woman and her daughter were murdered and their bodies were dumped in the pond. The killers selected that portion of the pond which was covered with wild growth so that the bodies could remain unnoticed for days. The gold ornaments on the bodies of Usha and Aarti were found intact, showing that the purpose of the killing was not to rob them. Meanwhile, Mr Vijay Kumar said that he did not have any rivalry with anyone in the city. The police said that some drops of blood were found on the road leading to the temple main gate, which indicated that the bodies were carried to the pond site either on a rickshaw or a two-wheeler. A case was registered in this regard under Sections 302 and 201 against unidentified persons in the Ambala City police station today evening. The bodies were sent to the local Civil Hospital for post-mortem examination. Superintendent
of Police, Desh Raj Singh was not available for comment, as he was busy in the Chief Minister’s visit in Ambala. Last month too, the bodies of a student of DAV Public School and a resident of the Prem Nagar area were found from the pond of the municipal park but no clue has been found. The murder case of a driver and a cleaner of the Naraingarh area also remains unsolved. |
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Roadways honours 80 drivers, 20 mechanics
Kurukshetra, November 18 While the Rohtak depot showed the best fuel efficiency as regards Leyland-made vehicles, the Delhi depot did so with Tata vehicles in the state. The awards have been instituted by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to encourage fuel efficiency in the roadways. Four drivers and one mechanic have been chosen in each depot for the award. While giving away the awards here today, the Transport Minister, Mr Ashok Kumar Arora, said the Haryana Roadways had shown excellent improvement in all fields, including fuel efficiency, operational efficiency, passenger comfort and safety as well as financial performance, particularly in the past few years. The average fuel efficiency, which was about 4.44 km per litre (KMPL) during 1999-2000, increased to 4.85 KMPL during April-October, 2004, during October, 2004, it was 4.89 km per litre. It was expected that the fuel efficiency would go up to 5 KMPL by the end of this year, claimed the minister. It may be mentioned that an improvement in fuel efficiency by 0.1 KMPL meant an annual saving of about Rs. 4.5 crore for the Haryana Roadways. Therefore, the Haryana Roadways had been able to affect an annual saving of about Rs 20 crore by improvement in fuel efficiency by KMPL 0.45 through maintenance and internal efficiency. However, the annual expenditure on diesel, which was about Rs 109 crore in 1999-2000, was likely to increase to Rs 210 crore during the current financial year on account of sharp increase in the prices of diesel, representing an increase of Rs 101 crore. Mr Arora said the total expenditure of the Haryana Roadways, which was Rs 431.14 crore during the year 1999-2000, was likely to increase to about Rs 610 crore during the current financial year. |
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Plea against MC meeting dismissed
Hisar, November 18 Mr Ajay Tewatia, Civil Judge (Senior Division), ruled that the votes cast at the council meeting would be counted at the court tomorrow. The fate of Mr Goel as council president now depends on the outcome of the counting. The Judge maintained that the Congress MP from Hisar, Mr Jai Prakash, could also cast his vote at the court between 3 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. tomorrow. The MP had alleged that he was not allowed to cast his vote at the council meeting. Meanwhile, Mr Goel has submitted a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, stating that as per Section 72 A of the Municipal Act there should be a gap of at least six months between two meetings called on no-trust motion issue against the president. |
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Dancing should be a subject,
says Koser Ambala, November 18 Talking to mediapersons here today, Ms Koser said that while dance had been introduced as a subject in few select schools, there was a need to encourage school students to take up dancing as a subject. Ms Shobha Koser, who will perform at Planetaurium in Ambala Cantonment on November 20, said that she had come to Ambala on the invitation extended by her former students Shabnam Nath and Madhu. She will also be educating the gathering about the finer points of dancing. Ms Koser pointed out that Jaipur gharana as well as Lucknow gharana were doing equally well. “Some elements of both gharanas have been exchanged,” she observed. She opined that artistes find it difficult to make a living out of dance. “However, many of my students take up lecturership and they pursue dance simultaneously. Incidentally, the expenditure on dance is more than the income,” she said. Ms Koser said that Doordarshan should show classical dance performances at a time when most people are watching television. “Normally, our dance performances are aired after 11 pm when most people are asleep,” she rued. |
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Briton
on way to China on horseback Ambala, November 18 But, Stephen Mccutcheon is not on a pleasure trip to see the countryside. He is undertaking a long journey on horseback from India to China through Pakistan to raise money for education of girls and the less privileged. Chandigarh Tribune caught up with him at Ambala this morning. “I am undertaking this journey to raise money so that education infrastructure, especially in the rural areas in India, can be improved,” he said. “This effort is being made with the support of Action Aid organisation,” he added. Stephen said he began his journey on horse on November 5 from Lahore Gate, Red Fort, New Delhi. “I will pass through the Wagah border and head towards the old Karakoram route. Thereafter, I will stop at Gilgit for five months as the passage is difficult for a certain period of time,” he said. He said from
Gilgit, he will head for Beijing in China. “I am hopeful of raising about Rs 1 crore through my endeavour. I am raising awareness about education through my effort,” he said. “People want to interact with me out of
curiosity since they have not seen a foreigner riding a horse. I take the opportunity to explain my mission and hand over leaflets requesting them to make donations so that we can make a difference,” he said.
Twentyfive-year old Stephen had earlier worked as a teacher in a school in Nepal. “It was then that I thought that I must do something in the education sector,” he added. Incidentally, Stephen learnt horse riding barely three months ago. “I decided to ride on a horse since horses and people have an age-old relationship. Soon, a time will come when there will be even fewer horses. I wanted to experience this,” he said. He is riding a Kathiawari horse called ‘Rosy’. The horse was arranged by Dr Arun Kumar Sharma of Hisar. In Ambala, Dr Neeraj Parashar and Dr Prem Singh helped Stephen in giving medication to the horse. Stephen will be changing the horse after entering Pakistan. “I am getting assistance from veterinarians along the way,” he said. Stephen said after completing the journey, he would like to introspect about his effort. “I am experiencing new things along the way and I am maintaining a diary,” he said. |
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Tax workshop organised Ambala, November 18 Mr P.K. Sirohi, Commissioner, exhorted service providers to avail the benefit of the special registration scheme which will continue till November 30. He said no penalty would be imposed on service providers who pay their tax dues with interest before November 30. He said more than 500 new service tax assesses had been registered till October this year. He added that the assessees could also avail the benefit of special adjudication camps in November. Mr Sirohi said street-to-street survey had been launched to identify service providers in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Yamuna Nagar and Panchkula which fall under the jurisdiction of Panchkula Commissionerate. Mr Virender Choudhary, Additional Commissioner, and Mr B. Timothy, Assistant Commissioner, explained the legal procedures in simple terms for the benefit of service providers. |
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Foundation stone of health centre laid Ambala, November 18 Mr Chautala laid the foundation stone of a primary health centre at Noorpur village. Mr Chautala also heard the grievances of the people. Representatives of about 120 villages from Naggal constituency aired their problems. Mr Chautala sanctioned development projects including Anganwadi centres, mahila shauchalyas, Harijan chaupals, school rooms, retaining walls and repair of roads. Mr Chautala also inaugurated a bridge over Tangri river in Niharsi village. The bridge has been built at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore through Kar seva volunteers of Baba Amrik Singh Dera, Patiala. With
thisbridge, villagers of Niharsi, Udaipur, Rasulpur, Nakatpur, Bahpur,
Panjola, Nanyola, Khanna Majra, Baknaur, Khaira, Nadiyali and Materishekhan
will benefit.
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Four units of Bhur Kalana hydroelectric project shut
Yamunanagar, November 18 According to sources in the Hydel Department, one unit each of the four power houses had been shut. Each power house (with two generating units) produces eight-mega watt of power. It is learnt that repair of one of the unit has been started, which is likely to be completed in a week’s time. The flow of water in the hydel link has been reduced to 2,000 cusecs as against the normal 5,400 cusecs. |
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6 booked in dowry case
Bhiwani, November 18 According to the complainant Saroj Rani, daughter of Hoshiar of Charkhi Dadri, her in-law were harassing her for more dowry and had beaten her up several times. When she pleaded that her father was not in position to give more dowry, she was beaten up and pushed out of the house. The case has been registered against husband Jai Bhagwan, brother-in-law Ram Chander, Sri Bhagwan, Babloo son of Munshi Ram, mother-in-law Bhateri, Doli and Munshi Ram under relevant sections of the IPC. |
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3 youths die in accident Ambala, November 18 The accident took place when three youths were returning from after attending a marriage. A school mini bus collided with the motorcycle near Rampur village leading to the deaths of the youths. The bus driver escaped after the incident. The deceased have been identified as
Tarunesh, Devraj and Sandeep. The bodies were sent to the Civil Hospital for a postmortem examination. |
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Engine derails
Bhiwani, November 18 According to report, the engine of passenger train RKB was returning after leaving the train at the washing line station when it derailed. The cause of derailment has been stated to be the removal of spicule near the crossing. |
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