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Gotra row ends; expulsion of newlywed upheld
ASI’s
son shot in Ambala City
SMS to ensure woman power
Govt sops benefited farmers, women during 2006
MC keeps power(less) board waiting
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Sale of 2 brands of weedicides banned
2 killed in road accidents
Guest teachers form dist unit
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Gotra row ends; expulsion of newlywed upheld
Badhra (Bhiwani), December 25 The khap panchayat met today under the chairmanship of its former head Raghbir Singh. The panchayat after day long deliberations ruled that it would allow the boy’s parents - Hawa Singh and Giana Devi - to live in the village provided the Poonia families in the village agreed not to allow entry of the newly married couple, Ombir Singh and Saroj, into the village. The Poonia community agreed to the expulsion following which the panchayat also ended the boycott of 36 odd Poonia families of the village ordered on Saturday when the Poonias refused to give in writing that they accepted the expulsion of the couple from the village. Immediately after the reconciliation, the representatives of the Sheoran gotra and the Poonia gotra shook hands in the presence of the community elders and resolved to live in peace and harmony. The villagers also lifted the blockade at the village. The Sheorans had put up nakas around the village to ensure that the expelled couple did not enter the village. They had been allowing vehicles inside the village only after verifying that no member of the family concerned was travelling in it. Even police vehicles were searched. The administration also withdrew police pickets from the village, which had been camping there since December 10. The khap panchayat withdrew the fine of one ‘dhela’ imposed on former village sarpanch Ram Singh, who had opposed the panchayat’s diktat. The Poonias also agreed to withdraw criminal cases registered against several members of the Sheoran community in the wake of the dispute. Ombir’s mother Giana Devi, who had till yesterday been opposing the expulsion, today took an about turn and expressed her satisfaction over the settlement. Significantly, Ombir is Giana Devi’s only son. The row erupted after the marriage of Ombir Singh to Saroj on December 10. The bride hails from a family in which a close female relative belongs to Sheoran gotra. By tradition she could not have been married in a Poonia family of the village. The villagers met Hawa Singh on November 28 to urge him to cancel the marriage. However, despite agreeing to do so, Hawa Singh went ahead with the marriage. |
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ASI’s
son shot in Ambala City Ambala, December 25 Sharanjeet Singh, 23, was shot dead in Sector 9, Ambala City, at about 3.30 pm at point-blank range by some youths riding an Indica car. Sharanjeet is son of Haryana Police Assistant Sub-Inspector Santokh Singh who is at present posted at Police Lines, Ambala. Sharanjeet had received a call on his mobile phone following which he went to meet someone in Sector 9 from his residence in Sharda Nagar. He went to the spot on his motor cycle. He was shot near the residence of former Naggal MLA Jasbir Mallour. Two shots fired by the assailants hit him in stomach and chest. He was taken to the Civil Hospital, Ambala City, where doctors declared him brought dead. Sharanjeet had been busy making arrangements for his sister’s marriage for the past few days. His sister was to be married on January 16. He distributed marriage cards before he was shot dead. The police is not ruling out the possibility of personal animosity behind the murder. It has got certain clues. A police team has been despatched to Saonta village. Also, the calls received by Sharanjeet on his mobile phone are being scanned. Ambala SP Amitabh Dhillon, along with other police officials, visited the spot. Nakas have been set up in Ambala district to nab the culprits. The residents of Sector 9 demanded that the police patrolling be intensified in the area. They said the HUDA area comprising Sectors 7,8,9 and 10 were relatively peaceful, but the shooting incident had shocked them. They stated that particularly Sectors 9 and 10 were on the outskirts of Ambala City and special police patrolling was required in the area.
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SMS to ensure woman power
Chandigarh, December 25 All women and girls, who are matriculate or above in a village, will be members of the SMS. The highest educated woman will be its chairman, with the next five highest educated women forming its executive committee. The committee members will co-opt five young active members. The idea of the SMS evolved during a routine meeting between the heads of two departments concerned with the rural development and women’s welfare. The Financial Commissioner, Development Department, Mr Raj Kumar, and the Commissioner, Social Welfare, Ms Anuradha Gupta, were discussing how it could be ensured that the fruits of various schemes reached those for whom these were meant. Since most of women members of the panchayats are yet to come out of the shadow of their husbands, it was thought that the women to be involved should be outside the ambit of the panchayats. The criterion should be the educational background of the women. Ms Gupta immediately started working on it. Mr Raj Kumar promised financial help to the SMSs, to be registered as non-government organisations, from various schemes being run by his department. The SMSs will look after, among other things, whether teachers regularly come to
schools, how rural credit is disbursed, besides monitoring the progress of various projects launched in their villages. The Chief Secretary, Mr Prem Prashant, who liked the idea immensely, is believed to have asked other departments also to find out which of their schemes can be brought under the supervision of the SMSs. The Deputy Commissioner of Sonepat, Ms Neerja, has already taken up the formation of the SMSs in certain villages on a pilot basis. The UNICEF chief, during his recent visit of Haryana, was greatly impressed with the idea. The formation of the SMSs is part of the Haryana Government's campaign to decentralise power to the grassroots level. Already, the execution of projects up to Rs 3 lakh has been entrusted to the panchayats.
Earlier, these projects used to be undertaken by official agencies. |
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Govt sops benefited farmers, women during 2006
Chandigarh, December 25
The year was favourable for the agriculture sector as it witnessed many significant announcements like its decision to uphold the dignity of the farmers by not arresting them for the recovery of loans. The state announced the highest-ever price of sugarcane, raising it to Rs.138 per quintal. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda contributed his bit in persuading the Central Government to announce a hike of Rs 100 in the minimum support price of wheat. Significantly, Haryana also saw a marked decline in the area under “Saathi paddy,” which causes heavy water depletion. A special campaign was launched to educate the farmers against sowing this variety. This resulted in the reduction in area under its cultivation from 16,500 hectares during 2005-06 to only 1249 hectares at present. Also, the cultivation of kharif pulses increased from 53,000 hectares to 83,000 hectares during the same period. During the current year, the state government initiated work on two major canals to make more water available for irrigation. These included Rs 260-crore Bhakra Main Line Hansi-Butana Multi-purpose canals. This will ensure equitable distribution of canal water in the state, and Rs 267 crore being spent on the Dadupur Nalvi canal will help in recharging ground water. The power sector received a major boost. The 1000/1200 MW coal-based plant in Hisar was put on track under the state sector. An MoU was signed between the NTPC, Haryana and Delhi to set up a 1,500 MW plant in Jhajjar from which Haryana and Delhi will get 750 MW each. The work to construct the 2 x 300-MW Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant has been sped up. Keeping the interest of farm and industrial labour in mind, Haryana became the first state to implement a labour policy which prescribes a time limit for the disposal of cases under different labour enactments. Also, the year began on a promising note for the social sector; especially for the beneficiaries of widow and handicapped pension schemes as in January they got double the amount of their pension, that is Rs 600, for December 2005, as a gesture of goodwill. During the same month, the government announced the increase of the age of superannuation for its handicapped employees from 58 years to 60 years. Also, widow pension was raised to Rs 350 the same year. Having declared 2006 as the “Year of the Girl Child”, some innovative schemes were introduced and an incentive-based scheme known as “Ladli Social Security Scheme” was introduced. Under this scheme, families having only girls will get a financial assistance of Rs 300 per month from January 1, 2006, retrospectively. The government also decided to benefit widows living below the poverty line, irrespective of their caste, under the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshni Vivah Shagun Yojna. A sum of Rs 15,000 is given to families belonging to Scheduled Castes living below the poverty line for the marriage of their daughters under this scheme. Other incentives being given to women included a rebate of 2 per cent on stamp duty for the registration of property.
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MC keeps power(less) board waiting
Karnal, December 25 Electricity bills of the cash-rich MC are pending for the last one decade. The Karnal DC is repeatedly reminded of the matter during monthly meetings. The state power authority officials have shown their inability in the recovery from the public institution, but the UHBVN officials demand action against the civic body officials for not releasing money for electricity bills. UHBVN officials say the MC authorities are in the habit of not paying their electricity dues, though the MC is a cash-rich body. The MC has reportedly earned over Rs 88 lakh from just auction of hoardings. A source said the defaulting MC had not paid the bills to the power department for the last one decade. Till October, an amount to the tune of Rs 1.47 crore was pending. Officials said the matter had already been raised at the highest department levels for the recovery. Sources said during a meeting chaired by the DC, the MC president had agreed to pay Rs three lakh per month out of the arrears. Though the MC paid the said amount for four months, it later cut it to Rs 1.50 lakh and no payment was made last month. Sources said the average electricity bill of the MC came about Rs 16 lakh. |
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Sale of 2 brands of weedicides banned
Chandigarh, December 25 This was disclosed by the Director of the department, Mr R. K. Khullar, here today. Mr Khullar said during a visit by the Agriculture Minister, Mr Harmohinder Singh Chatha, to Nissing village in Karnal district yesterday, farmers of the village complained that their crops were damaged by these two brands of weedicides. A team led by the Additional Director of the Agriculture Department, Mr B. S. Duggal, today visited Nissing, Rukshana and Brass villages of Karnal district. The members of the team included a wheat weedicide expert from Ch Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar, Dr Samar Singh, and the Deputy Director of the Agriculture Department at Karnal, Dr Surender Singh. The team found 60 acres wheat field had been found affected by the spray of these weedicides. As an instant measure, all Deputy Directors had been directed to ensure that the sale of both brands of weedicides was immediately stopped throughout the state. The Agriculture Minister has appealed to the farmers to use weedicides of renowned companies with reputed brand trademarks only and also get cash memos from the sellers while purchasing weedicides. He has also appealed to the farmers to use flat-fan nozzle for spraying weedicides.
— TNS |
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2 killed in road accidents
Rewari, December 25 Surender Sharma (34), conductor of a trailer (HR-55-L-7071) and resident of Ransika village of Gurgaon district, was charred to death, while the driver, Sajjan Singh, a resident of Alwar district of Rajasthan, sustained burn injuries when their trailer got ablaze after it rammed into a stationary truck near Sohna Chowk at Dharuhera early this morning. In another accident, a city youth, Jitender Sharma, a resident of Adarsh Nagar, was crushed to death when his motor cycle was hit by a truck (HR-38-E-2150) on Circular Road, near Bawal Chowk, here last evening. Cases have been registered. |
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Guest teachers form dist unit
Ambala, December 25 |
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