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Unity is the key, Alva tells party workers
Cong to set up follow-up cells
Child Development Scheme
Unite, Tikait tells farmers
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Govt employing outsiders, says Ajay Chautala
Janhit Cong protests against BPL list
Ban imposed on plastic bags
State’s Sikhs feel cheated, says Jagdish Singh
Road fatalities on rise in Gurgaon
Heavy traffic banned on Radaur road
Lawyers protest against demolition
Labour unions stage protest
SE gheraoed over power cuts
Seven give up in arson case
CS reviews development
2 die in road mishap
Woman dies during eye operation
Youth kills blue bull
Honour for forum
Wanted man held
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Unity is the key, Alva tells party workers
Chandigarh, January 8 Taking advantage of the situation, just about everybody at the general body meeting held at the Congress office stood up, pandemonium broke lose, securitymen jumped into the melee to rescue “their” VIPs, including Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, his cabinet colleagues and MPs, while Alva was left holding the mike, trying to put across the point that discipline is the key to success. This wrapped up the much-awaited first general body meeting of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), chaired by the newly appointed in charge of party affairs Margret Alva. While this was the flip side of the meeting leading to an abrupt ending that cast a shadow over the other proceedings, there was a bright side too. Showering lavish praise on the Chief Minister, Alva said Hooda’s policies needed no introduction since the party high command was well aware of the many initiatives taken by him to benefit people from all walks of life. Urging the workers to restrain from flooding her with requests for transfers, jobs and appointments, she remarked, “I don’t run the CM’s office in the AICC.” And, as a lesson to the delegates, she said, “The party needs unity. We win when we stand together and I want to mention that I have never lost an election in the state where I am in charge.” Maintaining that all differences should be sorted out by way of talks instead of going public, she said discipline must be maintained at all costs and that became a casualty in her very next utterance. The otherwise smooth meeting donned an angry mood. Alva’s statement that workers were the backbone of any party and they were being “heard” by the government was met by loud protests from the crowd and discipline was the biggest casualty. Earlier, the Chief Minister outlined the various progressive policies introduced by his government. Union minister of state Selja emphasised the point that it was the workers’ right and the government’s duty to give respect to the workers while stating that the policies should be adequately publicised. HPCC president Phool Chand Mullana also spoke at the meeting, also attended by Rao Indrajeet Singh, union minister of state for defence production. Former HPCC presidents Shamsher Singh Surjewala and Birender Singh, MPs Naveen Jindal, Dipender Hooda, Jai Prakash, besides members of the cabinet, were among those present. Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan was conspicuous by his absence. |
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Cong to set up follow-up cells
Chandigarh, January 8 This was announced by Margret Alva, AICC general secretary and Haryana in charge, after chairing the first meeting of the coordination committee of the Congress at Haryana Niwas here today. Reaffirming the party’s commitment towards the workers and the public, she said their grievances would be taken up once a week by a minister and an office-bearer of the party unit. Alva added that the Haryana’s SEZ compensation plan had been taken up as model to be replicated in other states. On the issue of showing the door to Bhajan Lal and his “followers” who had floated a party, she said the party was not in favour of expelling them since they would not lose their seat in that situation. “We have begun the proper procedure by moving a petition for disqualification of the three MLAs, including Bhajan Lal. Similarly, for MP Kuldeep Bishnoi, the central disciplinary action committee is proceeding in its own way,” she held. Alva said party units in various districts would be asked to prepare lists of workers who had proclaimed allegiance to Bishnoi and begin the process of disqualifying them. On the issue of a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, she said the state government had been asked to send in its request since it had been promised in the manifesto. |
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Child Development Scheme
Fatehabad, January 8 The department, which was recently in news for the alleged irregularities in the implementation of supplementary nutrition scheme for children, adolescent girls, lactating and pregnant mothers, has again done a major fiasco. The accounts for December 2007, which the department submitted today to the district authorities, have glaring discrepancies. The department had showed a cash balance of Rs 74.50 lakh as on November 30, 2007. The accounts showed that it spent Rs 46 lakh in December and the cash balance on December 31 with the department was Rs 16 lakh. If one goes by simple calculations, the balance should have been 28.50 lakh and not 16 lakh. In Fatehabad block of the district, where the cash balance on November 30, 2007, was Rs 30 lakh, the balance on December 31 was shown as Rs 6 lakh, while the expenditure in December was Rs 18 lakh. A sum of Rs 6 lakh is unexplained in the accounts of Fatehabad block. Similar is the case with the accounts of Bhuna, Bhattu, Ratia, Tohana and Jakhal blocks. Project officer of the ICDS Asha Setia, however, maintained that there were some mistakes in the accounts submitted by her office in October and November and her department was busy preparing the accounts afresh. An average of Rs 2 lakh per working day is being spent for the implementation of the supplementary nutrition scheme in the district. The funds for the scheme are transferred to the accounts of the PO, ICDS, on quarterly basis. The PO purchases the supplementary nutrition items through its 704 anganwadi centres working in the district. Additional deputy commissioner C.G. Rajnikanthan had made it mandatory for the PO, ICDS, to submit statement of accounts of all anganwadis while releasing a grant of Rs 1.53 crore for October to December. The PO, ICDS, in the accounts for October and November 2007, showed cash balance of Rs 74.5 lakh in the bank accounts in six different blocks of the district. The accounts further showed that a sum of Rs 78.90 lakh had been used during these two months. The balances were Rs 30 lakh in Fatehabad block, Rs 13.2 lakh in Ratia, Rs 7.7 lakh in Bhuna, Rs 7.8 lakh in Bhattu, Rs 9.8 lakh in Tohana and Rs 6 lakh in Jakhal block of the district. The expenditure of Rs 78.90 lakh for two months was sharp in contrast to Rs 50 lakh (approximately) being consumed every month earlier. The ADC had said he would hold an inquiry as to how the demand for funds nose-dived suddenly after he insisted for detailed reports. He had also warned to initiate criminal proceedings against the erring officials. |
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Unite, Tikait tells farmers
Rewari, January 8 Addressing a largely-attended farmers’ sammelan near the power substation at Bawal, 13 km from here, last evening, he told the peasantry that 34 per cent of their cultivable land had already been acquired by various state governments for setting up SEZs. He exhorted them to strengthen their unity if they wanted to save their remaining land from such acquisition. He went on to say that it was true that the peasantry was facing problems of paucity of power and water as well as non-remunerative support prices of their farm produce, but he asserted that only a compact and massive movement by them could fetch a positive response from the mandarins of the ruling party. Yudhvir Singh, coordinator of the All-India Farmers Movement, Rohtash Rathi, national convener of the BKU, district president of the BKU Ram Kishan Mahlawat and several others also spoke on the occasion. At the behest of Tikait, local activists of the BKU ended their 11-day old relay fast which was started in protest against erratic power supply in the Bawal region. Later, a memorandum in this regard was presented to the SDM, who was present at the venue of the sammelan. |
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Govt employing outsiders, says Ajay Chautala
Rohtak, January 8 “The present regime had come to power by promising that no educated youth of the state would remain jobless, but nothing concrete has been done in this regard till date,” he maintained. Addressing a convention of the party’s youth wing as the chief guest here today, the INLD leader exhorted the youth to realise their true potential and exploit it to the fullest. Youth INLD state president Surender Dahiya, district unit chief Jitender Balhara, former HPCC chairman K.C. Banger and former minister M.L. Ranga were also present. Ajay Chautala alleged that the youth of Amethi and Rae Bareli were being given government jobs in the state, adding that they had been asked to furnish local addresses to create an impression that Haryanavi youths were being employed. Asserting that the state youth were feeling cheated by the state regime, he asked the youth brigade of the party to launch a campaign to expose the misdeeds of the Congress regime in the state. |
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Janhit Cong protests against BPL list
Hisar, January 8 Passing through the town, they reached the mini-secretariat where they handed over a memorandum to district authorities, which was addressed to the Governor. The memorandum sought a judicial probe in irregularities in preparing BPL cards. Ramji Lal said the irregularities were the result of political interferences. REWARI: Activists of the Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) took out a protest rally through main markets of the town raising anti-government slogans here on Monday. Later, they held a demonstration at the district secretariat denouncing the state government for alleged large-scale bungling in BPL lists and power crisis. Former minister Rao Narbir Singh led the demonstration. They also submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner, which was addressed to the Governor of Haryana. |
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Ban imposed on plastic bags
Chandigarh, January 8 While stating this here today, a spokesman of the board said the state government had also decided to impose a complete ban on the use of plastic carry bags in the areas having special historical, religious and ecological significance and on the use of all types of plastic articles such as carry bags, irrespective of thickness and size, plates, cups, tumblers, spoons, forks and straws. These areas included municipal limits of Thanesar town and Kurukshetra town, all wildlife sanctuaries and national parks and gram panchayat, Morni. He said while convenience of using these bags was recognised, their detrimental effect on the environment and local ecology had not been properly appreciated. The examples of their detrimental effects included clogging of water and drains, interference with system of water recharge due to impermeable surface of plastic and diseases due to plastic surface providing breeding ground for pathogenic microorganism. The other detrimental effects of use of these bags were destruction of aesthetic visual values, transfer of toxicity to food stuffs when carried in coloured bags, air pollution during the process of burning and recycling of plastic, threat to health of animals who might eat the plastic along with other material and transfer of toxicity to various soil layers. |
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State’s Sikhs feel cheated, says Jagdish Singh
Sirsa, January 8 “Members of the HSGPC decided at a meeting here to meet Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda soon to remind him of the promise Congress leaders made to us. The demand of the HSGPC was in the manifesto of the Congress. Party leaders had assured us that if the Congress was voted to power, it would be in their priority list to make the HSGPC an independent body like the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee”, he added. He was talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of a dharna staged by HSGPC members along with their supporters from different parts of the state to press their demand and submit a memorandum to Atma Singh Gill,MP, here today. Giving details, the president of the HSGPC said that in the last elections, the Congress managed to get Sikh support in the state in the name of getting autonomous status for the HSGPC. “But we will make sure that nobody takes us for granted now.” “Despite our ongoing agitation, the state government has not taken any notice of the matter so far. We staged a dharna for 111 days in Kurukshetra last year. Then five Congress MPs from the state promised to take up the matter with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and meet our demand and we ended the dharna” he said. He added that that they had been staging dharnas in support of the demand all over the state. It was now the fourth in the series. Earlier they staged dharnas in Ambala, Karnal and Kurukshetra. He also crticised the SGPC and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for ignoring the demands of the Sikhs of Haryana and adopting a discriminatory attitude towards them. Benefits of the educational institutes run by the SGPC were available only to the Sikhs of Punjab. So, only an independent body to run gurdwaras in Haryana could do justice to the Sikhs of the state, he said. Among those who were here to press their demand at the dharna staged near the PWD resthouse were SGPC members Didar Singh Nalvi, Joga Singh and Baldev Singh. As Atma Singh Gill was away to Delhi to meet senior leaders of the Congress, the memorandum was given to the MP’s son, Kuldeep Singh, by the president of the HSGPC along with other members. |
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Road fatalities on rise in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, January 8 According to the data provided by the police, out of 21 districts in the state, Gurgaon leads with registration of 907 cases of injury due to accidents and 851 non-fatal accident cases. In Faridabad district, 691 injury cases were registered for accidents and 624 cases in non-fatal accidents. Data of the Gurgaon police department revealed that 1,291 accident cases were registered in 16 police stations of the city last year. As many as 462 persons lost their lives in accidents whereas 93 cases of murder were registered. The data revealed that some of the police stations even registered more than 100 accident cases. The Manesar police station registered 189 accident cases, which is highest in the district. Some of the other police stations, which registered highest number of accident cases, are Sector 10 (135 cases), Sadar Gurgaon (112 cases), Udhog Vihar (104 cases). Director general of police Ranjeev Dalal said about 600 vehicles were registered in the district every month. But most of the citizens do not follow traffic rules, which resulted in accidents. |
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Heavy traffic banned on Radaur road
Yamunanagar, January 8 The road used to be jammed throughout the year. The railway line divides Yamunangar into two parts. General public has welcomed the decision as schoolchildren and daily shoppers use the crossing. There is a flyover on National Highway 73, but people use the railway crossing as a short cut. Seven-feet high barricade will be erected on the road to prevent the entry of heavy vehicles. A senior official of the Yamunanagar Municipal Committee said if required, entry of rehris and animal driven carts too would be banned between 10 am and 5 pm. There are more than 200 shops and godowns of hardware, grocery, sugar and oil on the Radaur road. Trucks and other heavy vehicles used to unload goods on the road, thus causing jam. Loading and unloading will now take place before 10 am and after 5 pm. |
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Lawyers protest against demolition
Jhajjar, January 8 Lawyers, however, protested the move and pressured the administration to halt the demolition drive. According to information, a team led by tehsildar Purshotam Dash Sharma along with the police started razing the unauthorised chambers in the court complex. The JCB machine had demolished about four chambers when the lawyers congregated and vented their anger against the move. They called on SDM Sushil Sarwan, who accompanied the agitated lawyers to inspect the spot. The SDM, however, faced the ire of the lawyers, who misbehaved with him and dared the administration to carry on the drive. The secretary of the Bar Association said the administration started the demolition without any prior notice. Sarwan, however, defended the action stating that some new chambers were being built without taking the local administration into confidence. He said the lawyers must first pass a resolution in the Bar Association and then the administration would consider about giving sanction to the construction. Almost all chambers in the administrative complex have been built by encroaching upon the government land in an unauthorised way. But the lawyers had constructed the chambers in connivance with the local administration. However, the administration had to act when some lawyers started building chambers beyond the lawyer’s lane. |
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Labour unions stage protest
Bhiwani, January 8 Earlier, labourers assembled at Nehru Park under the leadership of CITU leader Venod Kumar and shouted slogans. Kumar said minimum wages were not being delivered in the entire state, including Bhiwani, and labour laws had also not been implemented. Passing through the main markets of the town, the labourers reached the mini-secretariat, where they submitted a memorandum. The memorandum demanded implementation of minimum wages, attendance and production cards for each worker, identity cards, 8 hours of duty instead of 12 hours, enforcement of government and weekly holidays and wages on the seventh of every month. |
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SE gheraoed over power cuts
Bhiwani, January 8 Factory owners and residents of the Haluwas Gate area went to meet the power authorities. They met the superintending engineer and expressed anguish over the power cuts. Following the “indifferent attitude” of the officer, they gheraoed the SE when he tried to go for lunch. A few of them sat in front of the official car of the officer. The protesters locked the powerhouse, which was opened following the intervention of the police. One of the protesters, Vijay Kumar, alleged that the undeclared and prolonged power cuts had forced them to close their factories. They were getting power supply only for two to three hours daily. They also raised slogans against the power authorities. When the police arrived to “rescue” the official, they threatened to block traffic at Ghantaghar Chowk on Friday if their demand for regular power supply was not met. |
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Seven give up in arson case
Faridabad, January 8 The Gujjar community in the village has raised money and compensated the families whose houses were burnt. The incident had led to tension between the two communities in the village. The seven accused surrendered in the presence of Ballabgarh SDM Harish Chand Jain. Confirming the surrender, Jain said the Gujjar community had arranged financial help for the affected families. The family whose house was gutted was given a sum of Rs 1.4 lakh while the family whose house was partially burnt got a sum of Rs 40,000. Another family whose house was damaged due to throwing of bricks was given Rs 5,000. Jain said the 11-member committees, one each from the two communities, reported to him this morning regarding the compensation and surrender by the accused. Both sides expressed satisfaction over the solution, he added. |
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CS reviews development
Rohtak, January 8 She was addressing a division-level meeting to review development activities here today. State financial commissioner and principal secretary (revenue) Dharambir, financial commissioner and principal secretary (rural development) Urvashi Gulati, Rohtak divisional commissioner J.P.Kaushik and other senior administrative functionaries of the state government were present. |
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2 die in road mishap
Bhiwani, January 8 Three motorcycles and a Tata Sumo collided in the mishap.The motorcycles were badly damaged. According to reports, one of the motorcycle riders tried to overtake the Tata Sumo going towards Hansi from Bhiwani but rammed into two other motorcycles. Motorcycle riders Jogender and Rupesh of Jatu Luhari village, who were coming from the Hansi side, sustained injuries and Sachin died on the spot. Prabhu, Manju, Rinku and Surender coming from the other side also sustained injuries while Amit died on the spot. |
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Woman dies during eye operation
Bhiwani, January 8 Relatives of the woman protested and lodged a complaint with the principal medical officer, who formed a medical team to probe the matter. According to information, Sunita of Mitathal was admitted to the hospital for a cataract operation. Her condition started deteriorating after she was administered an injection for anaesthesia. Later, she lost her breath. Doctors claimed that the patient died of a heart attack. The PMO has constituted an inquiry committee to ascertain the real cause of the death. Dr Ved, Dr Punia and Dr R.P. Sharma have been inducted in the committee. |
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Youth kills blue bull
Sirsa, January 8 The youth, Surajram, who was hired by farmers to take care of fields, shot at the bull, which was straying in the fields. The injured animal escaped from the fields. However, it died near guesthouse in Panjuana. The police arrested Surajram and handed him over to the wildlife department. |
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Honour for forum
Panipat, January 8 Pritpal Singh Pannu, president of the non-profit organisation, will be honoured on January 12 at the 30th annual National Youth Festival, Chennai. A cash reward of Rs 1 lakh and citation will be given to Pannu at the award-giving ceremony. |
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Wanted man held
Panipat, January 8 The man, a resident of Nissing, was evading arrest and subsequently declared a proclaimed offender by a local court on November 24, 2006. |
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