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Erratic Power Supply
Ghaggar Mishap
Tribune Special
Long wait for relief for rain-hit farmers
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Flood-control rooms set up
Millers up in arms against dept
State to host Speakers’ conference
Action ordered against Sonepat jail officials
Move to hand over HUDA sectors to MC opposed
Lok Sabha Nominees
BJP plan to woo SC voters
Threat e-mail to dera head
Mystery shrouds girl’s death
DC focuses on public grievances
State to tap solar energy
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Erratic Power Supply
Jind, June 29 The protesters told the officials concerned that there was no supply of electricity in the village for past several days as the transformer had got burnt down. They said the supply lines had also been lying broken and no employee from the department had come to repair these. It is, however, reported that the relations got strained between the villagers and the department when some youths of the village had allegedly assaulted and beaten up three employees of the department, a couple of days ago. The police on other hand had conducted a raid and arrested five youths, who had been named as accused in the incident. “With no option left the villagers came on the road to highlight their grievance and to pressurise the authorities to release the arrested persons,” said a villager. SONEPAT: Hundreds of residents, including women, of Harsana and Malcha villages today blocked the Rohtak-Kharkhoda-Sonepat National Highway for more than six hours in protest against the erratic power supply in the villages. They have demanded round the clock power supply. The Bijli Nigam Authorities had promised to provide uninterrupted power supply to the villages as the villagers had donated 8-acre of land for setting up a 132 kv sub-station a few years back. SDM Amarjeet Singh maan, executive engineer M.S.Maan, along with the police and other officials, reached on the spot and assured the villagers that the power supply would be given as per the schedule. The blocked was lifted around 5 pm. |
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Ghaggar Mishap
Fatehabad, June 29 Sonu Garg and his four-year-old son Jatin Garg had died when the motorcycle they were riding on was swallowed by the road near the bridge that caved in due to erosion of earth by pressure of the river waters on June 16. The incident evoked angry protests from local residents on the day of the accident as well as the next day. The police has booked several persons for causing damage to government property and assaulting public servants. Though additional deputy commissioner, C.G. Rajnikanthan, who is probing the case, is still to submit his report, the government has already initiated action against some officers of the PWD (B&R) in this connection. The government had suspended junior engineer R.K. Mehta and transferred executive engineer Chander Mohan immediately after the accident. The government has now chargesheeted R.K. Guliya, SDO of the department, in this connection. Interestingly, engineer-in-chief of the department Mahesh Kumar had described the incident as a “natural disaster that occurred due to mice”. As it has come out during the course of the inquiry, the PWD (B&R) authorities are allegedly guilty of negligence on many counts in this case. The authorities were unable to start repair work on the bridge for two long years. Though the process of repairs had begun in 2006, the actual work could begin in April 2008 only. There are conflicting claims of various persons involved with the repairs of the bridge about their role on the day of the mishap. The contractor, who is being blamed by the public for the disaster, has told the inquiry officer that he called on the mobile of JE R.K. Mehta and told him that the condition of the bridge was alarming and the department must do something to stop traffic over it. The contractor has also revealed that he himself stopped all vehicular traffic at 9 am but he was slapped by someone from the waiting vehicles and the traffic on the bridge was again forcibly resumed at 9.25 am. The accident occurred at 9.45 am. The junior engineer says he left for Ratia immediately after receiving the call but the accident had occurred minutes before he reached there. Mehta’s claim, however, has been refuted by Guliya, who has said that Mehta was sitting with him in the office when the information about the bridge collapse was received in Fatehabad. Rajnikanthan, who is probing the matter, has asked the police to verify the call details of all of them to find out the truth. |
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Tribune Special Ground for suspension
also questionable Instead of suspending the said official on the basis of the vigilance FIR lodged against him, he was charged merely with wilful absence from duty. The deputy registrar conveniently refuted the charge and got reinstated by furnishing a copy of the leave application containing the relevant diary number and the receiving official’s signatures. The MDU authorities were put in an embarrassing situation because of the suspension episode. According to sources, this may not merely be a matter of irresponsible action on the part of the MDU authorities. Here, the possibility of a double cross by some university official can also not be ruled out.
Rohtak, June 29 Though the MDU authorities have been compelled to revoke the suspension orders, the manner and timing of suspension have raised several questions over the real motive behind the move. According to information gathered by The Tribune, some family member(s) and close associate(s) of a top state functionary are said to be involved in the paper-leak case. The matter is being investigated by the Haryana Vigilance Bureau, which has not shown any significant results so far. However, when the former CoE approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court with a plea for a CBI inquiry into the case, the persons involved perceived it as a potential threat. In that event, there was every possibility of the said official turning an approver and disclosing the names of the “influential” persons involved in the racket. It was in this context that the powers that be reportedly came into play and the MDU administration put the said official under suspension. Strangely enough, the official, who was not touched when the Vigilance Bureau registered an FIR against him in the paper-leak case (nor when his house was raided and he was at large), was suspended on an unfounded charge after he moved the court for a CBI probe. |
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Long wait for relief for rain-hit farmers
Fatehabad, June 29 The district authorities maintain that they have sent a recommendation for the grant of relief to these farmers, but while farmers of other districts of Haryana and those from other villages of Fatehabad have received their relief amount more than a year ago, farmers of Gorakhpur, Nagla, Choharpur, Hinjrawan Khurd and Khasa Pathana villages in this district have been still waiting for the relief. Krishan Swaroop Gorakhpuria, state general secretary of the All-India Kisan Sabha, the organisation that has been taking up the matter with the authorities, said the relief for damage to wheat crop on 3,506 kanals and 19 marlas in Gorakhpur village amounting to Rs 21.91 lakh had still not been paid by the state government. Similarly, an amount of Rs 2.10 lakh of the farmers of Nagla village, Rs 1.44 lakh of farmers of Choharpur, Rs 2.05 lakh of farmers of Hinjrawan Khurd and Rs 2.11 lakh of the farmers from Khasa Pathana was yet to be paid by the government. Gorakhpuria alleged that a delay in conducting the survey and some wrong entries by lower-rung revenue officials had led to confusion among the higher authorities. He said the revenue officials mentioned both rain and waterlogging as causes for the damage to crops, while the real cause of the damage was heavy rain and waterlogging was a result of the rain. While the government provides relief for damage caused due to rain, there was no such provision for damage caused due to waterlogging. He said though the government had sought several clarifications in this regard still there was no response. Deputy commissioner O.P. Sheoran said the district authorities had already recommended the grant of relief to these farmers and the response from the government was awaited. He said the delay in the survey was caused due to waterlogging of the fields in these villages as it was not possible to asses the exact loss due to this. |
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Flood-control rooms set up
Yamunanagar, June 29 The district administration has claimed that the construction of several studs (bundh) on rivers and rivulets passing through the district will be completed by June 30. The administration is spending Rs 1.44 crore on the construction of the studs. Nitin Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner, said all precautionary measures to deal with any flood-like situation were in place. Control rooms had also been set up in the tehshil office of Chhachhrouli and the office of the water services division, Jagadhri. Yadav said all flood-control rooms would become operational from July 1. He said teams had been constituted to keep a watch on the level of water in rivers and rivulets. He said a state-level flood-control room had been established at the new civil secretariat, Haryana, Sector 17, Chandigarh, with telephone number 0172-2714002. The naib tehsildar, Radaur, will be the officer in charge of the flood-control room established in the BDPO, Radaur (01732-237899), the naib tehsildar, Sadhaura, will be the officer in chage of the flood-control room (01735-271165). The other control room numbers are: Bilaspur (01735-273137) and Chhachhrauli (01735-277339). Information regarding floods can also be given on 01732-237800. |
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Millers up in arms against dept
Chandigarh, June 29 Normally, the trading community is averse to making complaints against officers because it generally believes in the policy of “co-existence.” It is only when the community is driven to the wall that it complains as a class. The Pipli-Mathana Rice Millers and Dealers Association of Kurukshetra district has complained to the deputy commissioner against the local food and supplies department, alleging widespread corruption. DC Pankaj Aggarwal has asked SDM Ashok Bansal to look into the complaint. According to sources, the SDM has sought the comments of district food and supplies controller (DFSC) K.K. Bishnoi on the complaint. The complaint has assumed importance because the paddy season is approaching. The complaint alleges that Rs 1,100 per consignment (270 quintals) of levy rice is charged before the department allows a miller to deliver the rice to the FCI. Without the department’s permission (known as contract number in trade parlance), the FCI does not accept levy rice from the millers. Since huge money, mainly borrowed from banks, is involved, the millers have no choice but to shell out the bribe. Ever since the concept of custom milling (under which a miller mills paddy purchased by a government agency) has come to Haryana, the food and supplies department has got additional power to blackmail the millers. If a miller refuses to pay the bribe, he is told to first deliver the custom milled rice (CMR) to the FCI before he will be allowed to deliver the levy rice. Understanding the difficulty of the millers, chief secretary Dharam Vir introduced the ratio system when he was the principal secretary of the food and supplies department. Under this system, the millers are required to deliver the CMR and levy rice to the FCI in a particular ratio so that the government rice is secured and the millers also do not face any financial crunch. The system does not envisage any discretionary power to the DFSCs. The millers, however, allege that the DFSCs do not follow the ratio laid down by the head office for their own vested interests. The complaint says Rs 10,000 is charged from every miller before paddy is given to him for custom milling. The millers have to also pay Rs 400 for every CMR consignment to the department. In addition, 1 per cent of the bill amount is charged from the millers before milling charges are paid to them for the CMR. While the above rates, the millers say, by and large prevail in the entire state, in Kurukshetra, they allege, the department has invented new methods to harass the millers. For instance, the millers say, the department in Kurukshetra issued a list of those millers who had purportedly not delivered levy rice to the FCI in the last paddy season and directed the corporation not to accept rice from these millers. These instructions created a financial crisis for the millers because at that time the rice season was at its peak. The complaint claims that almost all millers listed by the department had already delivered the levy rice to the FCI. The association alleges that when those millers “reached a settlement” with the department, the latter issued letters that their names had been included in the list of defaulters “by mistake”. The association alleges that this year also the department has issued notices to certain millers accusing them of defaulting in the delivery of levy rice. These millers claim that no levy is due towards them. |
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State to host Speakers’ conference
Chandigarh, June 29 An annual affair since 1921, the conference is being held in Haryana on “popular demand” after Haryana Speaker Raghuvir Singh Kadian was approached by a number of participants at previous conferences to host the same. As many as 400 delegates, including Speakers of state assemblies from all over the country, secretaries of legislative bodies and chairpersons of legislative councils will attend the meeting which will address itself to parliamentary practices and procedures. The annual conference, besides being a “means of spreading the democratic spirit in the country”, will deliberate on the correctional steps in view of the lowering debate standards in Houses. The prevalent trend of holding short assembly sessions, which costs the state exchequer dearly and ends up only as a perfunctory obligation, is a hot topic for debate. Such sessions are held only as a formality to fulfil the constitutional requirement of holding a session within six months of the previous one. Veteran leaders berating each other in a no-holds-barred fashion and brushing of vital issues concerning the public under the carpet has become a norm in need of redressal and a solution which could emerge from this conference. Sources said a budget of Rs 1 crore had been allocated for the conference, which was in addition to nearly Rs 40 lakh which would be given by the Lok Sabha. The conference would be chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and attended by a number of other dignitaries. Preparations for the event are already under way with organising the stay of the participants being of utmost priority. The meeting will begin with the conference of secretaries on September 19 followed by that of the Speakers and chairpersons on September 20 and 21. The fourth day will see a symposium on any current topic in which the Haryana MPs and MLAs will be invited to participate and make their point. The conference will end with a tour for the participants. Sources in the Vidhan Sabha said Haryana had agreed to host the conference after Kadian was repeatedly coaxed by fellow Speakers to “take it to Haryana, known for making rapid strides in development”. |
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Action ordered against Sonepat jail officials
Karnal, June 29 Sleuths of the prisons department had raided the jail premises on December 28 last year and found several irregularities in its functioning. Officials had been allegedly taking more than five prisoners out of the jail on a routine basis. As per rules, only five prisoners can be taken out on any given day for work and that too with the permission of the state prisons headquarters. The prisons department had asked the state to take strict disciplinary action against Mandiwal and Khatak, but official confirmation in this regard was received only earlier this week, said sources. An FIR was registered against four officials, including the jail superintendent, deputy superintendent, sub-assistant superintendent and the head warder on December 29. All officials except Mandiwal were arrested and later suspended. Sonepat police even failed to ascertain Mandiwal’s whereabouts. Sources alleged that the former jailor had the 'blessings' of a strong lobby of three elected representatives of Congress party and one top IPS officer and thus no action was taken against him. Even while Mandiwal was on the run, the state government transferred him as the chief probationary officer at head office of the prisons department at Panchkula. But sources said that he remained absent from his duty from December 29 last year till March 3 this year. Officials confirmed that no leave was sanctioned to him. |
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Move to hand over HUDA sectors to MC opposed
Sonepat, June 29 The associations maintained that the HUDA authorities had so far not provided every facility in these sectors and it was not appropriate to hand over these sectors to the council. Sushil Chand Jain, president of Sector 14 RWA, informed that the court had granted stay over the transfer and the next date of hearing in the case is July 17. “Any attempt to give possession of the sectors to the council by July 1 will be a violation of the orders and contempt of court,” he said. He added that the matter was also being discussed with HUDA authorities. Jain said in a high-level meeting held at Chandigarh on June 11, in which Sonepat MLA and parliamentary secretary Anil Thakkar and chairman of Sonepat municipal council Ashok Chhabra also participated, it was decided to hand over these two sectors to the council by July 1. This move has also been criticized by HUDA employees and their union has threatened to oppose it. |
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Lok Sabha Nominees
Ballabgarh, June 29 Manchanda, who addressed a public meeting here, said the process of short-listing the possible nominees is on and the list would soon be sent to the party leadership for consideration. Earlier, Manchanda was accorded a welcome by the district president of the party Gopal Sharma and other workers. However, other senior leaders of the party remained absent. Manchanda ruled out the possibility of the BJP entering into an electoral alliance with any other political party in the state. “The BJP is strong enough to go all alone in the state and does not need any alliance. Alliances in the past have not worked out too well,” he said. On the occasion, a local leader Tej Prakash Bhardwaj announced that he would be joining the BJP fold. Referring to the Congress government in Haryana, he said it had failed on all fronts, especially law and order. He said the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had virtually lost the faith of the masses. He attributed the rising inflation in the country to the faulty policies of the UPA government. |
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BJP plan to woo SC voters
Rewari, June 29 The committee, which met under the chairmanship of its state president Krishan Bedi, chalked out a programme to woo SC voters, whose number in Haryana is now over 19 per cent, to ensure the victory of BJP candidates in all 10 parliamentary constituencies in the state, including the two reserved seats of Ambala and Sirsa, in the coming Lok Sabha elections. The two-day meeting was inaugurated by Kailash Meghwal, MP from Sri Ganganagar (Rajasthan) and national vice-president of the SC Morcha, who said that in view of the Congress and the Left Front almost reaching a breaking point on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the fall of the UPA government seemed imminent and the Lok Sabha elections could take place anytime in the coming few months. Among others, the meeting was also addressed today by Om Prakash Dhankar, national vice-president of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha, and former union minister Hukam Dev Narayan
Yadav. |
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Threat e-mail to dera head
Sirsa, June 29 Owner of the cafe Subhash Bajaj and his nephew Rakesh
Bajaj were questioned in this regard. According to police sources, the shop located at Janta Bhawan road was used for sending the mail on June 24 at around 8:45 p.m. They e-mail was sent from the address Khalsa1@gmail.com and was created on the same day at 2:54 p.m. Meanwhile, the police confiscated the register containing details of customers visiting the shop. On the basis of entries, six persons were questioned. The team, comprising an ASI and some technicians, was also trying to identify the computer from where the mail was sent from among the 15 computers in the cafe. |
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Mystery shrouds girl’s death
Fatehabad, June 29 The girl, Hina, who lived in the Ambedkar Colony of the town, went missing from her house on June 16. Hailing from Jalandhar, Hina had come to see her maternal aunt at Ratia and had gone to purchase sugar from the market on June 16, but did not return. The police had registered a case of kidnapping on a complaint of Hina’s aunt Geeta Devi. Hina’s decaying body was recovered from a vacant plot in the Daisy Colony on June 23 and a board of doctors performed a post-mortem on the body. The post-mortem report has suggested that the girl died of asphyxia. It appears that someone killed her by strangling her. “The family had first expressed suspicion on two youths, who, according to them, enticed away the girl on a motorcycle. However, now they are convinced that that the youths have no role in her death,” said Saurabh Singh, SP, Fatehabad. To a question, Singh said the post-mortem report had not indicated rape. He said the police was investigating various angles, including that of animosity. |
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DC focuses on public grievances
Sonepat, June 29 He said the officers have also been asked to complete the ongoing development works on time and maintain quality standards. The competent officers have been given the duties to monitor the quality and progress of such works, he added. Joshi informed that the administration has taken some initiatives for beautification and cleanliness of Sonepat, Gohana, Gannaur and Kharkhoda towns. These include renovation of all the crossings in these towns and development of around 100 parks in different areas. |
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State to tap solar energy
Chandigarh, June 29 An official spokesman said here today that the state and Central governments would equally share the cost of the scheme. The Centre had already released over Rs 24.33 lakh as its share. He said 15 solar power plants of 1 kW each in 13 subdivisions of Sirsa and two subdivisions of Faridabad would be set up at a cost of about Rs 52.50 lakh. By using one such power plant, two T-5 retrofit tubelights of 28 Watt each, 10 CFLS of 20 Watt each and six ceiling fans of 50 Watt each could be run in each subdivision office for four days. The department had also prepared an innovative scheme to run computer labs with solar energy. Under the scheme, 21 SPV power plants of 2.7 kW capacity each would be installed in 21 schools of Rohtak district at a cost of Rs 168 lakh. The process of installing solar energy power plants had already begun. |
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