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Fever: 2 months, 25 dead
One more dengue case confirmed
Separate SGPC
Custodial Death |
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Dera chief fails to appear in court
Rice millers’ strike from today
Midday meal leaves students ill
Stone of Sainik School to be laid on Aug 29
Punjab minister faces protest
Tension over loudspeakers
Man hacks brother to death
JE caught taking bribe
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Fever: 2 months, 25 dead
Mohdinpur (Karnal), August 23 The deaths in the village have been reported for the past two months. According to Bahadur Singh, sarpanch, “People have been dying soon after falling ill.” Interestingly, according to official figures, only four persons have so far died due to fever, caused by viral. However, the villagers claim that the toll is much higher and 25 persons have died. Balwinder Singh, a farmer who lost two of his brothers to the disease and in whose family nine members are battling high fever and signs of jaundice, said the panchayat had done nothing to prevent the “disaster”. He said the water they had been receiving for the past two months was yellow and unfit for drinking, which, he believed, had lead to the outbreak of the disease. He said though the sarpanch had been asked to take corrective measures, nothing had been done. Dr Sheenu, who, along with five other doctors, is on an extensive campaign to fight the disease in the village, said the sick had been complaining of high fever and in some cases signs of jaundice had also been spotted. She said more than 700 slides of blood samples had so far been made and investigations were on. Villagers allege that a sanitation drive has not been carried out here since long. Muck, sewage and heaps of garbage can be seen all over the village. Even as a drive was under way to clean the village when this reporter visited the village, yet the narrow drains could be seen filled with sewage that appeared to have been stagnant there for days together. The village pond has been overflowing for the past many days and sewage-laced water has entered many households on the other end of the village. The sarpanch disclosed that in the 916 houses in the village, there was not a single household which did not have a sick person. In some, there were even more, he said. The sick were being sent to the civil hospital at Karnal every day, he said. Meanwhile, the health department has undertaken fogging operations in the village to combat the viral infection that has been claiming lives. The district administration has deputed waterworks officials in the village to ensure safe drinking water for residents. Meanwhile, a waterworks submersible pump installed in the adjoining village of Chundipur, which supplied water to the village, has been closed for the time being. Samples of water from various locations in the village were also taken and sent for chemical examination. Doctors working in the village said the situation would soon be brought under control. |
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One more dengue case confirmed
Sonepat, August 23 “The new confirmed patient is Jagbir, who serves in the Haryana police and he has almost recovered, but his condition is being regularly monitored.” said Dr M.S. Ahlawat, civil surgeon, Sonepat. He said a door-to-door survey of houses in villages as well as urban areas by teams of the health department with the help of schoolchildren had helped spot around 3,000 places where dengue larvae were found in accumulated water and destroyed. “As a result of the survey, cases of suspected dengue have come down to only five this year compared to 66 during the corresponding period last year,” he claimed. Similarly, only 474 cases of malaria had been detected after testing more than 5,000 blood samples of fever patients, he said, adding that the figure was 2,049 during the corresponding period last year. |
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Separate SGPC
Chandigarh, August 23 However, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (ad hoc), headed by Jagdish Singh Jhinda, at a meeting this evening, stood by its decision to hold a rally in Karnal on the same day. Speaking to The Tribune, he said members of the Haryana committee were of the opinion that the rally be held as per the schedule. “We had decided to hold our rally and invite all members of the SGPC for an open debate on why a separate body of Haryana Sikhs should not be formed. However, the SAD got jittery and pre-empted us by announcing their rally at the same venue to counter ours,” Jhinda said. Maintaining that the SAD had “run away” by calling of its rally, he added that they would consider calling off the rally only if Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda urged them to do so. “We have faith in the Chief Minister and know he will fulfil his election promise. In fact, our members, who were on fast in Ambala, were assured that all hurdles to the creation of a separate Sikh body had been cleared and we will have our own SGPC shortly,” he asserted. General secretary of the ad hoc committee Didar Singh Nalvi said their rally and protest would continue till they got some positive assurance. “We have decided to meet the Chief Minister and the UPA chairperson to ask them to hasten the process of passing a Bill for a separate SGPC,” he said. Meanwhile, in a statement issued here today, the Haryana Chief Minister asked the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (ad hoc) and the SGPC to exercise restraint and not to hold their proposed rallies on August 30. He urged both factions not to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the state, adding that the government was yet to receive the report of Haryana Agriculture Minister H.S. Chatha on the issue of a separate SGPC. Meanwhile, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said here today that in view of assurances by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to settle the matter amicably, the party high command had decided to postpone the proposed rally at Karnal. Sources said while pressures and counter-pressures were working, the committee constituted by the Haryana government under Chatha to know if Haryana Sikhs favoured a separate SGPC would submit its report next week. |
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Custodial Death
Chandigarh, August 23 Taking cognizance of an inquiry report prima facie holding five police officials of Jind district responsible for the custodial death of a Sonepat district resident, Justice H.S. Bhalla has ordered a CBI probe into the matter. Only one cop was booked in the case, despite specific allegations against others also, and was being tried for an offence other than murder after Section 302 of the IPC was deleted. With this case, the delays resorted to by the Haryana police while registering FIRs have once again been brought to the fore. Only recently, rape victim Sarita had ended her life in front of the police headquarters because of police inaction. The case in hand has made Justice Bhalla express his anguish by saying: Watchdogs of the society have stepped into the shoes of the culprits. But the police lockups in the country cannot be converted into death cells. The police cannot treat a person in custody like an animal. The victim, Vinod of Sirdhana village in Gannaur, had gone to meet his uncle in Safidon, when his brother Surender Singh was informed of his death. The information available to him had suggested Vinod was picked up on May 4, 2005, and beaten up by cops. Two days later, he succumbed to his injuries. In his petition for directions to Haryana and Jind superintendent of police for handing over the case to an independent agency like the CBI, Surender Singh had alleged the case was registered only against ASI Satyawan Singh on the basis of a complaint handed over to the Safidon DSP. As the matter reached the high court, a Bench vide order dated May 15, 2007, directed Jind Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) to inquire into the death. The CJM, in report dated June 12, 2007, had stated: "From the circumstances, it appears that the death of Vinod was not natural. There is no evidence that before his death some food particles stuck in his throat led to his suffocation… "The facts and circumstances point out towards police excesses during custodial interrogation. It is a case of illegal detention of the accused…. Hence, SHO Rattan Singh, ASI Satyawan Singh, HC Ram Phal, ASI Sat Pal and HC Chander Singh appear to be responsible for the custodial death of Vinod". The Judge added: So far, no case has been registered against other police officials and the trial is being faced by ASI Satyawan Singh and that too under Section 342 of the IPC, and Section 302 was deleted on July 7, 2005.
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Dera chief fails to appear in court
Ambala, August 23 It is continuously the third time when the dera chief did not appear in the court. Raising objection over the continuous absence of the dera chief, CBI counsel H.P.S. Verma said the dera chief was misusing the bail, which was earlier granted by the court. He requested the court to issue non-bailable warrants against the dera chief so that he must appear in the court on the next date of hearing. Earlier, counsel of the dera chief, Surya Parkash, filed an application along with a medical certificate in the court. He informed the court that the dera chief was sick and would be unable to attend the court. He requested the court to grant him exemption from personal appearance for today. The court after hearing the pleas of both sides adjourned the hearing for September 6. Special Judge of the CBI court A.K. Verma directed the dera chief to appear in his court on September 6 positively. The dera chief has been facing the charges of two murders and sexual exploitation of dera sadhvis. The arguments on framing charges in the sexual exploitation case of dera sadhvis had already completed and the arguments on framing charges in Ranjit Singh and Chhatterpati murder cases are yet to begin. |
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Rice millers’ strike from today
Yamunanagar, August 23 President of the Haryana Pradesh Rice Millers and Dealers Associations Azad Singh Rathi today said they would neither procure paddy nor do any other work until the central government would make clear cut policies on taxes and export and return the dues of Haryana millers. He made this announcement after holding a meeting with the president of the All-India Rice Exporters Association, Vijay Sethia, president of the National Rice Miller Association Tarsem Saini and other members of the association from all over the state. Rathi said due to wrong and confusing policies, rice millers of Haryana had been suffering a lot. It was clearly mentioned in the government policy that the agency would pay for transporting of the paddy till the storage point. However, the official concerned had been charging this amount from rice millers. Haryana was the only state where officials had been doing this. Therefore, the association wanted that the central government should make it clear in its policies. Besides, he said small rice millers were forced to deposit 55 crore tax against ‘H’ form sales of rice to direct exporters by the previous government. Moreover, the central government had imposed a tax of Rs 800 on the export of basmati rise. Meanwhile, the National Rice Miller Association and the All-India Rice Exporters Association have decided to soon launch a joint agitation against the Centre if the government did not revoke the ban on the export of non-basmati rice. As the ban on the export is not only affecting exporters and millers but also farmers, leaders of the associations decided in a meeting held in Jagadhari here today that they would together fight for their rights against the central and state governments. “The export ban has caused losses to 300 to 350 exporters, 20,000 rice millers and 30 to 40 lakh farmers in India,” they said. He said farmers were the worst hit as they had to sell rice in the local market at a much lower price. Saini said farmers had been expecting Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 per acres. However, with the export ban, they would get around Rs 30,000. |
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Midday meal leaves students ill
Sirsa, August 23 Sources in the general hospital, Dabwali, confirmed that six children were administered intravenous drips after they were rushed there with complaints of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Over 60 schoolchildren are said to have been given first aid in the outpatient department (OPD) of the general hospital and some private hospitals. Parents of the children today held a demonstration in the school demanding action against those guilty of serving poor quality food to their children. The children were served poor quality gram in the midday meal yesterday. The parents alleged that their wards had complained of the poor quality of gram yesterday only. Some even took the gram to their residences to show those to their parents. Children complained of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea when they woke up in the morning today. Irked over the indifferent attitude of the school authorities, parents reached the school and had heated exchange of words with teachers. Block education officer Madhu Mittal reached the school. She sealed the balance stock of food articles lying in the school and assured the parents that action would be taken against negligent teachers. |
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Stone of Sainik School to be laid on Aug 29
Rewari, August 23 The petitioners had prayed for an injunction seeking a stay on construction activities on the piece of land, earlier donated by the village panchayat for the construction of the proposed Sainik School, on specific grounds. The retraction of the above petition was facilitated by union minister of state for defence production Rao Inderjit Singh. |
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Punjab minister faces protest
Yamunanagar, August 23 The minister had come here to appeal the Sikhs to reach in large numbers for Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s rally in Karnal on August 30, which has now been called off. The members of the committee, led by its senior vice-president Joga Singh, gathered outside the gurdwara carrying black flags and expressed resentment against the SGPC and the Akali government. |
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Tension over loudspeakers
Sirsa, August 23 A possible clash over the issue yesterday was averted by authorities, who immediately rushed to the spot and pacified both the parties. The SDM and members of the village peace committee settled the issue. It was then agreed that the dera followers would not use loudspeakers and the Sikhs would not play objectionable audio or video cassettes in the village during religious functions.
— PTI |
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Man hacks brother to death
Panipat, August 23 According to the police, Parveen Kumar was allegedly killed by his brother Pardeep Kumar over a money dispute. The police said one of the brothers had lend money to the other and the duo had been fighting over it for quite some time. Pardeep deliberately entered his house late in the night and killed him with an axe. Later, he fled the spot. The police has registered a case. |
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JE caught taking bribe
Rewari, August 23 |
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