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Terrorism, Internal Security Participants display their skills in yoga during the closing ceremony of the 57th
All-India Police Games at Madhuban, Karnal, on Saturday. Tribune
photo by Ravi Kumar
Gang selling fake certificates busted
CPM leader cremated
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3 new bus stands, more buses for Gurgaon
Samalkha flyover to be functional next year
Education must for Mewat’s uplift, says CM
Prices of ‘duplicate’ basmati varieties rise
4 consumer forums non-functional
Pest Attack on Paddy
Bonus for power utilities’ employees
Woman deserts husband, to marry youth
Patil visits Kurukshetra
2 done to death
CPM condemns Mumbai violence
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Police strength to go
up 50 pc: Patil
Bhanu P. Lohumi Tribune News Service
Madhuban (Karnal), October 25 Patil, who was the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the 57th All-India Police Games (Wrestling Cluster) here, said the strength of the central security forces would be raised from eight lakhs to 12 lakhs, while the strength of the police force in the state would go up from 14 lakhs to 21 lakhs. Lauding Haryana for having a strength of 5 per cent women in the police force, Patil said it should be increased to at least 10 per cent and sanctioned two Women India Reserve Battalions for the state. Maintaining that “development and security go hand in hand”, the union home minister urged the states to incur more expenditure on security. He said participation in sports activities was the best way to channel the energy. Patil evinced keen interest in a cultural programme and demonstration of yoga techniques. He said Punjab and Haryana were contributing a lot to meeting the foodgrain requirements of the country and their march to progress was remarkable. Patil also gave away prizes to the winners. About 1,500 sportspersons from central security forces and state police organisations participated in the five-day meet. MP Navin Jindal was also present on the occasion.
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Gang selling fake certificates busted
Panchkula, October 25 According to sources in the crime branch, two accused in the case had been arrested from Patna in Bihar, while many others involved in the racket were expected to be arrested from different parts of Haryana soon. The police has arrested two employees of Bihar Vidyalaya Pariksha Samiti, Patna, identified as Gopal Parsad and Sabodh Yadav. They were produced before a court in Panchkula, which sent them to judicial custody here today. They were allegedly hand in glove with a teacher running a private institution in Patna to prepare fake certificates. The accused teacher identified as Sant Kumar has died. On the complaint of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission, the Panchkula police in January had registered a case under Sections 420, 467, 468, 470 and 471 of the IPC against 107 applicants for using fake certificates to get the job. Later, the case was handed over to the crime branch. The racket came to light when a team from the Haryana education department visited Patna on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to know the antecedents of the institute, namely Bihar Vidyalaya Pariksha Samiti. The Haryana Staff Selection Commission had advertised 3,483 posts of JBT teacher on July 20, 2006, following which the interviews were held by the board between December 12 and January 18, 2007. However, the interviews were challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the plea that many applicants had submitted certificates by an unrecognised institution. While disposing of the civil writ petition, the court directed the education department to hold an inquiry. Earlier, the police had arrested their local contact Dharamraj, a resident of Samalkha, near Panipat. Sources in the crime branch said the accused used to sell examination certificates of primary teacher training for an amount ranging between Rs 40,000 and Rs 60,000. |
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CPM leader cremated
Fatehabad, October 25 Prabhat Singh was cremated in his native village Neoli Kalan today. Prabhat Singh (46) was returning to his village on his motorcycle after attending to his ailing wife Bimla in Agroha Medical College yesterday, when he met with the accident. Prabhat Singh, along with CPM activist Om Parkash, who was riding pillion, was rushed to the Hisar general hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Earlier, hundreds of people had the last glimpse of the CPM leader when his body was placed in the CPM office in Hisar in the morning. Nilotpan Basu and Tapan Sen, both central leaders of the CPM, Inderjit Singh, state secretary of the party, Surender Malik, a state secretariat member, and Jagmati Sangwan, state secretary of the All-India Democratic Women's Association, were among those who attended the cremation. Born in a modest family, Prabhat Singh joined the CPM in 1985 and worked on many positions in the party. He was also the vice-president of CITU, an executive member of the Construction Workers Federation of India and a founder member of the Lal Jhanda Brick-Kiln Workers Union. |
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3 new bus stands, more buses for Gurgaon
Gurgaon, October 25 A private consultant, Urban Mass Transit Company, has been engaged for the purpose. After carrying out a survey in this regard, the company presented the preliminary draft of “Integrated mobility plan for Gurgaon-Manesar urban complex” before senior administrative and police officials and mediapersons here yesterday. Director (town and country planning) S.S. Dhillon was also present on the occasion. Dhillon asked the officials to submit their suggestions on the draft plan by November 10 so that the plan could be finalised. He disclosed that a similar plan was being prepared by the same company for Faridabad also. The consultant company had prepared short-term, medium and long-term draft mobility plans for Gurgaon to be executed three phases. As per the proposed draft, the first phase was from 2008 to 2011, the second from 2011 to 2017 and the third phase from 2017 to 2021. Dhillon pointed out that the move was necessitated as the population of Gurgaon was expected to increase up to 43 lakh by 2021 and by 2031, 59 lakh people are estimated to be employed in the city. Apart from this, the traffic is also expected to pass through Gurgaon in high volume because of the upcoming Reliance SEZ and other SEZs being developed around the city. In this plan, the ongoing projects like laying of metro corridor up to Sushant lok and construction of three peripheral roads in addition to the KMP expressway for better connectivity with Delhi were also highlighted. Deputy commissioner Deepti Umashankar revealed during the presentation that three bus stands were proposed to be constructed in the city near Rajiv Chowk in Sector 29 and near Panchgaon village on NH-8. “As of now, 18 buses are plying on various routes in the city, while by the end of this financial year, the number of these city buses will be increased to 40,” she said, adding that the state government planned to ply 100 buses in the city and bus queue shelters would be got erected by HUDA. The administrator, HUDA, G. Anupama, said 150 bus queue shelters would be constructed in the city on the places identified by the GM Roadways. The deputy commissioner also said the company proposed eight foot overbridges on the expressway. On this, divisional commissioner D.P.S. Nagal said five foot over bridges had been approved and the work on two such bridges had already been allotted.
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Samalkha flyover to be functional next year
Chandigarh, October 25 Counsel said agitation by the locals belonging to villages adjoining Pasina Khurd was going on, and some of their workers had even been threatened. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), in response to the assertion, said they had made it clear during a meeting with the deputy commissioner (DC) concerned that the width and the height of the underpass could not be changed. NHAI counsel said the DC had assured necessary police force would be deployed for carrying out the construction at the site, if the necessity of the same was felt. Taking on record the assertion, the Bench directed Panipat DC and superintendent of police to ensure the work at the site continued unhindered. The Bench made it clear that “default” would be viewed seriously. Counsel for another construction company told the court that the Murthal flyover would be complete by April 30, while Ganaur flyover would be thrown open to public by June 30. The counsel said the court would be informed on the nature and the quantum of work within two weeks. The counsel also told the court that the order imposing a cost of Rs 50 lakh for not meeting the September deadline for completing the work had been complied with. A bank guarantee of Rs 25 lakh had been furnished and the remaining amount deposited. The work of constructing the flyovers was scheduled to be over by September 30, but the company apparently failed to meet the deadline. The traffic flow on the expressway to Delhi is expected to improve once the flyovers come up. PTI results
Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) has asserted that the High Court, while issuing notice of motion for January 28 on a petition pertaining to selection of physical training instructors, has directed it to interview the petitioners provisionally. The results of only these three petitioners are to be kept in sealed cover. The orders do not cover the entire result of PTI selection. |
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Education must for Mewat’s uplift, says CM
Nuh (Mewat), October 25 Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of a Jawahar Navodaya School in Bai village in the district today, the Chief Minister lamented that unlike other parts of the state, the Mewat region had remained backward. Hooda pointed out that lack of education had been a major hindrance to Mewat’s path to progress, and added that sincere efforts were being made to strengthen the educational infrastructure in the area. “The government has upgraded 135 primary schools to the middle level and constructed 561 new rooms in the schools located in the Mewat region,” he maintained. The Chief Minister asserted that the government would ensure that technical and other educational institutions were set up to cover every village in the area, adding that 50 per cent seats in these institutions would be reserved for students of Mewat. Disclosing that the government had submitted a proposal of Rs 320 crore Mewat canal project to the Central Water Commission, he said the Rajiv Gandhi Rainy-Well Drinking Water Supply Scheme was being executed to ensure drinking water in the region. Hooda said of the Rs 14 crore required for the establishment of the Navodaya school, the government had already released Rs 7.50 crore, while the Bai village panchayat had donated 30 acres for the construction of the school. The government would soon provide land for the construction of Navodaya schools in Gurgaon and Palwal, he added. Union minister of state for human resources development M.A.A. Fatmi, who was also present on the occasion, assured that the Central government would provide all possible assistance in creating more education facilities in the region. The Centre planned to open a model school in Nuh and three polytechnic institutions in the Mewat area, he revealed. Congress MP Avtar Bhadana and Nuh MLA Habib-ur-Rehman also addressed the gathering. Earlier, the Chief Minister also attended a national seminar on the contribution of Haryana’s freedom fighters to the country’s freedom struggle of 1857. The two-day seminar was held on the premises of Ch Yasin Khan Mev Degree College, Nuh, under the aegis of Shah Waliullah Institute, New Delhi.
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Prices of ‘duplicate’ basmati varieties rise
Sirsa/Fatehabad, October 25 The price of Pusa 1121 variety of paddy, which was selling for Rs 1,950 per quintal earlier this month, has now gone up to Rs 2,550. Similarly, other long-grain non-basmati varieties have also seen hike in prices in the recent days. The price of Muchhal variety has jumped from Rs 1,750 per quintal to Rs 2,065 per quintal; RS 10 variety from Rs 1,000 per quintal to Rs 1,250 per quintal and the Sugandha variety’s price has gone up from Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,900 per quintal. Though prices are much less than what farmers got last year, they have reasons to cheer about as the picture appeared to be very dismal in the beginning of the procurement season this year due to heavy arrival and lesser demand. Now, while the arrival of paddy is on the decline, the demand has witnessed a sudden rise during the past 15 days. Last year, Pusa 1121 variety fetched up to Rs 2,750 per quintal while Muchhal variety was sold for Rs 2,500 per quintal. Traders and brokers in the Sirsa and Fatehabad grain markets attributed the increase in prices to the sudden rise in demand. “The rise in prices of non-basmati varieties were witnessed after the government allowed to export Pusa 1121 variety from October 15,” said Gurdial Mehta, a trader from the Sirsa grain market. Bal Krishan, broker in the Fatehabad grain market, confirmed that the prices of non-basmati varieties had gone up considerably during the past some days. He said if the central government lifted the current Rs 8,000 a quintal export duty on rice, the demand and rates would increase further. He said the demand of these varieties was so high, but due to the compulsion of purchasing through open auctions, they were not able to organise purchases of 15,000 to 18,000 per bags only. “If we were to purchase paddy at a given rate, we can purchase up to 30,000 bags in a day. However, the market committee authorities do not allow to purchase a grain of paddy without open auction,” he said. Kishan lamented that in Sirsa district, paddy was being purchased on a mutually agreed given rate without the formalities of the open auction, but this was not being allowed in Fatehabad. The allegations were, however, denied by Sirsa traders, who maintained that crops were being purchased through open auction only so that the farmers could get the best price for their produce.
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4 consumer forums non-functional
Chandigarh, October 25 According to information obtained by advocate G.D. Gupta of Jagadhri under the RTI Act from the PIO of the Haryana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, four district forums in Hisar, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Yamunanagar are not functioning. The post of the president of the district forum, Hisar, is vacant since January 6, while that of Kurukshetra is vacant since February 10. The president’s post both at Panipat and Yamunanagar is vacant since January 6. It is also stated by the PIO in his letter dated October 16 that a meeting of the statutory selection committee to hold interviews was held from August 25 to September 2. However, the appointments have not been made so far. Thus, an aggregate expenditure of Rs 44,71,238 was wasted during the first four to six months. The backlog of cases added during the said period is in addition. Thus, till date, on an average, an expenditure of Rs 1 crore has gone down the drain on account of laxity on the part of officers concerned to finalise the appointments of presidents of the above said four district forums. |
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Gurgaon farmers hit hard
Sonika Bhatia Tribune News Service
Gurgaon, October 25 The affected farmers have sprayed all kinds of pesticides, but to no avail. They were expecting a good season this year, but the sudden pest attack has dashed their hopes. Crop on almost 125 acres has reportedly been damaged. Farmers have met the deputy commissioner in this regard, who has asked the deputy director (agriculture) to look into the matter. Talking to The Tribune, deputy commissioner Deepti Umashankar, said, “This is a serious matter and we have asked the officials concerned to take action immediately. They will be providing us with details and then only we will be able to tell the farmers what can be done about the problem.” According to sources, a team headed by assistant plant protection officer Shiv Kumar Sharma visited the spot and found some white pests in the soil, which attack the crop. They had named the attack “blast” as it “finishes the crop within seconds just like a bomb does”. Naveen Tyagi, secretary of the Indian National Lok Dal, has demanded compensation for the affected farmers.
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Bonus for power utilities’ employees
Chandigarh, October 25 He said the utilities would give Rs 3.88 crore on account of payment of bonus of 8.33 per cent to all employees whose salary or wages did not exceed Rs 10,000. A sum of Rs 525 would be paid to all employees in cash as a token Diwali gift on which an expenditure of Rs 1.94 crore would be made by the utilities. The Chief Minister announced that from now on the retirees of the utilities would be given a gift of Rs 2,000 on their retirement, doubling the amount being given to them earlier. To enable a speedier implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, he announced that the utilities would constitute a committee of senior officers. He directed the utilities to pay special attention to cases of accidents involving employees on duty. To provide timely financial assistance to the victims, the executive engineers concerned were being authorised to sanction Rs 1 lakh on account of medical advance for treatment. The superintending engineers would be authorised to sanction up to Rs 3 lakh in these cases. |
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Woman deserts husband, to marry youth
Yamunanagar, October 25 Hardeep, an engineer, who also accompanied her to the police station, remained adamant that he was in love with the commando’s wife, Babli, for the past two and a half years and wanted to marry her. Hardeep also accompanied commando’s wife to the SDM court. When Babli was produced before SDM R.K. Singh today, she expressed her desire to stay with Hardeep. Thereafter, she was let free. ASI Ramesh, who had arrested Babli, said the commando had lodged a complaint of illegal confinement of his wife by her relatives on October 12. Thereafter, the SDM had ordered search warrant of her. The commando had said he wanted his wife to return home and take care of two children. |
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Patil visits Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra, October 25 While visiting the Brahmsarovar, he said he had visited the sarovar for the first time and expressed the hope that it would be further improved vis-a-vis cleanliness. After visiting the VIP ghat of the Brahmsarovar, Patil visited Purushotampura Baghpura, where he had a look at the big-size chariot carrying Lord Krishna and Arjuna. Patil visited Shri Krishna museum here, where he took keen interest in various articles related to Lord Krishna’s life. He also visited the Kurukshetra Panorama and Science Centre here. He also went to the O.P. Jindal Park, where he paid floral tributes to the late MP. Earlier, when Patil reached the Kurukshetra University Sports Complex, he was welcomed by agriculture minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha, MP Navin Jindal, inspector-general of police, Ambala range, K. K. Sindhu, deputy commissioner Pankaj Aggarwal, district police chief K.V. Ramana and Kurukshetra University vice-chancellor R.P. Bajpai among others. |
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2 done to death
Rohtak, October 25 A 30-year-old woman identified as Raj Bala, wife of Raj Singh, was allegedly beaten to death by her husband at Bohar village here today. The woman was allegedly beaten up by her husband with sticks and stones. Though domestic dispute is said to be behind the incident, the main reason of the murder will be ascertained after the arrest of the accused, who fled the spot after the woman’s death. In another incident, a 52-year-old mahant of a dera located 16 km from here was allegedly stabbed and later shot dead today by a group of at least eight armed persons. The assailants assaulted mahant Pappu Dass while he was asleep. They were armed with rods, knives and pistols as they barged into the dera and ransacked the spot as they assaulted the mahant. The victim was allegedly stabbed before one of the assailants pulled out a gun and fired at him from a close range, it is stated. Old enmity is said to behind the murder. |
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CPM condemns Mumbai violence
Sirsa, October 25 In a press note issued yesterday the party said that such anti-national activities could never be tolerated as the Constitution of India guaranteed the right to free movement and work anywhere in the country to all citizens and no one could interfere in the exercise of this right. Inderjit Singh, state secretary of the CPM, said nothing could be more shameful than unemployed youth being subjected to violence and humiliation in their own country. |
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Union home minister Shivraj Patil today announced a 50 per cent increase in the strength of paramilitary forces and the state police force in the next five years to tackle terrorism and to strengthen internal security.
