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Docs find pay panel dose bitter
Admn has much on mind for Gurgaon
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Chautala’s promise on pay panel report
Says Cong has failed to deliver
HSIIDC pays Rs 7.5 cr dividend
Bus shortage creating problems, says union
Hospital to have online system
Ms Rajni set to be Mr Rajnish
Polytechnic lecturers seek AICTE pay scales
More safai karamcharis to be employed in villages
NSG commandos honoured
Masked youths loot salesmen
4 robbers held
Vehicle taken away at gunpoint, recovered
Educational institutions closed till Jan 5
HERC member to be sworn in today
House to meet on Feb 2
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Power cuts, frosty weather worry farmers
Panipat, January 2 The wheat crop is awaiting its first irrigation and power cuts are making it difficult for farmers to pre-empt crop damage. Rajesh Chhokar, a farmer from Karhans village, said:"We are expecting colder days, and during this time light irrigation is essential to prevent damage to the wheat crop." Frost is another problem that is giving farmers sleepless nights. According to farmers, the potato crop may also face damage. Kuldeep Singh, a potato grower from Bilaspur village, said:"The crop is highly sensitive and any sudden change in the temperature can damage it. Frost is bad for the crop, but we cannot fight the weather." According to reports, the frosty weather has adversely affected the mustard crop. Even hay stored as fodder has been damaged. Animals have fallen sick due to the extreme cold. According to Inderjit Singh, another farmer, the weather will definitely damage crops and when these will be taken to the market, the farmers will be forced to sell these at low prices. Senior officials in the Agriculture Department are keeping their fingers crossed. They say the night temperature is hovering around normal as of now. However, a dip in the temperature can worsen the situation. The present weather is not good for vegetables, though the wheat crop is in good health, they say. Some farmers had incurred huge losses last year due to frost and blight. Some said that given the unpredictable weather conditions, they had abandoned potato cultivation and chose to sow wheat instead. The harvesting season for potato is likely to begin by the first week of February and if the weather conditions do not improve soon, it could mean more losses for the farmers. Meanwhile, the Power Department maintains that all-out efforts are being made to ensure that farmers were provided with adequate power for irrigation. |
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Docs find pay panel dose bitter
Sirsa/Fatehabad, January 2 Doctors of the two associations have been performing their duties wearing black bands since yesterday in protest against the pay scales. Rajesh Chaudhary, president of the Sirsa district unit, and HL Gupta, president of the Fatehabad district unit of the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA), said the government had assured 25 per cent non-practising allowance (NPA) to the doctors, but had given only 20 per cent. “Dental doctors have been discriminated against even more. We have been allowed only 15 per cent NPA against the assurance of 25 per cent. Earlier, we were given the NPA on a par with HCMS members,” alleged Kuldeep Gouri, district convener of the Haryana Civil Dental Services Association (HCDSA), Fatehabad. He said dental doctors from all over the state would meet at Rohtak tomorrow to chalk out their future course of action. Meanwhile, the HCMSA has also called a meeting of its members from all over the state on Sunday at Rohtak to decide their future strategy regarding their demand. “Government doctors in Haryana perform similar kind of duties as performed by their counterparts in Punjab and Delhi. However, there is a big difference in their salaries,” alleged Randip Singh Punia, state vice-president of the HCMSA. He said the agitation of the doctors would continue till they were given pay scales on a par with their counterparts in Punjab. SONEPAT: Resentment prevails among members of the HCDSA over less NPA to dental surgeons as compared to HCMS doctors and the PGIMS dental doctors. General secretary of the HCDSA Lalit Mohan Verma said here on Friday that the government had always kept parity among the two wings of the health services. Previously, dental surgeons had been getting the NPA at the rate of 20 per cent of the basic pay, which was similar to that of HCMS doctors, he said, adding that the government had reduced it to 15 per cent in the revised pay scales. |
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Admn has much on mind for Gurgaon
Gurgaon, January 2 Umashankar told The Tribune that the administration would make efforts to provide proper roads, drinking water and sewerage. She said, “Almost all major roads of Gurgaon, which were damaged due to heavy rains in 2008, have been repaired and work is still in progress in the remaining.” This year, she said, Gurgaon would get an ultramodern solid waste management plant, which would be set up near Bandhwari village. “As far as drinking water is concerned, Gurgaon will get a third water treatment plant at Basai this year, which means that more water will be available to people,” she said, adding that the plant, costing Rs 13.84 crore, was expected to be completed by March and it would be of 20 MGD capacity. At present, two water treatments plants of 20 MGD capacity each are functioning at the Basai waterworks. The city receives water through the Gurgaon water supply canal, the capacity of which has been enhanced to 175 cusecs. To meet the future requirements, an NCR channel of 800 cusecs is being constructed, of which 500 cusecs will be for Gurgaon. A new waterworks of 66 MGD capacity will be constructed in Chandu-Budhera village for which 124 acres have been acquired by HUDA. The Deputy Commissioner said many areas of Gurgaon would have the storm water drainage system. To meet the growing requirements, a sewerage treatment plant (STP) of 68 MLD capacity had been constructed by HUDA and another one of 34 MLD capacity had been constructed by the Water Supply and Sanitation Department at Dhanwapur. Another STP of 50 MLD capacity was being constructed in Behrampur village, which would be completed by June. She said the administration had planned to increase green belts in the city. Besides, the power situation was also expected to improve this year. The DHBVN planned to create the high voltage distribution system in 183 villages in the district by March. “The public transport system in the city will also be improved. At present, 18 low-floor buses are plying on various routes in the city. The government plans to provide 100 such buses for the city,” she said. She said 40 buses would be provided by the end of this financial year and the rest 60 in the next financial year. |
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Chautala’s promise on pay panel report
Chandigarh, January 2 Condemning “non-compliance” of the Hooda government’s promise to implement the report in full, Chautala said the government had done “intolerable injustice” to employees, which would be rectified by the INLD-BJP combine after forming the government in the state. He said the INLD recognised the great role of employees in the development of the state and justice would be done to all sections of the employees by implementing the report in its true spirit. All pay, perks and facilities would be given as per the report. He said the intentions of the government were dishonest from the beginning as there was no need for forming a separate committee. The government should have implemented the report on the pattern of the Central Government. He said the second so-called committee was a sham meant to deceive the employees. Chautala said the government had insulted almost all employees by putting them in the lower pay band vis-a- vis the pay commission recommendations. He said by not granting various allowances from the January 1, 2006, the government had shown its true “anti-employee” face . The INLD chief also assailed the government for reducing various allowances. He said the Hooda government had only been concerned about senior officers and had no concern for other employees. All employees were agitated on this partial implementation. Haryana Janhit Congress leaders Krishan Murti Hooda and Satpal Kaushik have also condemned the government for partial implementation of the pay panel report. |
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Says Cong has failed to deliver
Palwal, January 2 Chautala said the outcome of the parliamentary elections in the country, especially in Haryana, would play a significant role in the next assembly elections in the state. Chautala was critical of the Congress and its rule in Haryana. He alleged that the Congress government in the state had not measured up to the expectations of the masses and had failed to deliver. He alleged that the farming community was adversely affected by the policies of the state government and those of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. He alleged that while there was a ceiling of 17 acres of agricultural land for a farmer, industrial houses and builders were allowed to own hundreds of acres. He urged BJP and INLD workers to get into the election mode and start working for the success of the NDA candidates in the Lok Sabha elections. President of the Haryana unit of the BJP Om Prakash Manchanda said the alliance between the BJP and the INLD was a “reunion of two hearts”. On the occasion, Subash Chaudhary, who had unsuccessfully contested from the Palwal assembly constituency as the BSP nominee, and a retired IAS officer, Gulab Singh Sarot, announced joining the INLD. The Palwal assembly segment is part of the Faridabad parliamentary constituency. Both the Palwal assembly segment and the Faridabad parliamentary constituency are at present represented by the Congress in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha and Parliament. |
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HSIIDC pays Rs 7.5 cr dividend
Chandigarh, January 2 The dividend cheque was presented to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda by M.L.Tayal, principal secretary to the CM and chairman of the corporation. Tayal said the corporation had registered a quantum jump of 67 per cent in its net profit after tax. The dividend had gone up from Rs 26.26 crore during 2006-2007 to Rs 43.78 crore during 2007-08. The corporation had maintained a consistent record by earning a gross profit of Rs 90.27 crore this year against the earlier record of Rs 40.89 crore during the previous year. The gross income during the year had also exceeded the target and touched a figure of Rs 106.35 crore as compared to Rs 57.05 crore during the previous financial year. The net worth also registered a significant increase from Rs 678.43 crore last year to Rs 770.66 crore during this fiscal. The term loan activity of the corporation also achieved a significant growth during this year. It sanctioned term loans of Rs 91.23 crore this year. Disbursement and recovery stood at Rs 55.02 crore and Rs 73.04 crore, respectively, during this period. MD of the corporation Rajeev Arora said the HSIIDC had incurred an expenditure of Rs 1045.25 crore on the development of industrial infrastructure in the state, which was significantly higher than the expenditure of Rs 940.42 crore during the previous year. |
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Action Against Labourers
Gurgaon, January 2 The action was criticised by leaders of all parties on an initiative taken by Zakir Hussain, a former MLA and BSP candidate for the Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat. Leaders of the BSP, the Congress, the INLD and the Haryana Janhit Congress unanimously described the act of the police as “irresponsible and illegal”. They described the action taken by the Haryana police of transferring ACP Krishan Murari and suspending two constables as a mere eyewash. They warned the government of dire consequences if the ACP was not suspended and a criminal case not registered against the guilty police officials. Hussain said a 52-member committee, comprising people of all communities, had been formed which would meet next week and chalk out the future strategy. A police team, led by ACP Krishan Murari, had entered Jama Masjid and had allegedly beaten up labourers, workers and rickshaw-pullers, who used to reside there, on December 23. |
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Triple Murder Case
Gurgaon, January 2 The father of the murdered woman, along with MLA of Ateli Naresh Yadav and sarpanches of 20 nearby villages, met Police Commissioner Mohinder Lal and submitted a memorandum here today. Kamar Pal, a resident of Shikopur, had strangled his wife Sushma and two children Suman (7) and Pritpal (5) on December 17. He has been at large since then. Rajpal, father of Sushma, told The Tribune, “The police has not been able to nab the accused though his family is putting up at the same place as earlier.” Rajpal alleged that the in-laws of his daughter were very greedy and never used to give anything to his daughter. They have even taken back the jewellery they had given her on her marriage. “We also gifted a buffalo worth Rs 35,000 recently to our daughter,” he claimed. He alleged that his son-in-law used to drink and beat up his daughter. Her in-laws also used to beat her up, he added. Meanwhile, the Police Commissioner told The Tribune, “We are investigating the case and are hopeful that the case would be cracked soon. |
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Bus shortage creating problems, says union
Hisar, January 2 Representatives of the Haryana Janhit Congress (BL), Bhartiya Janata party, Lok Janshakti Party and the CPM attended the meeting. The INLD was represented by one of its student wing leaders. The ruling Congress however chose to stay away. Dalbir Kirmara, president of the Hisar Depot unit of the workers’ union, explained that the number of buses in the Haryana Roadways fleet had been steadily going down. He said the HR had at one time 3,840 buses, but the number had come down to 3,150 at present. He said the number of buses in the depot had gone down to 180 at present from a peak of 210. This, he said, was creating problems for the passengers as well as the roadways staff. He said due to the shortage of buses students were forced to travel on bus rooftops, resulting in accidents for which the drivers were blamed. He sought the support of all political parties to convince the government to study the problems facing the state carrier and allocate adequate funds for restoration of the fleet and sanctioning of more routes. All party leaders promised to take up the union’s cause at appropriate levels. |
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Hospital to have online system
Jhajjar, January 2 Interestingly, Jhajjar will become the first district in the state which will adopt this online system to increase efficiency and bring about transparency in the functioning of the hospital. The administration had recently written to the National Informatics Centre to get appropriate software developed for maintaining the records of patients and inventory of medicines in the hospital. According to sources, one computer each will be placed in the cabins of doctors and one computer at the slip counter, the pharmacist’s room and the inventory room in the hospital for smooth functioning of the online system. Moreover, this system will show whether doctors were prescribing the medicines which were available in the hospital. "The software for establishing the hospital and pharmacy integrated system is being customised by NIC experts and it will, hopefully, take at least a month to be finalised. Thereafter, the system will be introduced as an experiment in the general hospital," said deputy commissioner Nitin Yadav, adding that if the system was successful, it would also be introduced at the levels of community health centre and public health centre in the district at the earliest. Satpal Sharma, district informatics officer, said this system would be helpful not only in checking the work being done by the staff members of the hospital but also bring about transparency in the functioning of the hospital. |
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Ms Rajni set to be Mr Rajnish
She has already undergone three of the four major surgical operations required for changing her sex and will be going for the final surgery soon. Thirty-year-old Rajni(sh) has been successfully running a small unit for manufacturing fibre glass sheets in the town for the past 10 years. Born in a lower middle-class family, Rajni, the elder of the two siblings, used to help her father in his grocery shop in the town since childhood. She used to go straight to the shop after attending her school. She dressed and kept her hairstyle like boys and her parents, too, addressed her as their son. Rajni dropped out of school after passing class VIII, but again joined school after three years. As a student, she was good in sports, particularly martial arts. As a student of class X, she went to Chandigarh to play in a state-level judo championship. There she visited the unit of a relative, who manufactured fibre glass and from there she conceived the idea of starting her own unit-cum-workshop in Sirsa. “Though workers in my workshop behaved properly and addressed me as ‘Ustadji’, the people, whom I supplied fibre sheets and even went to their buildings to install fibre roof sheds, were not so sober and often remained on the lookout for taking advantage of me being a girl,” she told The Tribune. “I detested men who always looked for an opportunity to come closer to me for getting undue favours and it was during that period that I learnt about sex change in a Ludhiana hospital through some newspaper and decided to go for it,” she added. But the transformation from female to male was not easy for Rajni, as the Ludhiana-based surgeon she contacted refused to perform surgery at the first meeting. However, when she persisted, the doctor gave her the telephone numbers and the address of a psychiatrist and asked her to contact him. “I had several meetings of long durations with at least six psychiatrists before they gave me the go-ahead for the sex change. The surgeon had given me the address of one psychiatrist, but I consulted six because I was also worried that my wish of becoming a male may not be due to some psychiatrist disorder,” says Rajni. Then started the surgeries and during the last three years, she has undergone three surgeries. First for the removal of breasts, second one for the removal of the uterus and the third one for preparing for the change of organs. The last and final operation for providing the male organ is due now and she is waiting for the right climate to undergo that surgery. Even after the complete change of sex, Rajni is in no hurry to marry. “The girl who wants to marry me should have a clear knowledge of what I am capable of and what not,” says Rajni(sh). Rajni says she does not justify what she has done and would not advise others to follow her. However, she says a change in the mindset of society and also of parents is needed so that girls did not feel belittled. |
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Polytechnic lecturers seek AICTE pay scales
Hisar, January 2 In a statement issued here today, association general-secretary Jagbir Singh said although the state government had announced implementation of the sixth pay panel’s recommendations, the polytechnic staff had been left out. He said all ruling party legislators had been demanding establishment of polytechnics in their constituencies, the government had denied the existing staff of polytechnics their due. Singh said the government had ensured that private engineering colleges in the state followed the AICTE norms in terms of infrastructure and financial compensation to their staff. However, the government was denying the same benefits to employees of the polytechnics. He said polytechnic teachers should be kept in pay band three. Besides, they should be given higher scales on completion of six and 11 years of service. |
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More safai karamcharis to be employed in villages
Chandigarh, January 2 Of these, 9,800 safai karamcharis have already been employed by the gram panchayats concerned, a spokesman for the Development and Panchayats Department said today. He said these safai karamcharis were paid remuneration of Rs 3,525 per month. An amount of Rs 44 crore had been earmarked under the scheme for 2008-09 and Rs 48 crore had been proposed for 2009-10. He said the total sanitation campaign had also been implemented in the state. The cost of the programme was shared between the Central Government, the state government and the beneficiaries. The total revised outlay under the programme was Rs 175.39 crore. The central, state and beneficiary shares were Rs 102.47 crore, Rs 40.67 crore and Rs 32.26 crore, respectively.
— UNI |
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NSG commandos honoured
Chandigarh, January 2 Varun Dalal, Surinder and Rajesh were given a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each, a certificate and a memento. “The brave act of the commandos was a matter of pride not only for the state but also for the country. The NSG has done the country proud by killing the terrorists without bothering for their own lives,” Jhajjar Deputy Commissioner Nitin Kumar said.
— IANS |
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Masked youths loot salesmen
Sirsa, January 2 Pawan Kumar, manager of the Agrocare Petrol Pump which is situated on the Bodiwali road of Ding village, has said in his complaint to the police that Rajinder and Mohinder, the two salesmen of his petrol pump, were on duty last night, when two masked youths came to them on foot and demanded cash and belongings on pistol point. They made the salesmen hand over their mobiles and Rs 12,000 and ran away under the cover of darkness. |
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4 robbers held
Kaithal, January 2 The police got information that some persons were planning to loot passing vehicles. Their hiding place was raided by a police party and four persons were overpowered from the spot. They were identified as Ram Kumar of Jakholi Adda, Surender of Subhash Nagar, Kuldeep of Padla village and Rinku of Oddan wali gamri. The police also recovered a .315 bore pistol, live cartridges, two iron rods, a torch and two motorcycles from them. A case has been registered against them under various Sections of the IPC and Arms act. |
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Vehicle taken away at gunpoint, recovered
Jhajjar, January 2 According to reports, Mohammad Asgar, a resident of Mukundpur (Rajasthan), along with some family members was on the way in the vehicle to Nangloi (Delhi) late on Thursday night. As they reached near Talaw village, the driver of an Indica car intercepted them on the pretext of asking the way. While Asgar was giving directions to the driver, three other vehicles stopped there and some armed men got out. They then took away the Tavera at gunpoint. Asgar immediately informed the police, which launched a vehicle checking drive at nakas. Later, the police found the Tavera abandoned near a naka outside Khatiwas village. |
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Educational institutions closed till Jan 5
Kaithal, January 2 Additional district magistrate RC Verma said here today that any institution found violating the orders would face strict administrative action. He said these orders had been issued to ensure the safety of students and save them from persisting cold wave conditions. |
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HERC member to be sworn in today
Chandigarh, January 2 The post fell vacant after the retirement of T.R. Dhaka on November 4 last. Dahiya had been working as member (thermal), Central Electricity Authority (CEA), and ex officio additional secretary to the Government of India, CEA, since August, 2006. |
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Sirsa, January 2