 |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
HMT struggles for survival
Kalka, November 27 Employees and officers of the company had even boycotted the last parliamentary elections to draw the attention of the government to the plight of the company. On October 3, Kumari Selja had stated that the survival of the HMT would be her focus after the election. “The HMT is pride for the area and we have to protect it,” she had said. In September, 2008 a delegation of HMT Officers Associations had met with Pawan Kumar Bansal, minister for water resources and parliamentary affairs, and submitted a memorandum highlighting the hardships faced by officers of the HMT and crisis being faced by company. The memorandum stated: “The world has changed over the past few years but times have stood still for officers of the HMT since 1997. The unit has deliberately been made to suffer. Talent has been throttled into oblivion. The economic discrimination has resulted in social discrimination. No organisation can prosper if its employees do not remain motivated with fair wages.” The HMT started with manufacturing machine tools and diversified into manufacturing of watches, tractors, printing machinery, metal farming presses, die casting and plastic machinery, CNC systems and bearings. It comprised six subsidiaries under the ambit of a holding company, which also managed the tractors business directly. However, its operations had been adversely affected by wrong policies, lack of working capital, and non-investment in modernisation and technological upgrade, flight of talent to private sector, de-motivation of staff because of non-revision of salaries since 1997, the memorandum stated. The memorandum sought immediate implementation of the 1997 pay revision. It was suggested that the merger of the HMT with defence PSUs BHEL and HAL was the only solution to save the organisation. In December, 2008 an another delegation of the Karmik Sangh (R&R) HMT Limited met with Kumari Selja, minister of state, urban development and poverty alleviation, and submitted a memorandum in connection with the various demands of the HMT employees. The memorandum sought issuing of revival package of tractor unit, arrangement of working capital of Rs 100 crore for tractor and machine tools units, merger of the HMT with any big industry in the public sector, implementation of the wage revision of 1992 and extension of retirement of age from 58 to 60. Kumari Selja had given assurance to the delegation of meeting the minister of heavy industries in this regard. Last year, she also got sanctioned a revival package of Rs 785 crore for HMT Machine Tools. However, things have changed little for the organisation and its employees are struggling hard to cope with the economic slowdown. |
|||||
|
Cop’s wife duped of gold, cash
Kharar, November 27 In her complaint to the police, Navneet Kaur from Bhago Majra village stated that Raj Kumar Shastri of Sutli village in Jhunjhun area of Rajasthan and his brother Anil Kumar had duped her of the money and jewellery. Complainant’s husband Gurnam Singh is posted as head constable with the Baltana police post, while his brother Dalbir Singh is posted as mushi with the Kharar police. The complainant had been undergoing treatment for a mental ailment in Panchkula. On November 16, she came across an advertisement of an astrologer from Morinda in a newspaper. She contacted Raj Kumar Shastri over the phone and told him about her family problems. Shastri asked her to pay Rs 5,500 to bring peace and harmony to her home. Shastri sent his brother Anil Kumar to the local bus stand the next day and asked Navneet to hand over the amount to him. Navneet paid Anil Rs 2,200 and remaining Rs 3,300 on November 19. Later, he told Navneet that a large amount of gold was buried in her house at three different places but a couple of snakes were guarding it. Taken in by the false claims, Navneet paid the astrologer another Rs 1 lakh in cash. She even gave him her gold ornaments after withdrawing the same from bank’s locker. These included two necklaces, three rings and three bangles. She handed over the jewellery to Anil at the local bus stand on November 21. On November 26, Navneet’s husband Gurnam asked her about the missing cash and she narrated him the entire incident. A special team has been constituted to arrest the accused from Rajasthan. The police is investigating the case. |
||||||
|
2 crushed to death by truck
Dera Bassi, November 27 The victims were identified as Manoj Kumar (32), a resident of Shanti Nagar, Mani Majra, and Parveen Kumar (38), a resident of Pipliwala town, Mani Majra. Manoj was working as a salesman in a textiles store and Parveen was working as a tailor. In the absence of an ambulance, the bodies of the two kept lying on the highway for over an hour after the incident. However, the police claimed that it took away the bodies after the accident. According to the police, the accident took place around 4.30 pm when Manoj and Parveen were going to Mani Majra on a motor cycle. When they reached Janetpur village, a speeding truck owned by the Haryana Electricity Board, coming from Ambala, rammed into their motor cycle from the rear. The two fell on the road and their heads were crushed under the wheels of the truck, killing them instantly. The police claimed that the truck driver, who fled the scene after the accident, was arrested at Dera Bassi when the police team found blood stains on the truck. A passerby said both victims were wearing helmets but their helmets broke into pieces with the impact of the collision. He said an ambulance owned by GMR company reached the scene but couldn’t take the bodies away due to the absence of the police. When a police team arrived, it did not have any vehicle to ferry the bodies to the local civil hospital. Finally, a highway patrol vehicle reached the scene and took the bodies to the hospital. The police has registered a case against the truck driver and started further investigations.
|
||||||
|
Women Cell
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 27 This year, 407 cases from rural and urban areas of the district have been resolved with mutual consent out of 474 complaints received so far. At least 13 officials comprising police officials and counsellors have been deployed at the cell. Officials say 95 per cent of the total cases have been resolved with mutual consent of both sides. A case is recommended to the police station or a local court only when repeated counselling by experts at the cell fails to bear fruits. Usually a matter is resolved within two or three counselling sessions. Among other disputes, domestic disputes over trivial issues has been on the rise and petty unresolved issues have become the bone of contention for family members, which soon graduates to being a full-blown case of a dispute. Cell members comprise businessmen, doctors and social workers who help resolve disputes among family members. This year, only five cases of dowry have been reported at the women cell so far. At least 1,557 cases have so far been reported at the cell since 2003 and 1,300 cases have been resolved with the consent of both sides. Only 20 cases have been recommended to courts. Another 11 cases are pending in court. The officials say 30 cases are pending in the cell and efforts are on to dispose them of soon. |
||||||
|
Presidential Poll
Patiala, November 27 The district branch has over 350 life members in the town, including private practitioners, retired medical teachers and principals of medical college, retired medical and health directors and in-service doctors from the local medical college and PCMS and rural medical officers. Dr Jatinder Kansal, an eye specialist at Rajindra Hospital, and Dr Harish Malhotra, a PCMS doctor, are in the fray. According to Dr DS Bhullar, a three-time past president and senior IMA functionary, the president of the branch had so far been elected unanimously with consensus in the general house and without going for voting. However, this time both candidates were eager to work on the post. “We still hope to elect our leader for the post following the precedent set in the past to avoid groupism. For this, the choice will naturally fall on the candidate with better work experience and longer tenure of functioning in the association.” The general body meeting of the IMA for election of president elect-2011 will be held on November 29. |
||||||
|
Science models on display
Ambala, November 27 Chairman of the District Child Welfare Council Neelam Saro inaugurated the exhibition. A senior functionary of DAV management Rajender Nath was the chief guest. In physics models, DAV College, Ambala City, got first position while SA Jain College, Ambala City, was declared second. GMN College, Ambala Cantt, secured third position. In biology models, DAV College, Ambala City, and Government College, Naraingarh, got first and second positions, respectively. In chemistry models, DAV College, Ambala City, was declared first while GMN College, Ambala Cantt, got second position. In botany models, DAV College, Ambala City, and Government College, Panchkula, adjudged first and second, respectively. Similarly, in computer science models SD College, Ambala Cantt, got first position while Government College, Ambala Cantt, declared second. |
||||||
|
Couple receive burns
Dera Bassi, November 27 According to the police, Harvinder Singh in his statement said his wife Harinder Kaur was preparing food on the stove when kerosene leaked from the stove and caught fire. Hearing her screams, Harvinder rushed to rescue her but also was caught in the fire. The family members took them to the local civil hospital from where Harinder Kaur was referred to the GMCH-32, Chandigarh, for further treatment. The police said her condition was said
to stable. The investigating officer said the statements of the victims had been recorded and they had started further investigations. |
||||||
|
Pharmacy week concludes
Ambala, November 27 The inaugural function was presided over by NP Mehta, Pro Vice-Chancellor, MM University. Munish Kumar, senior manager projects, Ranabaxy Laboratories, delivered a lecture on project management of pharma industry. College principal Ashok Kumar also spoke. An awareness procession was organised to highlight the profession. A group of pharmacists visited nearby schools and gave presentations to raise awareness among students. Also, activities like technical presentation, quiz, poster, declamation, rangoli competition were held. |
||||||
|
Paper-reading contest
Patiala, November 27 Forum president Sudershan Bedi welcomed the chief guest and spoke on the history and working of the forum. Ten students of the school read papers on different topics, including price rise, to raise awareness among consumers on the issues. Kirti Sandhu won the first position, followed by Sanvi Gupta and Jaspreet Kaur. The consolation prize went to Charanpreet Kaur. Forum patron JN Shahi and Sant Chahal gave away prizes to the winners. |
||||||
|
Businessman booked for injuring ETO
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 27 In his complaint to the police, the ETO deployed at Mandi Gobindgarh alleged that he along with a team of excise officials were searching for a firm under the name of Guru Kirpa to carry out a search for various transactions, when he was hit by a Skoda car. The incident took place near the Dharam Mill road at Mandi Gobindgarh yesterday afternoon. The ETO alleged that the driver of Skoda car had hit him deliberately. The car was coming out of a godown where the excise officials were searching for the firm. Sources said the police registered a case today after a brief investigation. Mandi Gobindgarh SHO Dalbir Singh Grewal said the businessman, Mukesh Kumar, had been booked by the police for hitting the ETO under Section 307 of the IPC. Further investigation is on. |
||||||
|
6 held for thefts
Kharar, November 27 They were remanded in one-day police custody. Four others were arrested after an unsuccessful attempt to steal household items from a house at Gulmohar Complex here. They had been identified as Kuldeep Singh, Rupinder Kumar, Gulshan Kumar and Sonu Bhardwaj. |
||||||
|
Girl killed in accident
Lalru, November 27 The incident took place when Geeta, an employee of Rana Polycot Ltd, was going home from the factory on a bicycle and a truck coming from the Ambala side ran her down. She was killed on the spot. The truck driver managed to flee the scene, leaving behind the truck, which was impounded by the police. A case has been registered against the truck driver. |
||||||
|
Two arrested
Kharar, November 27 The Jeep driver, Suresh Kumar, a resident of Shekhpura village, near Dera Bassi, had lodged a complaint with the police, following which Manjit Singh, alias Vohra, and Mukhtiar Singh, alias Sodhi, were arrested. The accused were produced in the court and were remanded in three-day police custody. |
Life term for killing wife, daughter
Panchkula, November 27 The guilty, Sikandar Mandal, had killed his wife Sukhmain and two-year-old daughter last year. District attorney SPS Parmar said the decomposed bodies of both victims were found in a pit near Information Technology (IT) park on November 7 last year. The victims were reportedly strangulated to death before their bodies were burnt. The bodies were spotted by labourers working in the area and they informed the assistant manager of the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation who was present on the spot. Broken bangles of the woman were also found at the crime scene, leaving some marks of struggle between the victim and the killer. Later, the police arrested Sikander, a resident of Maheshpur village, accusing him of murder. The police said Sikandar suspected that his wife had illicit relations and was not the father of Kavita. On the pretext of Chhath puja, he took both to the banks of the Ghaggar and killed them, said the police.
|
||
|
Ranjit Bajaj acquitted in 13-yr-old case
Chandigarh, November 27 The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate J Sidhu acquitted Bajaj of all charges in a case pertaining to obstructing a public servant from doing his duty under Section 186 of the IPC. The case was registered against Ranjit in 1996 when he was a minor. The proceedings of the case were, therefore, held in a juvenile court and later shifted to this court. According to the police, Ranjit had an argument with Daya Ram, then a constable with the Sector 3 police station, who was the complainant in the case.
|
||
Four snatching incidents in city
Chandigarh, November 27 In the first incident, Krishna Devi, a resident of Sector 23, filed a complaint with the police that two motorcycle-borne youths snatched her chain when she was sitting in the front lawn of her house. She said one of the youths, who was riding pillion, ran towards her and after snatching the chain, immediately fled with his partner, who had kept the motorcycle on. The Sector 22 police chowki in charge Jaspal Singh Bhullar, while confirming the incident, said they had shown the photographs of some of the chain snatchers of the area to her in order to identify the accused. He said the victim could not identify the accused, as she reportedly told the police that she was in a state of shock and took some minutes to come to terms with the incident. In another snatching reported from Sector 19, a woman Santosh complained to the police that she was standing in front of her house when two motorcycle borne youths snatched her chain. However, she was able to grab the chain and as a result, a part of the chain fell on the ground while the accused fled from the scene, taking away the other part of the chain. Similarly, a woman was walking on the dividing road of Sectors 35 and 43 when two motorcycle-borne youths allegedly snatched her purse containing an ATM card and cash. The police has registered cases against unidentified persons in different police stations of the city and the investigations were on in these cases. Meanwhile, Veena Devi, a resident of Sector 40, was passing through a street along with her husband when two motorcycle-borne youths snatched her purse containing gold jewellery and cash. However, the case could not be confirmed, as she was yet to file complaint with the police.
|
||
Inter-School Cricket Meet
Chandigarh, November 27 St John’s High School beat DAV Senior Secondary School-8 by 11 runs to win the championship organised by education department, Chandigarh administration at GMSSS, Sector 19. In the final, St John's, electing to bat first, put on a total of 145 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. Opener Varundeep Basur, carrying on his good work in the tournament, top scored with 43 runs while Shine Sharma scored 37 runs and in the end Iknoor Singh's cameo of 27 runs helped St John's reach 145. In reply, DAV team was kept on a tight leash by St John's bowlers. DAV team, especially Simran (32) and Arvind (30) fought hard for their team but in the end could not do enough as their team fell 11 runs short of their target. For St John's team, Shine Sharma three for 36 and Iknoor two for 21 made life difficult for DAV batsman. Score: St John's-145 for five in 20 overs (Varundeep 43, Shine 37, Iknoor 27 and Vishal two for 33). DAV -134 for seven in 20 overs (Simran 32, Arvind 30, Shine three for 36 and Iknoor two for 21). |
|
3-day training for coaches ends
Chandigarh, November 27 About 23 coaches from different parts of the country participated in the three-day course. Rajan Kashyap, chairman of the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) encouraged all coaches to continue with the new concept introduced during the course. He also gave away certificates to the participants. All the three tutors Doug MacCurdy, Gajendra Singh and Gary O’Brien had explained about the equipment and also gave them the information about the associations’ working. Sarabjit Singh, secretary, CLTA, said the coaches felt positive about the course, as the concept was helpful in developing the base of tennis. He said the new concept by International Tennis Federation (ITF) helped people of all ages to play tennis and have fun. They can enjoy the game by planning different format of tournaments, he added. |
|
Ball Badminton
Chandigarh, November 27 In another match, Shishu Niketan defeated Government College, Sector 46, by 29-4 and 29-12. Government Model High School of Sector 37 out played Manav Mangal High School, Sector 21, by
29-21 and 29-17. Government College, Sector 46, defeated Baptist School, Sector 45, by 29-15 and 29-10 in the women’s section. In another match, Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, outplayed Government Model High School, Sector 32, by 29-11 and 29-14. Principal Harinder Jeet Kaur inaugurated the tournament. Results: Men: GMSSS-19 bt GMHS Coaching Centre-38 29-10, 29-9, Shishu Niketan bt GC-46, 29-4, 29-12, Force Club-38 bt Chandigarh Baptist 29-10, 29-5, GC-46 bt MRASSS-27 29-21 29-10, St Joseph's 44 bt GMSSS-19 Club 29-12 29-7, GMHS-37 bt MMS-21 29-21, 29-17, GSSS-56 bt GSSS, Khuda Lahora, 29-9 29-7 and GHSS Coaching Centre-38 bt GSSS-56 29-17, 29-9. Women: GC-46 bt Baptist School-45 29-15, 29-10, GCG-11 bt GSSS-38 29-3 29-3, GGSCW-26 bt GMHS-32
29-11, 29-14 and GHS-32 bt DSC-45 29-12 29-3. |
|
Cricket trials tomorrow
Chandigarh, November 27 According to sources, probables for the tournament would be selected for coaching camp. During the coaching camp, the players would be selected to participate in the up coming tournament, he added. According to federation president Amit Thakur, the federation is planning to send a cricket team to the US for the International Sports Federation (ISF). |
|
|||||
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
