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Ellenabad Bypoll
Will INLD retain its stronghold?
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‘Record’ increase in vegetable production
Power Privatisation
Construction of Foot Overbridges, Underpasses
‘Introduce courses to promote film culture’
Specialised courses hone students’ skills: FTII director
Hotelier, servant murdered
Man killed in accident
Woman found dead; in-laws booked
Districts to have eye banks
Labourer dies of suffocation
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Ellenabad Bypoll
Ellenabad, December 28 Starting his three-day tour of the Ellenabad constituency to mobilise people for the party’s January 2 rally prior to the filing of nomination papers, Abhey Singh Chautala today alleged that the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government had been discriminating against the area and the January 20 bypoll was an opportunity to take revenge for the “ill-treatment” meted out to the area. “Farmers of this area have not been getting their share of water or power. Hooda does not look beyond Rohtak when it comes to development,” alleged Abhey Singh. He said Hooda, his ministers and MLAs would come to them for seeking votes and they should not lose the opportunity to ask them where their share of water and power had gone. “Unko peepal ke ped ke neeche bithakar poochhna ki hamare hisse ka paani aur bijli kahan gayi (take them under a banyan tree and ask them where your share of water and power has gone),” said Abhey Singh. Abhey Singh appealed to the people to reach in large numbers in Ellenabad on January 2 to attend the rally to be addressed by former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. Meanwhile, accusing the Chautalas of misleading the people on the issue of power, water and development, Ashok Tanwar, Congress MP from Sirsa, alleged that the INLD had done nothing for the welfare of farmers or for the Ellenabad area. “The Chautalas take pride in presenting themselves as champions of farmers’ cause, but have done little for generating more power in the state or bringing the SYL water to Haryana during their regime,” Tanwar alleged. Inaugurating the election office of Congress nominee Bharat Singh Beniwal in Ellenabad town today, Ashok Tanwar said the Chautalas owed an explanation to people as to what development they had brought to the constituency that elected their representative in six of the seven elections since 1977. “The Chautalas are in the habit of telling lies to befool people, while in fact they have only exploited people for their personal gains,” the MP alleged. He claimed that Beniwal would win the forthcoming byelection by a huge margin and asked people to make the December 30 rally of the Congress a success. Meanwhile, the Left parties are yet to take a decision on their stand in the byelection. |
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Will INLD retain its stronghold?
Ellenabad, December 28 Of the seven elections held since 1977, the INLD and its other avatars have emerged victorious on six
occasions. Bhagi Ram, a former MLA, has won this seat for the INLD on five of the six
occasions. Ellenabad was carved out as a separate constituency in 1967 and Partap Singh Chautala of the Congress became its first MLA. Earlier, people of this constituency elected MLA for Dabwali that had two MLAs - one from the general category and the other from the reserved
categories. Kesara Ram Keharwala won the Dabwali (reserved) seat, constituting the Ellenabad area in 1957 and 1962. In elections held in 1968, Lal Chand Khod emerged victorious on the Vishal Haryana Party ticket. Devi Lal won the next election held in 1969. He was a candidate of the Congress. Brij Lal of the Congress won the next election held for Ellenabad in 1972. Devi Lal family’s evident hold over the Ellenabad seat started from 1977 elections held after lifting of the Emergency. The seat had been reserved for the Scheduled Castes from that
election. Bhagi Ram representing parties by different names headed by Devi Lal and his clan emerged victorious from Ellenabad in three consecutive occasions - 1977, 1982 and
1987. Mani Ram Keharwala (Congress), son of former MLA Kesara Ram, defeated Bhagi Ram in the 1991 election and brought this seat to Congress after a long time. However, Bhagi Ram
(INLD) avenged his defeat in the 1996 elections and repeated this feat in 2000 too to become five-time MLA from
Ellenabad. However, this unique feat failed to get him nomination of the INLD in 2005 and the party fielded Dr Sushil
Indora, who also won the seat for the INLD. Ellenabad was made open for the general categories during the recent delimitation and Om Prakash Chautala won the seat in the elections held in October. However, he resigned the seat as he won from two seats and preferred to retain the other one - Uchana
Kalan. The January 20 byelection will decide whether the INLD is able to retain its hold over the seat or the the Congress manages to win the seat it needs to obtain a simple majority in the state Assembly. |
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Left parties protest against price rise
Fatehabad, December 28 Addressing “janakrosh pardarshan”, a protest rally organised by the Left parties here today, Inderjit Singh alleged that the Central Government had waived taxes worth Rs 4,18,000 crore of big industrialists of which Rs 48,000 crore pertained to the Reliance group alone. Castigating the government for the rising prices of essential commodities, the CPM leader said revival of the public distribution system (PDS) was the only answer to the problems confronting the common man today. “On the one hand the government is talking of making a food security law, while on the other it has proposed to decrease the wheat being provided to BPL families from 35 kg per month to 25 kg per month and its rate from Rs 2 per kg to Rs 3 per kg,” said Inderjit Singh. He expressed shock at what he termed “systemic failure in the Ruchika molestation and suicide case” and said the case deserved to be reopened by the investigative agencies as justice had not been met to the victim’s family owing to political patronage to the culprit. Krishan Swaroop Gorakhpuria, state vice-president of the All-India Kisan Sabha, Harpal Singh, a former MLA from Tohana, Ram Kumar, district secretary of the CPM, and Sampooran Singh, district secretary of the CPI, also addressed the rally. Left parties’ workers later went in procession towards the mini-secretariat and raised slogans against the government. SIRSA: Swaran Singh Virk, a member of the state committee of the CPI, led a demonstration of the Left parties against rising prices here on Monday. Activists of the Left parties assembled in Town Park and marched towards the mini-secretariat raising slogans against the government for its failure to check the rising prices. “Life has become miserable for the common people due to the policies of the government,” Virk alleged. Balbir Kaur Gandhi, district president of the All-India Democratic Women Association, alleged that at a time when the prices of essential commodities had skyrocketed, private schools had hiked their fees to add insult to injury. HISAR: The Left parties staged angry demonstrations at all district towns of Haryana on Monday in protest against the rising prices of food and other essential commodities. Inderjit Singh said hundreds of party workers staged demonstrations and courted arrest in all districts to express their resentment over failure of the Centre as well as the state government to check the rise in prices of food and other essential items. Led by Inderjit Singh, more than 100 CPM and CPI workers courted arrest here. Earlier, they gheraoed the main entrance to the mini-secretariat following which the police took them in custody and released them at some distance from the administrative complex. He said economic liberalisation and privatisation were mainly responsible for the economic mess in the country. |
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‘Record’ increase in vegetable production
Kaithal, December 28 Deputy Commissioner Amneet P Kumar told mediapersons here that during November, the production of fruits had increased from 2,710 metric tonnes to 2,970 metric tonnes, reflecting an increase of 260 metric tonnes as compared to the corresponding period last year. Similarly, the production of vegetables had also increased from 10,750 metric tonnes to 20,105 metric tonnes registering an increase of 9,355 tonnes. The area under vegetables had also increased from 2,015 hectares to 3,940 hectares, registering an increase of 1,925 hectares. During November, area under floriculture had increased from eight hectares to 10 hectares and area under medicinal plants had gone up to 33 hectares. She added that as many as 30,000 trays of mushroom were also laid during the month and the production of mushroom had increased from 10 metric tonnes to 30 tonnes reflecting an increase of 20 tonnes. The district horticulture officer organised a seminar to give necessary information to peasants about horticulture. The Deputy Commissioner further said the state government had decided to provide 50 per cent subsidy to farmers on purchase of hybrid seeds of vegetables, pulses and oil seeds under the National Agriculture Development Scheme. She said the state government had been implementing a number of welfare scheme for farmers to attract them to the crops of vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, gourd, cucumber, melon, watermelon, ladyfinger and
babycorn. |
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Power Privatisation
Panipat, December 28 Alleging that the franchise scheme for distribution system in Panipat and Gurgaon was being implemented to benefit the private hands, the JAC stated that it was quite unbecoming of the government to go ahead with the move even though there was a widespread resentment against it. The decision to intensify the stir was taken during a state-level convention of engineers and workers here today. President of the convention RS Dahiya said protests and demonstrations would be held outside the headquarters of all operation circles in the state from January 8 to March 25. He said in case the government still goes ahead with the opening of tenders of franchise scheme, the engineers and workers would bring the work to a halt on the same day. The convention was attended by thousands of members of constituent organisations of the Joint Action Committee, including Haryana Power Engineers Association, HSEB Workers Union and the All-Haryana Power Corporation Workers Union. During the convention, indifferent attitude of the state government towards rectification of pay anomalies, regular recruitment on vacant posts, regularisation of casual labour engaged on DC rates with assuring minimum wages of Rs 10,000 for social security, restoration of ex gratia scheme was also condemned. Dahiya said commercial as well as line losses in discoms were increasing due to privatising, outsourcing and contracting policies being followed by the state government. He said despite a shortage of 52 per cent of staff, engineers and workers of power utilities were putting in almost 12 to 14 hours each day to reduce line losses to a considerable extent. He said if vacant posts were filled after dumping the privatisation, outsourcing and contracting policy, the transmission losses could be brought down further and better services could be provided to the consumers in the state. SS Yadav stated that the group of engineers that was deputed in haste to Bhiwandi (Maharashtra) to prepare a report on privatisation of the distribution system had not interacted with consumers and workers due to shortage of time. He said whatever documents were provided to them by the engineers of Toronto Company were supplied to the nigam’s management and the management had put the same before the government. He claimed that the group never submitted any report in favour of privatisation of the distribution system. Padamjit Singh, chairman of the All-India Power Engineers Federation, said despite the state government’s decision to give the franchise of the distribution system , the work had not been awarded as yet. He said the move could create confusion over the rates on which tenders would be finalised as these would be quite different from the rates approved by the regulatory commission. Moreover, the franchise would further aggravate the matter by subletting the job to petty contractors, he said. President of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh Ajad Singh Malik and president of the Haryana Karamchari Mahasangh Om Prakash Pahalwan said they had also decided to extend full support to the
agitation. |
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Construction of Foot
Overbridges, Underpasses
Gurgaon, December 28 Annoyed over the empty claims made by politicians as well as the officials concerned in this regard, the residents have now decided to take on the authorities head-on. In a letter to the Chairman of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), a local residents’ body has threatened that in case they fail to commence work on the promised flyovers on the expressway - at Hans Enclave, Hero Honda Chowk, the Khandsa-Behrampur crossing, Narsinghpur and Kherki Dhaula - by January 5, they will agitate across the district to mark their protest. “The highway has been built without considering that pedestrians need to cross it; and they include women, children and the elderly. There is no consideration for cyclists as well. Hence, it is requested that the construction of these flyovers be started by January 5, 2010, failing which the residents will have no option but to start an agitation, including blocking of traffic and preventing of collection of toll at the plazas on the highway”, reads the letter signed by Gurgaon Citizens Council (GCC) president RS Rathee and FORWA chairman Dharam Sagar. “We had earlier brought this issue to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner, who assured us that he would arrange a meeting with NHAI officials and get the works expedited. However, when that failed to happen, we approached the NHAI officials directly. They said issues such as funding and land acquisition were delaying the construction work. Lakhs of residents of the 15-odd villages on either side of expressway have no means of crossing over from one side to the other, while the authorities keep on passing the buck,” said Rathee. The officials concerned of the NHAI maintained that five foot overbridges were supposed to be constructed, of which two had already been constructed, work on two others was under way and one was pending due to certain land issues. They admit that there was a provision for five underpasses across the expressway and one flyover on it, all to come up after Rajiv Chowk. However, in the feasibility study carried out for the purpose, it was found that three of these five underpasses were feasible, namely at Kherki Daula, Hero Honda Chowk and Narsinghpur, while two others were not. “The detailed project report of the elevated flyover is yet to be prepared as we are awaiting a few reports to be provided by the Haryana government,” they
added. |
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‘Introduce courses to promote film culture’
Yamunanagar, December 28 The UGC, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Culture and Information and Broadcasting, should provide aid to colleges and universities to promote film festivals, he added. “Haryana does not have any film society. People in Gurgaon and other places made some efforts, but to no avail. I am working hard to promote the film culture in the northern part of country,” said Radhakrishnan, who is closely associated with the film festival movement in India and started many film festivals in Delhi, during the second Haryana international film festival at the DAV College for Girls here today. “Film societies have been working actively at many places. Many film festivals were organised by film societies in Kolkata, Kerala and many other places,” he added. “I feel that other schools and colleges of the state should be informed about the kind of movement that has been started in Yamunanagar. We can help them in getting films and organising the festivals. They can also seek some financial help from the UGC,” he added. |
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Specialised courses hone students’ skills: FTII director
Yamunanagar, December 28 “If you do not have the aptitude, talent and commitment for the profession, then even a degree from a prestigious institution will not yield any result,” added Pankaj, who is an IAS officer of the 1990 batch and had also served as Commissioner of Archeology, Archives and Museums, Government of Madhya Pradesh. “Film festivals give an exposure to people of small and remote places. The Haryana international film festival has created a new film culture in the state. Things have changed in Haryana also as we have been getting a number of applications for admission for courses at the FTII. The FTII has produced a number of well-known directors and actors,” said Pankaj while talking to The Tribune during the second Haryana international film festival at the DAV College for Girls here this evening. Film made by FTII students - “Admi ki Aurat” - had won a special jury award at the international film festival and another movie “Chatak” was also ready for public screening, he added. |
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Hotelier, servant murdered
Rewari, December 28 The police, which registered a case of murder, has arrested Maha Singh and Suresh, both residents of Palhawas village. Sources said Maha Singh and Suresh took their dinner at Kuldeep’s hotel at Palhawas village last night. However, when they went away without making the payment and also holding out a threat of dire consequences if the hotelier persisted in demanding the payment, Kuldeep, along with Shyamu, chased their dumper on a motorcycle. At this Maha Singh abruptly took a back turn and crushed both Kuldeep and Shyamu to death on the spot, the sources said. The deceased Shyamu was a resident of Barabanki district of Uttar
Pradesh. — OC |
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Man killed in accident
Rewari, December 28 The mishap took place when they were on the way to Santal from Akeda. Irked over the incident, villagers set two dumpers on fire. Subsequently, when a fire tender from Bhiwadi reached there, the irate mob also made a bid to burn the fire brigade vehicle. When the news of Om Prakash’s demise reached Santal village, 5 km from Bhiwadi, the irate residents rushed to the spot and set four dumpers on fire on the Akeda-Bhiwadi road. While the Dharuhera police has now registered a case of causing death by negligence against the dumper driver, it has also registered a case of rioting obstruction, assault and mischief by fire under Sections 147, 148, 114, 186, 353 and 435 of the IPC against more than five residents of Akeda village. Similarly, the Bhiwadi police too has registered another case against residents of Santal village. |
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Woman found dead; in-laws booked
Rewari, December 28 Anita, daughter of late Jagdish Prasad, a native of the Neemrana area of Alwar district in Rajasthan, whose family has been now living in Bengaluru in Karnataka, got married to Sumit in February. After receiving information about Anita’s demise, Kamlesh Goyal, brother of the deceased, who is presently staying in Jaipur, reached Rewari today. The city police has registered a case of dowry death against Anita’s husband Sumit, father-in-law Hari Gupta, mother-in-law Madhu Gupta, brother-in-law Amit Gupta and two others following a complaint lodged by Kamlesh Goyal. Goyal alleged that his sister was first done to death and then the body was thrown into the water tank to make it appear as a case of suicidal death by Anita’s in-laws. He further said Anita, who had been living with them in Bengaluru for the past several months owing to the alleged persecution by her dowry esurient in-laws, had come to Rewari recently following rapprochement between the two families. Meanwhile, the police has taken Anita’s husband Sumit, mother-in-law Madhu Gupta and brother-in-law Amit Gupta into its custody for interrogation. The body was handed over to Goyal after a postmortem conducted by a board of doctors at the local Civil Hospital
today. |
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Districts to have eye banks
Jhajjar, December 28 The scheme is proposed to be launched on January 26, but its detailed blueprint has been prepared. Haryana Health, Education and Social Welfare Minister Geeta Bhukkal said this during her thanks-giving tour here yesterday. “Ambulance service will also be provided under the scheme and the eye donating procedure will be completed on the basis of a call made on 102. With the setting up of eye banks at the district level, the eyes of the donor can be taken immediately after his/her death,” said the minister, adding that Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led state government was determined to providing quality health care to the people. The minister exhorting people to create mass awakening regarding the declining sex ratio in the state. |
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Labourer dies of suffocation
Fatehabad, December 28 The victim has been identified as Sunil Kumar (20), a resident of Dhanbad. According to reports, the fire started from sparks from a machine and soon engulfed heaps of cotton lying nearby. The reports said there were three labourers on night duty at the time of the fire. While two managed to escape, the third one fell unconscious due to smoke and died. Fire engines controlled the fire but Sunil Kumar was found dead in the factory.
— TNS |
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