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INLD moves EC against 3 officers
Traders say they’re just too busy for rallies
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17 in fray for byelection
To overcome dissent, Mullana made campaign in charge
Welfare schemes fail to alleviate poverty
Youth done to death while saving friend
Woman, son crushed to death
Project to promote agro-forestry takes roots
HUDA auction in Faridabad tomorrow
Self-finance plan staff await revised wages
Visually impaired kids honoured
Chill Thrill For Kids
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INLD moves EC against 3 officers
Ellenabad, January 4 INLD national secretary RS Chaudhary yesterday wrote to the Election Commission, demanding transfer of BS Malik, Commissioner, Hisar Division, Yudhvir Singh Khyalia, DC, Sirsa, and Subhash Yadav, SP, Sirsa, accusing them of being partisan in the conduct of the byelection. The Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee today reacted sharply to INLD demand. It alleged that the latter was in wont to sending “false and fabricated” complaints to the EC every election. “The Election Commission had earlier decided to keep Malik away from poll-related work. He was removed from the post of Commissioner, Hisar Division, prior to the assembly elections,” said the letter by RS Chaudhary. The INLD has alleged that SP Subhash Yadav had discarded all propriety while pleasing Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and had driven away MLA Gopal Kanda in his official car to secure his support for the Congress. The INLD has sent a CD of the incident along with the complaint. “Sirsa DC Yudhvir Singh Khyalia was placed under suspension for a long time when the INLD was in power. His bias against INLD workers is obvious in his day-to-day functioning,” Chaudhary alleged and demanded that these officers should not be allowed to oversee the crucial byelection. Ved Parkash Vidrohi, spokesperson for the HPCC, however, maintained that there was no substance in the INLD complaint against Malik, Yadav and Khyalia. “The Congress believes in democratic norms and the Congress government has been following the Code of Conduct in letter and spirit,” Vidrohi claimed. On the contrary, the INLD was known for misusing authority during elections, he maintained. “It has become a habit with the INLD to hide its misdeeds by making false and frivolous complaints against the government. Most INLD complaints made in the past have been found to be baseless,” Vidrohi added. |
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Traders say they’re just too busy for rallies
Ellenabad, January 4 Labourers are seen cleaning the guar crop as a party holds its public meeting nearby. “We rarely go to attend rallies and prefer to watch the hustle and bustle from a distance,” said a trader, Jasbir Singh. Political activities are not going to eke a living for us, says another trader. Guar is grown in arid zones of Rajasthan, parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and arid and semi-arid zones of Haryana bordering Rajasthan. There are two units in the town that procure guar and produce guar gum which is used in mining, drilling petroleum and the textile sector. Guar gum is derived from seeds of the guar plant ‘cyamopsis tetragonalobus’ that belongs to the leguminosae family. Guar gum powder is a pale white powder. It is almost odourless and is available in different mesh sizes and viscosity. Churi and korma is produced as a byproduct. It is used as cattlefeed and is considered highly nutritious due to its high-protein contents. “We sell our products to exporters based in Sri Ganganagar who export it to the USA and some other countries,” said Subhash Mittal, who runs a guar gum mill in the town. “The crop is much less than the previous year due to shortage of rains. Last year, at least a crore bags were produced in the country, but this year the figure is likely to remain around 25 lakhs bags,” he said. This is why that farmers are getting Rs 2,570 per quintal for the crop this year whereas it sold for Rs 1,500 (approximately) per quintal last year. While political activists have started descending on the town for the Battle of Ellenabad, local traders are too busy to take note of them. |
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17 in fray for byelection
Sirsa, January 4 The candidates whose forms were rejected are Ram Murti, wife of Congress candidate Bharat Singh Beniwal, and Kanta Chautala, wife of Abhey Singh Chautala. Both had filed papers as covering candidates. Nomination papers of Bharat Kumar, an Independent, were also rejected as he was found less than 25 years of age. Meanwhile, District Electoral Officer Yudhvir Singh Khyalia today issued orders that no TV channel or cable network and FM radio station will broadcast any CD related to the Ellenabad byelection without prior permission. “Legal action will be taken according to Section 6 of the Television Network Act-1995 against those who broadcast a CD related to the election without prior permission and action under Section 16 against errant cable operators.” All parties and candidates were asked to register their identification with publishers for publishing election material. These include pamphlets, posters and handbills. These would have to carry the name of the publisher. The candidates have been allowed the use of the public address system from 6 am to 10 pm. |
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To overcome dissent, Mullana made campaign in charge
This despite Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda trying every trick in his book to keep his flock together, often harping on the “united we stand, divided we fall” lesson. At a general body meeting of the state unit recently, Hooda had underlined the need for unity. But Congress men will be Congress men, and with big egos at that. The party top brass did not realise that it was stepping into troubled waters when it constituted the election campaign committee for
the Ellenabad byelection. A race for one-upmanship among the committee members quickly ensued even as local leaders from Sirsa sulked at being sidelined. This brought infighting, something that the state unit has been constantly plagued with, to the fore forcing the party to re-think its strategy. To buy peace and as damage-control, the party announced last night that state unit president Phool Chand Mullana would be the overall in charge. What it did not state was that he had been appointed to soothe egos of big leaders and heal the bruised honour of local leaders. The party top brass had on Saturday appointed working president Kuldeep Sharma, MP Dr Ram Prakash and “newcomer” Sampat Singh to manage affairs for the Ellenabad byelection slated for January 20. Rao Dan Singh was given the responsibility of managing the media while local leaders from Sirsa and others, based on caste considerations, had been asked to campaign in their areas of
influence. A duty chart for allocating villages in the constituency was also under preparation. It was decided that Praladh Singh Gillankhera, Gopal Kanda, Naveen Jindal, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Sampat Singh would be in the forefront of campaigning while all other leaders would chip in. This, however, did not seem to go down well with local leaders who felt they had been left out in
the cold. Though the Chief Minister individually met prominent local Congress men, including KV Singh and Ranjit Singh, the whisper campaign against the inclusion of Sampat Singh began soonafter. Sources said former Finance Minister Sampat Singh was targeted on the ground that his name had been surfaced in the Ruchika case. Kuldeep Sharma and Ram Prakash, too, felt that each was senior to the other. To set the record straight, the party appointed Mullana in an attempt to nip the “discontent” in the bud, lest it casts a shadow on the impending bypoll. The INLD, meanwhile, is elated with the divided Congress, especially since Sirsa is considered its stronghold. Meanwhile, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson VP Vidrohi said today that party president Mullana would be in charge of the election campaign while Sharma, Dr Ram Prakash and Sampat Singh would assist him. These leaders would decide on the duties to be assigned to other
leaders. He said Congress workers had started campaigning in complete unity. The goal of the party was to win the election and strengthen the party. Vidrohi claimed that the INLD was towing its old line of making false complaints against government officials. He said it had become a habit with the INLD to make false and frivolous complaints against the government. |
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Varsity with no building, 4 teachers
Narnaul, January 4 The university, which does not have a building of its own and has merely 32 students and four faculty members, is supposed to function from the newly constructed building of Government BEd College here. Though the land identified for the university in Jant and Pali villages of Mahendragarh district has been acquired by the government, according to official sources, the paperwork for the transfer of land is yet to be completed. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda inaugurated the temporary campus of the university and launched its maiden academic session in presence of JNU Chancellor and eminent scientist-cum-educationist Prof Yashpal here today. Strangely, neither the Chief Minister nor the Vice-Chancellor, Prof MC Sharma, talked about any timeframe or deadline for the development of infrastructure, appointment of faculty or completing other formalities for the commissioning of the university in their speeches. Nonetheless, the spirits of the top functionaries of the university seem to be high. “Though the university is located in Haryana and we will try to cater to the needs of the local population, but the outlook of the institution will be national as it is a central university,” asserted Sharma. Deputy Registrar Saaket Kumar maintained that they were in a process of recruiting more faculty and other staff members and now that they had got the possession of a temporary campus, regular functioning would begin soon. “The underlying idea behind setting up the central university in rural area of Mahendragarh is threefold: Making Haryana a hub of education, ushering in a phase of development in the hitherto backward district of south Haryana and bridging the urban-rural divide by ensuring uniform facilities,” Hooda said while addressing a gathering on the occasion. In his speech, Prof Yashpal exhorted elders not to suppress the creativity in children by forcing them to work and think in a definite pattern. “Inquisitiveness and excitement are qualities which we should try to imbibe from children,” he observed. Bhiwani-Mahendragarh MP Shruti Choudhry welcomed the setting up of the university in this part of the state. She also asked the CM to address the issues of water shortage and the proposed bypass for Narnaul town. Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal termed the launch of the university as a New Year gift for residents of the state. She expressed hope that the university would prove to be a milestone in the development of educational infrastructure in Haryana. Chief parliamentary secretaries Rao Daan Singh and Anita Yadav, besides Congress MLA Rao Narender Singh, were also present on the occasion. |
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Welfare schemes fail to alleviate poverty
Kaithal, January 4 MP Naveen Jindal, chairman of the District Vigilance and
Monitoring Committee, while presiding over the meeting of district officials here expressed concern over the increase in the number of BPL families. He said it was a matter of concern, but it was a joint responsibility of the government and the administration to make efforts to raise standards of such families. During the meeting, Jindal reviewed the execution of various development projects and advised officials to ensure that the funds allotted for various schemes were properly used and the benefits percolated to the desired beneficiaries. He said the development schemes launched to raise the standards of living of people especially in slums and rural areas should be implemented expeditiously. Laying emphasis on the execution of total sanitation schemes, he said the administration should ensure that every house had the toilet
facility. Jindal called upon officials to change the mindset of people, who have got themselves registered under the NREGS, but do not want to work. He said loopholes, if any, in the scheme should be plugged so that the targeted people get employment in the vicinity of their village. The MP sought detailed reports of other schemes under execution in the district by the departments
concerned. Deputy Commissioner Amneet P Kumar and ADC Ramesh Verma informed about the NREGS, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, Indira Awas Yojna, self-help groups constituted by the District Rural Development Agency, Swaran Jayanti Swarojgar Yojna, Swajal Dhara Scheme, computerisation of land records and causes of delay in submission of estimates for development works by the Kalayat BDO. The MP said officials should avoid presenting inflated figures and concentrate on execution of schemes so that the results become visible on the ground. The Deputy Commissioner said under the MP Local Area Development Scheme, a sum of Rs 4 crore had been spent and 350 out of 356 sanctioned works had been completed during 2004-2009 period. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sultan Singh Jadola, SDMs Hawa Singh and Baljeet Singh and other district officials were present in
the meeting. Later, Jindal attended a lunch party arranged by the District Bar Association.President of the All-India Kisan Khet Mazdoor Congress Shamsher Singh Surjewala, District and Sessions Judge RS Baswana, ADJs AK Shori and SK Katyal and DBA president PL Bhardwaj were also
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Youth done to death while saving friend
Ellenabad, January 4 The incident took place when Babbu was sitting in his music shop with his friend Mohinder. Eight to 10 persons, armed with weapons, entered the shop and attacked Mohinder. Babbu intervened and received serious injuries. He died on the spot. Mohinder has been admitted to the local government hospital. Two booked for fraud
Rewari: The Model Town police here has registered a case of cheating and sale of noxious edible oil under Sections 420, 273 of the IPC as well as Sections 7, 10, 55 of the Essential Commodities Act against a dairy-cum-shopowner Mool Chand Saini of Shakti Nagar colony and his salesman Vijay Yadav, a resident of Alwar district in Rajasthan. This was following a complaint filed by the chief medical officer of the local civil hospital on Saturday. A police official said samples of refined oil were taken by officials of the health department from the shop and sent for tests to Karnal in June 2009. When the report was received by the health department here, the CMO filed a complaint in this regard. The police has arrested Rohit, Pradeep and Bhagwan Das, residents of Ajay Nagar Colony here, for allegedly making a bid on the life of Davender, his mother Munni Devi and his maternal uncle Mahesh. The three were produced in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate who remanded them ito police custody for a day. The police was yet to recover the weapon of offence from them. Sources said following an altercation, a scuffle ensued and one of the accused fired shots
into the air from a countrymade pistol. Mahesh, Davender and his mother were admitted to the local civil hospital. The police has registered a case under Sections 307, 323 and 34 of the IPC as well as under the
Arms Act. |
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Woman, son crushed to death
Rewari, January 4 Sources said the mother-son duo were run over by the dumper after Puja along with her son abruptly fell from a motorcycle, which was being driven by her father Sube Singh Yadav. The motorcycle reportedly got stuck in a pothole on the road. The mishap occurred when Sube Singh, a resident of Rajia Ki village, was bringing his married daughter Puja along with her son from Pithanwas village to Rajia Ki village. Subsequently, the
police after registering a case of causing death by negligence arrested the dumper driver. |
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Project to promote agro-forestry takes roots
Panipat, January 4 The project will not only conserve the environment in target areas in the state, but will also focus particularly on degraded wasteland, village common land, farm boundaries, homestead surroundings, institutional land, banks of rivers and other areas unsuited to agriculture. Under the plan to promote agro-forestry, seedlings of various species of economically important trees will be planted on the farmland by the Forest Department and incentive will be given to the farmers at the rate of Rs 2 and Rs 3 for the second and the third year, respectively. Deputy Commissioner Vijay Singh Dahiya said in the district, trees with longer life, including poplar, teak and eucalyptus, would be provided to farmers at subsidised rates. He said the project would go a long way in reviving the deteriorating environment conditions in the district. The administration along with the Forest Department would ensure that the plan was implemented in the true spirit. District forest officer Vasvi Tyagi said the department was already in the process to bring more area under the forest cover. Under the project, 50 per cent subsidy would be provided on poplar seedling and it would be sold at the rate of Rs 5 per seedling while earlier farmers had to pay a sum of Rs 10 per seedling. The seedling would be supplied to only those genuine farmers who would plant poplar on their own land and maximum 200 poplar seedlings would be provided on first-cum-first-served basis to the farmers. |
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HUDA auction in Faridabad tomorrow
Chandigarh, January 4 The Chief Administrator, HUDA, DPS Nagal, said the auction of these commercial sites would be held at 11 am on
January 6 at Gymkhana Club, Sector-15-A, Faridabad. While giving details of the plots available for open auction, he said out of the total 53 commercial sites, 17 sites having an area of 2.75X8.25 metres or 22.68 square meters were at sector 21-C, 20-A, near the railway station and 21-D, near police post, Faridabad. Similarly, 10 sites having an area of 2.75X8.25 metres or 22.69 square metres were at Sector-2, Palwal, six sites of 5.50X25 metres or 137.50 square metres at Sector-2, Palwal, six sites of 9’X27’at Sector 8 and Sector 15-A, Part-I, Faridabad, four sites of 5.50X13.75 metres or 75.62 square metres at Sector-2, Faridabad, four sites of 2.75X8.25 metres or 22.68 square metres at Sector-2, Faridabad, four sites of 5.50X25 metres or 137.50 square metres at Sector-2, Faridabad and two sites of 2.97X10.05 metres or 29.84 square metres at Sector-16, Faridabad. He said the bidder would be required to get registered by submitting a written request for registration along with requisite details with the Estate Officer, HUDA, Faridabad, till the time of beginning of auction. |
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Self-finance plan staff await revised wages
Kurukshetra January 4 While addressing mediapersons here today, Prof NS Kaushal, president of Kurukshetra University Teachers’ Association (KUTA), said even the non-teaching employees working under the self-finance scheme had been given the benefits of revised pay scales long back. As a result, there is a cloud of uncertainty over teachers working under this scheme and they are not able to concentrate either on academics or research activities, he alleged. Prof Kaushal pointed out that the teachers were assured by the varsity authorities that they would get revised salary for November 2009. The matter was also placed before the Executive Council of the University on November 27, 2009, which approved it subject to consent of the Haryana government. An assurance was also given by the Financial Commissioner and Secretary Education Rajan Gupta that the clearance would be given within a week, he informed. Prof Kaushal said it was unfortunate that the teachers working under self-finance scheme were not given their due even after such a long time. |
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Visually impaired kids honoured
Chandigarh, January 4 The function was organised jointly by the Haryana branch of the National Federation of the Blind and the state Department of Social Justice and Empowerment here today. She gave cheques of Rs 11,000 each to four toppers in the university examinations, cheques of Rs 2,100 each to seven students of graduation level for securing the first position and cheques of Rs 1,500 to two students for securing 70 per cent and above marks in classes X and XII. The toppers who were honoured were Ram Pal Singh, Rajinder Ajad, Jage Ram and Dr Amar Chand, among others. |
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Hundreds take part in nagar kirtan
Sirsa, January 4 Hundreds of devotees participated in the procession that started from Gurdwara Dasham Patshahi located in Suratgarhia
Baazar. The nagar kirtan passed through various markets of the town, where people had lined up to pay obeisance. Sikh youths displayed their skills in “gatka” and “Panj
Piara” marched with the decorated “Palki Sahib”. |
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Chill Thrill For Kids
Sirsa, January 4 “All government and private schools in Sirsa district will open at 9.30 am and close at 2 pm,” said Asha Kiran Grover from the district education office,
Sirsa. The orders will come into force from January 6 and remain valid till January 16. HS Chhokar from the district education office,
Fatehabad, said all government and private schools in the district will open at 9 am and close at 3
pm. The orders will remain valid from January 6
to January 15. |
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Chandigarh, January 4