|
|
|
|
TARGET: Strong power distribution
Life miserable in stinky Kaithal
|
|
|
Prithvi to set up state data centre
Turf wars break out to make inroads into rivals' strongholds
Rally against price rise
Akademi to honour Sirsa littérateur
Govt’s ‘pro-Punjabi’ policies
RTE Act: Ex-VC skeptical about implementation
MLA raises development issues
US varsity honours Naveen Jindal
Jatinder Vijh in PRCI Hall of Fame
Tricycles, crutches distributed
Letters
|
|
TARGET: Strong power distribution
According to a spokesman for the Nigam, the major stress in the annual plan has been given to strengthen the system by providing high-voltage distribution system in urban, rural and agriculture sectors for which Rs 656 crore has been earmarked. Under the aggregated technical and commercial loss reduction plan, consumer metering, distribution transformer metering and feeders metering will be given special emphasis. There is a plan to implement prepaid metering in the urban areas, in the first phase. In view of rapid load growth, the Nigam plans to set up new substations and augment the capacity of existing substations with a total investment of Rs 114 crore. Likewise, Rs 35 crore has been earmarked for the erection of 11 KV lines, cables, transformers and bifurcation/trifurcation of lengthy and overloaded feeders. The spokesman said special focus had been given to customer care at the sub-divisional level. It has been planned to update all information relating to subdivisions through computers at each subdivision. The information technology-based consumer base data, energy auditing, energy accounting, consumer indexing, automatic data logging for all distribution transformers and feeders, geographical indexing system mapping, etc., will be ensured under the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme. There will be a significant increase in efficiency and service to consumers with the help of latest technology. The Nigam plans to spend Rs 25 crore to improve the system reliability, under which activities like distribution automation and replacement of bare conductor with covered conductor will be carried out.
|
|
Life miserable in stinky Kaithal
Kaithal, April 8 In many residential localities, scavengers collect garbage and throw the same in the open on the roadsides where stray animals can be seen feeding on it. Those living in the vicinity of such places have to bear the stink emanating from garbage dumps. Numerous such places are used for dumping garbage daily from where it is not lifted regularly. Though huge garbage bins have been kept by the MC authorities on main roads and in the commercial areas of the town, these too are not emptied frequently and remain overflowing for days, polluting the environment, besides giving the town a shabby look. The authorities seldom care to ensure frequent lifting of garbage. The helpless residents have no option but to accept this as a way of life. Most of the nullahs constructed at a cost of lakhs of rupees in various parts of the town remain choked and overflowing at some places. The MC, which is short of manpower, is unable to ensure cleaning of nullahs on a regular basis. It is a common complaint that whenever a private contractor is given the job of cleaning nullahs they do not accomplish the job properly and manage to get payment from the MC by using their nexus. The stinking nullahs have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Many nullahs constructed at a huge cost after remaining filled with silt for a very long period have broken at some places and need immediate repairs. The indifferent attitude of the councillors and MC officials has also aggravated the problem. Surprise checks conducted by the deputy commissioner and other officials in the past had only limited effect. The residents demand that senior officers of the administration should it a regular feature and take action against those found guilty. They feel that the policy to reward hard working employees and punish erring officials can bring some relief to the harassed public which is forced to live in insanitary conditions.
|
|
Prithvi to set up state data centre
Chandigarh, April 8 For Prithvi, it is the second SDC after it got an order to develop a similar SDC in Nagaland. The Haryana SDC will provide single window for accessing the services provided by the state government as it would house the data from various departments under one roof. Prithvi expects to start the work on Haryana SDC in four to six weeks. The programme is part of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of the Centre to create infrastructure and platforms to support various e-governance initiatives to be rolled out by the Centre and state governments in near future. The plan details the command centre, data centre infrastructure, network infrastructure and common service centres, required to create e-governance ecosystem in the country. The Central government has approved over Rs 1,700 crore to support the programme. Prithvi is targeting a sizable chunk of the outlay. A spokesman of the company said, “As a leader in this space, our expertise is well known. We are confident of achieving our targets in time and become the largest player in
the SDC segments. We are also targeting eight more SDCs from various states across
the country”.
|
|
Turf wars break out to make inroads into rivals' strongholds
Hisar, April 8 On the other hand, Kuldeep Bishnoi's Haryana Janhit Congress is aiming at areas like Mahendragarh and Rewari. Rohtak, Sonepat and Jhajjar districts were the stronghold of the INLD and its earlier avatars when the late Deputy Prime Minister, Devi Lal, was at the helm of affairs of the party. This Jat belt remained opposed to the Congress till the arrival of Bhupinder Singh Hooda on the scene in 1991. Hooda humbled Devi Lal three times in Lok Sabha poll from Rohtak which eventually led to the Congress establishing a hold in the area resulting in a resounding win for the party in the 2005 Assembly poll. Since then, the INLD has struggled to find support in these districts. However, the Chautala clan recently anointed Ajay Chautala to regain the lost territory. Ajay has devised a strategy for his campaign. He appears to be eyeing Rohtak first before launching a full-fledged political assault in other nearby areas of the Jat belt. Hoardings and banners with the smiling face of the elder Chautala scion dot the national and state highways in and around Rohtak in an apparent bid to counter the
influence of Hooda's son, Deepender Hooda, MP from Rohtak. The INLD decision to contest the zila parishad and municipal poll is also aimed at gaining ground in these areas at the grassroots level. On the other hand, Hooda is now eyeing Sirsa, the home district of the Chautalas, after having pushed the Bhajan Lal clan to the margins in Hisar. The official largesse showered on the district during Hooda's tenure is now up to a whopping Rs 1,470 crore. He recently announced a grant of Rs 50 crore for two institutions named after Devi Lal. Kuldeep Bishnoi is looking southwards for a stronger pan-Haryana footprint. In recent weeks he has chosen Gurgaon, Mahendragarh and Rewari for different political events. He plans to launch a tour and member enrolment drive this month from the birthplace of former Chief Minister Rao Birender Singh's village. As a result of this, political activities in other areas have virtually come to a standstill. Politicians in Hisar, Bhiwani and districts along the national highway No. 1 are cooling their heels - some are licking wounds inflicted by the reverses in the Assembly poll while others are hoping against hope to find berths in the Cabinet or equivalent political posts.
|
|
Stubble burning threat to farmer-friendly insect
Rohtak, April 8 “The practice could lead to the elimination of a farmer-friendly insect, beetle (Zygogramma Bicolorata). The authorities should ban the burning of wheat stubble,” claims Anil Kumar Beri, a progressive farmer having fields on the outskirts of the town. He says the administration usually issues an appeal to the farmers to avoid burning stubble which adds to air pollution and poses a danger to standing crops in neighboring fields, but the practice goes on unchecked. “There is a need to create awareness among farmers, who should realise that burning
stubble could lead to the death of beetle which is a precious insect as it is the only means
of biological control of Congress grass (Parthenium Hysterophorus), one of the noxious weeds. Claiming that beetle, which remained in dormant stage during winter months, has again started growth and is now present in and around green patches, he says it could be eliminated if the farmers go on with the practice of burning the stubble without precautions. Beri says, “Beetle came from Bangalore for the first time in 2004. It was introduced by the Agriculture Department to control the Congress grass. About 1.9 lakh beetles were brought to Panchkula. This insect reached other parts of the state, including Rohtak, through cattle and other sources of transportation,” claims Beri, who had presented a paper on the subject at the First Indian Horticulture Congress - 2004 in New Delhi. He says beetle must be protected and all efforts should be made to promote its growth as it is the only means of controlling Congress grass. Revealing that parthenium plants are a major health hazard as a single plant produces an average 5,925.5 flowers which release enormous quantity of pollen (624 million per plant) into the atmosphere which could result in various diseases like asthma and skin allergies. The presence of parthenium in cropped lands results in yield reduction up to 40 per cent and the pollen grains inhibit fruit set in tomato, brinjal, beans, etc and it is also responsible for bitter milk disease as livestock feed on grass mixed with parthenium, he adds.
|
|
Rally against price rise
Faridabad, April 8 According to him, the state unit had been assigned the task to collect 20 lakh signatures in protest against rise in prices of all commodities and the failure of the Congress-led UPA government to check it. The signatures are being collected all over the country which will be submitted by the state units concerned to the national president of the party in the rally. The signatures will then be submitted to President Pratibha Patil. According to Gurjaar, about eight lakh signatures have already been collected
in Haryana. He said senior party leaders in the state had been assigned the duty for mobilising support for the campaign. The party was getting good response. The masses appear to be fed up with the functioning of the Congress governments in the country, he claimed. Referring to Haryana, he said the Congress government had failed on all fronts and said it had no moral right to be in power. The BJP leader said the Congress government had promised about five years ago to provide round-the-clock power supply in three years, but the situation had gone from bad to worse. The farm sector had suffered on account of erratic supply of power. He also held the government accountable in failing to make provisions for potable water. He was critical of the government with regard to law and order which, he alleged, had been worsening every passing month. According to him, hoarders and stockists as well as money launders were being benefited from the policies of the government.
|
|
Akademi to honour Sirsa littérateur
Sirsa, April 8 According to an official release, the Haryana Sahitya Rattan Samman Award for the year 2008-09 will be given to Dr Harish Chander Verma of Rohtak and for 2009-10 to Rajya Kavi Uday Bhanu Hans of Hisar. The Mahakavi Surdas Samman Award for 2008-09 will be given to Dr MP Bhardwaj of Panchkula and for 2009-10 to Kanwal Nain Kapoor of Yamunanagar. The Babu Bal Mukund Gupt Samman Award for 2008-09 will be given to Puran Mudgal of Sirsa and for 2009-10 to Gian Parkash Vivek of Bahadurgarh. Urmi Krishan of Ambala has been selected for the Lal Deshbandhu Gupt Samman Award for 2008-09 and Narender Kumar Upmanyu of Panipat and Hament Atri have been selected for this award for 2009-10. The Pt Lakhmi Chand Samman Award for 2008-09 will go to Madan Gopal Shastri of Hisar and for 2009-10 to Rajbir Deswal of Panchkula. The Haryana Gaurav Samman Award for 2008-09 will be bestowed upon Dr Suresh Gautam of Delhi and for 2009-10 upon Dr Kamal Kumar of Delhi. The Haryana Sahitya Sewa Samman Award, which has been initiated for the promotion of Haryanavi Literature, will be conferred on Bharat Bhushan Sanghiwal of Rohtak, Satpal Gupt of Chandigarh and Tara Chand Premi of Ferozepur Zhirkha.
|
|
|
Govt’s ‘pro-Punjabi’ policies
Faridabad, April 8 Subhash Batra, former Home Minister of Haryana and a senior Congress leader, said that the Congress government had set an example in transparency and sincerity towards Punjabis. The government’s recent announcement of according second official language status to Punjabi in a meaningful way appears to have perked up a large section of Punjabi leaders within the Congress. An announcement by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at the recently organised Punjabi Mahasammelan to allot land for setting up a memorial in honour of members of the community who lost their lives during the Partition has also pleased the Punjabis. Batra revealed that the community in Haryana would organise a huge public meeting in which the Chief Minister would be invited as the chief guest. Leaders and intellectuals of the community cutting across the party lines would also be invited. While the Chief Minister would be honoured in the function, the community would also present its case for getting due share in government jobs and representation in the government. The Chief Minister as well as leaders of other political parties would be asked to give tickets for the Assembly and parliamentary elections as per the strength of the community, he added. On the “pro-Punjabi” stance of the government, Phool Chand Maulana, president of the state Congress, said the Congress was a democratic party and it stressed on welfare of all sections of society. “The Congress is a national party and its governments in states have a common streak and legacy in secularism and democracy,” he said.
|
|
|
RTE Act: Ex-VC skeptical about implementation
Sonepat, April 8 Talking to The Tribune, Brig Chaudhary pointed out that the implementation of provisions of the Act would require huge expenditure and enormous Budget provision, which becomes very difficult for the states to arrange and earmark. Moreover, in the prevailing scenario of education in government schools of the state, there were multiple problems, including the shortage of teaching staff, lack of infrastructure facilities, guardians and wards preference for private schools. He explained that there were around 30,000 posts of teacher vacant at present in government schools and in addition to it, 15,000 to 20,000 more would be required to get the teacher-student ratio of one against 25-30 students as suggested by the Act. Whereas, at present, this ratio was at one against 50 students in state schools and it was against the norms of the Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation. Stating that 53 per cent of the students in urban areas and 22 per cent students from villages prefer to join private schools in preference to government schools, he added that 50 to 60 per cent of the students drop their studies after class V. Besides, the percentage of students joining colleges and universities was 12 and 8 to 9, respectively, he said. Earning by a child has been a regular practice for many families and still they prefer to make their child an earning hand of the family, he said. “It will be a gigantic task for the government not only to earmark huge budgetary provisions to provide infrastructural and other basic facilities in the schools, but will also be difficult to motivate the unwilling guardians and shepherd the unwilling students to the schools,” he opined. Admitting that the education was the key to every kind of development, Brig Chaudhary suggested that the education be given the top priority and standard of education should be upgraded with congenial atmosphere in educational institutions.
|
|
|
Sirsa girls win laurels in throw ball
Sirsa, April 8 These girls were part of the 15-member national team that won the first Throw Ball World Cup played in Alexandria city of Egypt between March 29 and March 31. Pakistan, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Singapore and Egypt were the other teams besides India, which participated in the inaugural World Cup. The Indian team won the final by winning in two straight sets 25-22 and 25-23. “It was a great experience for us to be part of the winning team. We had never thought that we would return as world champions,” said Priyanka Insan. “Our college is providing all kinds of facilities to us. The kind of wooden floor throw ball stadium we played in the Egypt, is available to us in our own college too,” said Parvesh Kaur.
|
|
MLA raises development issues
Sonepat, April 8 But, according to BJP MLA Kavita
Jain, she had raised these demands for the first time during Question Hour in the recently concluded Assembly session. She informed that in reply to a question on the railway over-bridge, PWD Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala had stated that a three-leg ROB with service lane facility had been proposed at an estimated cost of Rs 30
crore. The entire exercise has been started again with preparation of new design and after approval, it would be sent to the Railway Ministry for sanction. It would take about a year to commence construction. She further stated that on the construction a sewer treatment plant, Surjewala said the process to acquire land for setting up the plant was in process and a report had been sent to the Centre for sanction under third phase of the Yamuna Action Plan. In reply to another question about the de-silting of the sewer pipelines, Surjewala stated that a proposal in this regard was under consideration. He assured that the de-silting exercise would be carried out in the next financial year. On the acquisition of land for solid waste management in Sandal Kalan village, Local Bodies Minister Mahender Pratap Singh informed that the villagers had obtained stay on the acquisition of 14 acres and four marla village land from the Punjab and Haryana High court and final decision of the high court is awaited, the MLA added. He also informed the House that the government would consider proposals to register the lease deeds of municipal land in the names of owners.
|
|
Rewari gets herbal park
Rewari, April 8 The park was recently inaugurated by Finance, Irrigation, Forest and Environment Minster Capt Ajay Singh Yadav who announced that henceforth it would be called as Indira Gandhi Ashvagandha Herbal Park after the name of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Enumerating the advantages of various medicinal herbs, Capt Yadav asserted that ayurvedic system could help in treating even incurable diseases as well. The minister also announced that while a zoological garden for the public would be developed on a 20-acre piece of land at the nearby Bhagwanpur village, a breeding-cum-preservation centre for chinkaras and peacocks would also be set up on a 60-acre piece of land at
Manethi village, 25 km from Rewari. He further stated that as many as 25 tanks in the district would be fully renovated for the storage of water. Simultaneously, he exhorted the people to grow more plants and thereby lend effectual cooperation to the department in augmenting the forest cover area in
the state.
|
|
US varsity honours Naveen Jindal
Jindal, MP and executive vice-chairman and managing director, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, received the award, Distinguished Alumni Award for 2010, in the US recently. Speaking on the occasion, Jindal said, “It is indeed a great honour to receive this award from a distinguished institution. Education is the backbone of any society or nation. Progress and prosperity of a nation depends upon its youth and education. Youth is a powerful catalyst of change and if nurtured with care could make a significant difference to the society”. He further added, “The world is still recovering from challenges posed by economic downturn and I am confident that the lessons from these challenges will lay a strong foundation for future global challenges. Handling of economic crisis by India has become a case study and the world has noticed the way it has dealt with the economic downturn.”
|
|
Jatinder Vijh in PRCI Hall of Fame
Kalka, April 8 The award was conferred on him at the 4th Global PR Summit held in New Delhi recently by MP Mani Shankar Aiyer, reveal the official sources of HMT. Around 200 delegates attended the summit from the country and abroad on the theme “Emerging avenues in Specialised Communication”. Jatinder is a Bachelor of Mass Communication and Masters in English Literature from Panjab University with over 25 years of experience in Public Sector Public Relations.
|
|
Tricycles, crutches distributed
Rewari, April 8 Stating that physical disability should never be considered a curse, he exhorted one and all to lend all possible assistance to bring the physically challenged in the mainstream of the society. He said with dogged determination and efforts, they could make headway in life by surmounting the obstacles. Describing gainful support provided to the physically challenged as a noble deed in life, he enumerated various schemes which had been launched by the state government for their
welfare. Reiterating that the district Red Cross society was always at their beck and call, the DC said they could approach them whenever they needed any remedial help.
|
|
Govt should pay income tax of pensioners
It is submitted that government should pay income tax of all pensioners who draw their pension from the government. All the pensioners are here by desired to come under one roof for this genuine demand. State government is paying income tax of its ministers and MLAs from the government cotters. The disparity must be removed at the earliest. In a nutshell, the person drawing pensions from the state exchequer should be given the benefit of income tax relief as being enjoyed by ministers and MLAs. SS Goel Give pensioners their due
This is with reference to a news item in Haryana Plus on March 1 that members of the Haryana State Pensioner's Association Bhiwani were constrained to stage a protest to press for their demand for old age allowance of 5 and 10 per cent of basic pension on attaining the age of 65 and 75 years, respectively. It is sad that hapless pensioners had to resort to protest for their just and legitimate demands. Most of the pensioners in this age group were in service in composite Punjab before the formation of Haryana on November 1, 1966. The Punjab government is paying old age allowance to its pensioners, but the same has been denied to state pensioners, repeated assurances by political leaders notwithstanding. It is worth mentioning that as per the Reorganisation Act, expenditure on this account in respect of employees who joined service before November 1966 is to be shared by Punjab and Haryana governments in the ratio of 60 and 40 per cent, respectively. It is indeed paradoxical that the Haryana government is bearing the expenditure to the extent of 40 per cent for Punjab pensioners, but it denying this benefit to its own pensioners. Accordingly, in case of sanction of this allowance to Haryana pensioners, the expenditure on this account will be borne by the Punjab government to the extent of 60 per cent and the liability on Haryana exchequer will be only to the tune of 40 per cent. The Haryana government is again requested to accede to this longstanding and genuine demand and earn goodwill of the
elders. Er DP Piplani Readers are invited to write to us. Send your mail, in not more than 200 words, at haryana@tribuneindia.com or write in at: Letters, Haryana Plus,
The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030.
|
|
||
| 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 | |
Chandigarh, April 8
Kaithal, April 8