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Yadav pulls out of race for Gurgaon
BJP hopes pinned on farmer leader
Tempers flare up within BJP over Dharambir's entry
BJP workers ransack party office in Rohtak
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Ultimatum to BJP for changing nominee
Rori to resign as SAD MLA
Sunita Duggal to be BJP nominee from Sirsa
Bought Saini in 1996 to form govt: Abhay
Abhay slams BJP, Cong
Karnal Constituency
Rebel AAP workers name Gurmeet from Kurukshetra
Experienced Congress candidate faces first-timers in Faridabad
CPM to raise N-plant issue in poll
Only 821 women electors per 1,000 men voters in Sonepat constituency
Cast vote, DC urges electorate
Karan Chautala rakes up a row over health camp inauguration
BJP candidate holds meetings
Incomplete flyovers,
toll plaza key election issues in Karnal
No doc at Kaithal hospital OPD for over an hour
Metro Rail extension delayed
Woman, son shot dead in Hisar village
Power engineers oppose induction of ‘outsiders’ as Directors
Waste recycle plant defunct for months
Experts stress cooperation between India and gulf countries
Flow of illicit arms, liquor, money on police radar
Police inaction costs Rohtak youth his life
Cleric held on rape charge sent to judicial custody
3,043 hypersensitive poll stations
Blood donation camp held
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Yadav pulls out of race for Gurgaon
Sources said Yadav conveyed his unwillingness to contest to the party high command given the delay in announcement of the candidate. He is learnt to have conveyed his decision to party general secretary in charge of Haryana Shakeel Ahmed. Though Yadav was initially pushing for his son Chiranjeev’s candidature with the Congress top brass, he had expressed his willingness to contest from Gurgaon after he failed to muster up support for the former. His main argument for backing out is that the party has taken too long to announce the ticket, leaving hardly any time for the candidate to campaign. Yadav’s close aides said that the leader had expressed his reservation about contesting at all since there were just about three weeks to go for elections in Haryana slated for April 10. His logic is that even if the party announces the Gurgaon ticket along with Sirsa and Ambala on March 18, two days would be lost in filing nomination papers and holding a rally, leaving only 20 days at his disposal. “Since the constituency with nine assembly seats is new for the minister, he will get just about two days in each segment. Also, his ill-health does not permit him to campaign for too long. He felt that he could not do justice in the few days at his disposal,” a local leader owing allegiance to Yadav said. However, party sources at the Centre said that though Yadav had informed senior leaders of his reluctance to contest, his prospects would still be weighed vis-a-vis the other candidates. Yadav had started campaigning for a party ticket for his son nearly two months back, stating that Chiranjeev, son-in-law of RJD chief Lalu Yadav, was not only a youth face but had worked in the organisation as the Haryana Youth Congress chief. Yadav was expecting to pull it off given Lalu Yadav’s support and age being on the youth leader’s side. However, the party had turned down even considering Chiranjeev given his “low winnability” and had offered to consider Yadav instead. The minister, though reluctant, had finally agreed to contest the seat. |
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BJP hopes pinned on farmer leader
Though BJP spokesman Capt Abhimanyu and former MLA Naresh Malik were also staking claim to the ticket, but failed to win the confidence of the party leaders who believed that the candidature of Dhankar might turn out to be instrumental in wooing the farmers’ fraternity to a large extent. Farmers had some resentment against the state government over land acquisition and other farming issues. Dhankar, who is considered close to BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, has prominently been raising the farmers’ issues at the national level for a last few years. He had also run a nation-wide campaign to get the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations implemented for the welfare of the farmers. “Farmers are the worst affected in the Congress government which snatched their fertile land in the name of development but later disposed it to the corporate houses to earn money,” said Dhankar. He maintained since the Modi wave was blowing across the nation, people of Rohtak would also vote in favour of the BJP. Hailing from Dhakla village in Jhajjar, Dhankar, national convener of the iron collection drive for the statue of unity, had unsuccessfully contested the assembly poll from Dadri (Bhiwani) in 2009. Apart from Deepender and Dhankar, INLD candidate Shamsher Kharkara and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) nominee Naveen Jaihind are trying their luck in the poll fray. |
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Tempers flare up within BJP over Dharambir's entry
Narnaul, March 16 The emergence of Dharambir as a BJP candidate in the fray has not only shifted the focus of common man and political analysts to this constituency, but has also made the contest close. Dharambir, who enjoyed the power of the CPS being a Congress MLA for around ten years, is now contesting the election against Congress nominee and outgoing MP Shruti Choudhry by accusing the Congress government of rising inflation and corruption. Caste is the most crucial factor here, making the swift development more significant. Since Shruti and Dharambir both belong to the Jat community, it would now be interesting to see who would succeeds in taking lead in earning over 3.5 lakh Jat votes. Moreover, both the leaders are from Bhiwani district and have their political base there. Bhiwani district has five Assembly segments and Shruti Choudhry garnered highest votes in all the segments during the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009. Meanwhile, reacting to the allotment of the BJP ticket to Dharambir as “unfortunate” for the party workers, former MP and BJP's senior leader Sudha Yadav said the party high command had entirely ignored the committed workers and loyal leaders by giving ticket to a person who had joined the party just a day ago. “The development indicates that money power has become stronger than work, loyalty and dedication of the workers in the BJP. Congressmen, who had been close to Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, are now holding the reigns in the BJP,” said Sudha, adding that she had already registered protest against the move before the party high command. |
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BJP workers ransack party office in Rohtak
Rohtak, March 16 Sharma had to face the wrath of the party workers due to denial of the Lok Sabha ticket from Rohtak constituency to former MLA and party’s state vice-president Naresh Malik. Sharma had come to the party office to attend a ceremony in which former Congress leader Ramesh Attri joined the BJP with his supporters. Malik’s supporters alleged that Sharma had recommended the names of certain ticket aspirants in lieu of monetary favours. The protesters continued to raise slogans in favour of Malik and against Sharma even while the latter was addressing the gathering. Some protesters broke window panes and a door. BJP leaders were forced to call the police. The protesters demanded that Malik be fielded from the Rohtak parliamentary constituency instead of party nominee Om Prakash Dhankhar. Later, while talking to mediapersons, Sharma said the ticket had been allotted by the party’s Central leadership and if any aspirant felt left out, he could be accommodated in the ensuing Assembly elections. Meanwhile, Malik said the selection of BJP nominees for the Lok Sabha elections indicated that some state party leaders did not want the party to win maximum seats from the state. He said he had conveyed his resentment to the Central BJP leadership and was waiting for a
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Ultimatum to BJP for changing nominee
Sonepat, March 16 Talking to mediapersons at his residence here today, Sangwan said he had written a letter to party president Rajnath Singh to change the party candidate otherwise he would contest as an Independent. He alleged a big monetary deal in giving the
party ticket to Ramesh Kaushik who joined the party merely six months ago after resigning from the Congress. He alleged that many leaders did not want to see Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. “My father, late Kishan Singh Sangwan, had strengthened the roots of the BJP in the area by winning the Sonepat Lok Sabha seat thrice,” he claimed, adding that senior party leaders, including Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj, had assured him on several occasions that he would be given the ticket. Bharpai Chahal, district president of the women cell of the party, also announced her resignation from the party. She alleged that Kaushik was an opportunist as he had resigned from the Haryana Vikas Party and the Congree for his selfish political gains. A number of supporters today reached Pradeep Sangwan's residence and raised slogans against Ramesh Kaushik. They also pledged support to Sangwan on this issue. On the other hand, Ramesh Kaushik said: "We are members of the same family (BJP) and I will be able to convince Sangwan to support me.” |
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CPI, CPM hold rally
Karnal, March 16 CPM central secretariat member and an eight-time member of the Lok Sabha Hannan Mollah attacked the BJP, the Congress and AAP. He said there was no difference between the Congress and the BJP as far as the economic policies were concerned. He said the change in the leadership was not enough to solve corruption, unemployment and price-rise. “We have to change our policies. The Left parties are projecting alternate policies to replace the existing policies of liberalisation and privatisation,” he said. CPI national secretary Amarjeet Kaur said no political party could match the clean, honest and unblemished public image of communist leaders in the country. She also criticised the model of Gujarat and gave many facts in support of her statement. She said Left parties were jointly contesting five Lok Sabha seats in the state. CPM state secretary Inderjit Singh said if the Left parties came to power, they would implement the recommendation of Sawaminathan Commission, provide quality education and health facilities, and offer employment opportunities to the youth. |
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Rori to resign as SAD MLA
Sirsa, March 16 Rori, who won Kalanwali seat in Sirsa as the SAD nominee, said he would file his nomination as the INLD candidate from the Sirsa parliamentary seat on March 22. His party wants him to resign as Kalanwali MLA first to avoid any legal issues at a later stage. State INLD president Ashok Arora said the party leadership had told Rori to submit his resignation. Rori said he might send his resignation by fax or email today and would appear before the Speaker on Tuesday so that it is accepted on the same day. He admitted that he had earlier given the Speaker March 17 for his nomination in a state of urgency, without realising that it was a holiday due to Holi. |
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Sunita Duggal to be BJP nominee from Sirsa
Ganeshi Lal, a former minister and a senior BJP leader from Sirsa, said the party was likely to announce her name on Tuesday. Sources close to Sunita Duggal said after the party took a decision in principle to field her from Sirsa, she submitted her resignation on March 10. The sources said her resignation was accepted late on Friday evening though she was yet to get an official communication. |
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Bought Saini in 1996 to form govt: Abhay
Kurukshetra, March 16 Raj Kumar Saini is the BJP candidate from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat. He was then a minister in Bansi Lal’s government. “I know him better than anyone else,” said Abhay. He was addressing a party workers’ meeting at Punjabi Dharamshala in Kurukshetra in support of party candidate Balbir Singh Saini. He further alleged that the Congress had fixed the ticket of other political parties in Haryana for the Lok Sabha elections as well. Abhay said, “The Congress is scared and there is a wave to flee among Congress leaders. It has fixed the ticket of other parties, but cannot fix the peoples’ mandate.” He criticised the BJP for giving the party ticket to Congress rebels. He said, “The BJP is claiming that there is a Narendra Modi wave, but the party does not have its own candidates.” State INLD chief Ashok Arora said, “Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Yadav are out of jail because they have MP power.” He said, “Our party is the biggest organisation of workers as it has a record number of over 3.5 lakh workers at the booth level. Workers should not miss this opportunity to send INLD candidates to Parliament.” He further said, “Only the power of MPs can bring party supremo Om Prakash Chautala, Ajay Singh Chautala and Sher Singh Badshami out of jail.” Balbir Singh Saini, Jaswinder Sandhu, Rampal Majra and other senior Indian National Lok Dal leaders also addressed the meeting. In another political development, local BJP workers expressed their resentment over the announcement of Raj Kumar Saini’s candidate from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat. Party workers said the party high command had taken a wrong decision and they would not support this candidate at any cost. They said there were better candidates than Raj Kumar Saini in the constituency and they would prefer to join any other party which would help Narendra Modi become the Prime Minister.” |
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Abhay slams BJP, Cong
Karnal, March 16 Abhay attacked former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dharambir, former union minister Venod Sharma and Rao Inderjit Singh, who quit the Congress a few days ago. Interacting with the party workers at the Jat Dharamsala here, he delivered a message of the INLD chief and former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala. He said, “You have been struggling for 14 months and now the time has come to prove your ability.”
— TNS |
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Areas adjoining UP keep police on toes
Parveen Arora Tribune News Service
Karnal, March 16 Sources say notorious criminals who indulge in unlawful activities such as smuggling of illegal arms and liquor during elections generally escape from being nabbed by security agencies by crossing to Uttar Pradesh. The Karnal parliamentary constituency shares its border with Uttar Pradesh at Indri, Gharaunda, Samalkha and some other places. Most of the sensitive polling booths that fall in this constituency are located along the border. Keeping this in mind, Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Garg has checked the entry and exit point of the two states and discussed security with other SPs. He said a strict vigil would be maintained along the inter-state border between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to check smuggling of illegal arms and liquor to ensure a free, fair and smooth Lok Sabha poll in the two states. He added that the administration had identified polling stations that were more sensitive than others. Additional forces would be deputed at sensitive and hyper-sensitive polling stations, he further said. The police were already keeping a close watch at these stations and intelligence agencies were on the job as well to prevent any untoward incident during polling, he said. "A high-level joint meeting of senior administrative and police officers of districts sharing the border will be held at Karnal on March 19. We will make a joint strategy for peaceful elections, he added.
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Rebel AAP workers name Gurmeet from Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra, March 16 Local workers had been protesting since the name of Balwinder Kaur was announced for the Kurukshetra . Talking to The Tribune, Kaura said: “Currently they are in talks with a national party. If nothing positive comes out of the talks, I will file nomination as an Independent candidate on March 19.” “On the day of nomination, hundreds of party workers will resign from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party”, said Gurmeet. “We supported the ideology and not an individual. We joined them during the anti-corruption movement and then it grew as a party that wanted to establish the principals and values of democracy in the country. But no democracy is now left in the party itself”, said Sewa Singh, a party worker. AAP got another setback when former Haryana IGP Ranbir Sharma, who joined it after taking VRS, criticised the party high command for its decisions, claiming that “There is a group of dictators in the party”. He advocated fielding an Independent candidate from Kurukshetra under the banner of the Lok Sawaraj Manch. Ranbir Sharma is the son-in-law of ID Sawami, a former Union Minister and a three-time MP from
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Experienced Congress candidate faces first-timers in Faridabad
Faridabad, March 16 This is perhaps the first time the seat will have a multi-cornered contest. "The seat has normally witnessed a direct fight between the two main parties over the last couple of decades. It has something interesting this time," said Vijay Gaur, a local resident. He said the entry of AAP and internal fighting that led to the delay in announcing the BJP candidate could prove a game changer as a majority of candidates except the Congress nominee were new. He said the BJP candidate was a first-timer who was a sitting MLA and former state party chief. "The Congress has fielded sitting MP Avtar Singh Bhadana for the third consecutive time. He will face an interesting situation as his opponents, including the 32-year-old AAP candidate, may try to cash in on the age factor. A majority of party leaders had promised to give a chance to the youth and women in view of corruption and failure to deliver being the main issues," said Ram Kumar, a retired government official. He said the number of young voters would be higher, but the age of the candidate was an important factor. He said a large number of young candidates won in the Assembly poll in Delhi last year for the first time. The AAP had fielded Purshottam Dagar, the INLD lawyer RK Anand and the BSP businessman Rajender Sharma. The HJC would not field its candidate due to a poll alliance with the BJP. Both Anand and Sharma were first-timers. The total number of electorate here is around 16.87 lakh. The Lok Sabha constituency comprises nine Assembly swgments of Faridabad, Faridabad (NIT), Ballabgarh, Tigaon, Badkhal, Prithla, Palwal, Hodal and Hathin. |
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CPM to raise N-plant issue in poll
Fatehabad, March 16 “The CPM has been consistently opposing the Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojna (GHAVP) for its safety aspects, its location in the densely populated area, devastating impact on environment, besides the issue of the availability of water it will need regularly,” said Inderjit Singh, state secretary of the party. “We must not forget that the Fukushima nuclear disaster of Japan occurred over 200 km away from Tokyo and yet affected the lives of lakhs of people there,” he said. The CPM secretary said the party had been strongly criticising the hasty approval of the project by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), which was likely to affect the fertility of the land and denude it of rich flora and fauna. |
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Only 821 women electors per 1,000 men voters in Sonepat constituency
Sonepat, March 16 The seat consists of Sonepat, Rai, Kharkhoda (reserved), Gannaur, Gohana and Baroda Assembly segments in Sonepat district and Julana, Jind and Safidon segments in Jind district. The gender ratio in electoral rolls is more pronounced than in projected population. There are
858 women compared to 1,000 men in the population projected. There are 1,35,012 more male voters than female electors in this constituency in the electoral rolls prepared on January 6. There are 7,56,489 male voters and 6,21,477 female voters in the total of 13,77,966 voters. There are 12,34,920 male voters and 10,60,497 female electors in the projected population of 22,95,417 in areas in the Sonepat Lok Sabha seat. Admitting that there is a trend of not registering unmarried daughters as voters, Rajesh Singh Banwala of Kasandi village in Gohana says, “There are a number of unmarried girls at his village in the age group of 18 to 25 years not enrolled as voters.” He says, “There is no specific reason. Their parents think that they will get themselves get enrolled at their in-laws' houses after marriage. Girls were married soon after turning 18, but the trend was changing as they concentrated on higher studies. Despite higher education, most are not enrolled as voters.” Social activist Shanta Jain says, “Uneducated parents do not allow daughters to get enrolled as voters. Awareness programmes should be organised at educational institutions and villages to spread awareness among girl students and their parents about the importance of becoming voters and using their franchise.” Deputy Commissioner Samir Pal Srow, who is the returning officer, says, “We held awareness programmes for enrolling the youth, including girls. As many as 18,000 voters were registered on March 9. We recently formed a human chain at Khanpur to spread awareness regarding the importance of becoming voters and voting.” He says, “Apart from offering subsidised meals at Murthal dhabas, we offered fresh voters to get driver's licences along with their elector photo identity cards. This is a continous process and we will concentrate more on young girls for the Assembly elections.” |
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Cast vote, DC urges electorate
Yamunanagar, March 16 Greeting people on the occasion of Holi and Dulhendi, said it was a coincidence that this festival was being celebrated with another great festival- the elections. Barar said everybody should take a pledge
to exercise franchise in the coming General Election in Haryana on April 10. |
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Karan Chautala rakes up a row over health camp inauguration
Tohana (Fatehabad), March 16 The authorities have videographed the event and are likely to issue a notice if they find any violation of the election code. The camp is said to have been organised by his cousin Kunal Karan Singh, son of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s daughter Anjali Singh, as part of the concluding ceremony of the “Jan Swasthya Yatra” taken out by his NGO “Team Hundred” and the Rotary Club, Jakhal. Congress leaders of the area have criticised the move and have termed it as a "violation" of the model code of conduct. However, Kunal said it was purely a social event and Karan, who was in the area for his poll campaign, had come to the programme merely to participate in the philanthropic activity. |
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BJP candidate holds meetings
Ambala, March 16 Addressing a meeting of workers at Ambala City, Kataria claimed that the Congress was a sinking ship and its leaders were leaving it. He said the number of Congress leaders who joined the BJP recently showed that the Congress had lost its credibility in the state. He claimed that a Narendra Modi wave was prevailing throughout the country, but they had to work hard to retain this seat. He urged party workers to counter Congress propaganda so that people could know the reality of the UPA government. |
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Incomplete flyovers,
toll plaza key election issues in Karnal
Karnal, March 16 Many NGOs and political parties have raised their voice on these issues but in vain. On June 22, 2002, the toll plaza project had started at Uchana village and later, it was shifted to Samanabahu. All the political parties had promised during 2004 and 2009 parliamentary elections that the toll plaza would be shifted from Karnal. “We are staying on one side of the toll barrier and our farms are on the other side of the toll. We have to pay if we travel by vehicles. This has added up to our expenses,” said Krishan Lal of Nilokehri. The six-laning of the Panipat-Jalandhar National Highway started in May 2009. The construction company, SOMA, had to build 71 flyovers, five viaducts, 44 under-passes, 58 pedestrian under-passes and eight railway over-bridges. However, out of 71 flyovers, the structures of 40 are yet to be started. In Karnal district, 16 flyovers were to be built. Seven are yet to be completed. This despite the fact that the deadline of the project was November 11, 2011. The deadline was extended to March 2012 but the project is still hanging fire. Residents questioned why they were paying the toll charge when flyovers were incomplete and
the road was in a pitiable condition. Pankaj Gaba, president, Youth Congress, Karnal block, said he had written a letter to All-India Congress Committee (AICC) vice-president Rahul Gandhi for the completion of the six-lane project and abolition of the toll tax in Karnal two months ago. Parkash Kathuria, state BJP secretary, said “We raised both the issues many times but nothing has happened so far.” “I made efforts to stop a toll plaza, which was to be started by SOMA near Bastara. I met the minister concerned many times and demanded that the project be taken from SOMA and handed over to the National Highway Authority of India,” said Karnal MP Arvind Sharma. Project crosses deadline
In Karnal district, 16 flyovers were to be built. Seven are yet to be completed. This despite the fact that the deadline of the project was November 11, 2011. The deadline was extended to March 2012 but the project is still hanging fire. |
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No doc at Kaithal hospital OPD for over an hour
Kaithal, March 16 Pirthi of Pundri said he had been waiting for an hour to get his daughter examined as she had been diagnosed with a stone in the urinary tract. A youth from Amargarh Colony here said he had some infection in his urinary tract and wanted to consult a doctor, but
none was available for over an hour. Kala (28) of Batta village came to get his wife and sister examined at the multi-speciality hospital. Karan Singh of Sirsal was waiting to
get his six-year-old son examined. Mohindro and Sona Devi of Pundri were waiting for the eye surgeon for about an hour. Jangiro (60) and Krishna (50) of Cheeka were waiting for the
lady doctor. Dalip Singh (65) of Sakra village, suffering from a skin infection
in hands and feet, was waiting for the skin specialist. Anjali (30) of Kaithal was in the
same situation. Krishan Chand (50) of Sakra village said he was not given all medicines prescribed at the dispensary and was told to purchase some medicines from the market. Some other patients made similar complaints. A patient said there was a delay in getting laboratory test reports. Some patients wanted to show X-ray reports, but no doctor was available. The Civil Surgeon was on leave. Dr Naresh Verma, Medical Superintendent, visited the out patient department. He enquired about the doctors not available
on their seats, but could not give a satisfactory explanation. He said surgeons were
at the out patient department in the morning, but might have gone to a medical camp later. Asked why patients had to wait for doctors, the Medical Superintendent called them to the
doctors' room and started examining them. Asked about non-availability of medicines, he said the entire stock of some medicines could have been utilised. He gave an assurance of resuming supply after receiving fresh stocks. |
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Metro Rail extension delayed
"The Model Code of Conduct is sure to delay the formal launch of the extension of metro to
Ballabgarh, as it would not be possible to lay the foundation stone till the elections are over," claimed sources in the district administration. The authorities had planned the extension in March this year. The 13.87 km metro project, launched about one-and-a-half years back, is on full steam and was likely to be completed by now. It will connect Badarpur border with the YMCA Chowk here. But due to political pressure and public demand, the state government had agreed to extend it to Ballabgarh town, an important part of the city, and both the centre and the state authorities had recently approved the plan, the officials said. But since the Model Code of Conduct has come into force, it will now be possible only in the second half of May, it is claimed. "This, however, could come as a political blow to certain quarters in the ruling party which fear that the delay could result in a loss to them in the Lok Sabha polls,’’ claimed a local political activist.
"Ballabgarh is represented by a legislator of the ruling party and it could be a problem to face the electorate due to charges of inadequate development in the constituency," he added. The other projects which are still to see the light of the day include the inauguration of the widened Badkhal flyover which connects it with National Highway-2. It was proposed to be opened this month. The work on widening the Surajkund road, dividing sector- 12 and 15, has been on but running behind schedule and the election process could make it linger on. The work of construction of some of the internal roads in various sectors, including sector- 10, has also been a victim of unusual delay. But the officials of the HUDA and Municipal Corporation claimed that the ongoing projects will not suffer on this account. The project
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Row over marriage claims youth’s life
Rohtak, March 16 Manoj, an accountant with a private firm, was shot while returning home last evening. He was rushed to the local PGIMS, but could not be saved. The youth’s murder sparked protests and local residents blocked the road. The protesters also burnt an effigy of the Chief Minister. They agreed to lift the blockade last night after personal requests and assurances by the local MLA, SDM and DSP that the culprits would be nabbed soon. However, as the police were not able to arrest the assailants today, the youth’s family members and their supporters placed his body on the road and resumed traffic blockade, which was continuing till the time of filing this report. Police sources said Manoj was married about two years ago. The matrimonial proposal of the girl whom he married had earlier been sent to Sonu of Kalanaur village in the district. When Sonu came to know about Manoj getting married to that girl, he reportedly objected to it. Around three months ago, Sonu allegedly shot at Manoj
near his house.A case of attempt to murder was registered after Manoj’s family members lodged a complaint with the police. However,Manoj’s family alleged that the police did not take any ction for more than three months. Manoj was shot again last evening. |
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Woman, son shot dead in Hisar village
Hisar, March 16 The deceased have been identified as Shagun Devi (50) and her son Kuldeep Kumar. Devi's elder son, Surender, also suffered bullet injuries and was admitted to the Civil
Hospital. The police said Suresh Kumar, Kuldeep's brother had complained to the police that they were sitting in their house when a group of 35-40 armed men barged into their house late last night and starting firing at them. He said his mother and his brother died on the spot, while Surender managed to escape. The police said a case of murder and attempt to murder had been registered against theassailants. Some of the accused have been identified as Rajender, Sunil, Bhopal, Banti, Rakesh, Ramphal, Suresh, Ramkishan, Shamsher, Mahabir, Satyawan, Roshan, Ram Pal and Satbir. The police said some persons had been rounded up and efforts were on to nab the others. |
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Power engineers oppose induction of ‘outsiders’ as Directors
Ambala, March 16 The zonal meeting of the association was held at Panchkula and was attended by 120 engineers, including chief engineers and other senior officials. The engineers decried the unwarranted and biased policies and attitude of the management of power utilities. Manish Dhariwal, zonal secretary of the association, said engineers were opposed to the induction of outsiders as directors at the cost of serving chief engineers. At present, chief engineers are promoted to the post of directors for a fixed tenure and this policy must continue. The new promotion policy which has been held in abeyance must be withdrawn immediately. The meeting also demanded revival of posts of engineer-in-chief, he added. The pay scales of assistant engineers (SDOs) have been placed in pay band-2 which is at par with junior engineers/clerks/accountants etc. No power utilities of the country have placed assistant engineers in pay band 2, the association said. It was also alleged that the power utilities are not forwarding the names of engineers for postings in BBMB against state share quota. |
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Waste recycle plant defunct for months
Faridabad, March 16 While the authorities look for alternatives, the non-recycled waste is being dumped at the site spread over 25 acre at the plant located about 15 km from the Faridabad-Gurgaon road. “We have been told by the plant operator that it was not possible for him to operate the plant due to losses he suffered last year due to a fire incident,” said Suprabha Dahiya, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Faridabad (MCF). She said though the operator had agreed to operate it till March, the authorities were looking for alternatives to ensure proper functioning of the plant. The MCF was also looking for technology-based alternative that could provide a source of energy, she said. The authorities were now left with no option other than cancelling the 33-year lease awarded to the contractor, claimed sources in the MCF. While the total capacity of the plant is 1,000 tonnes daily, the share of Faridabad and Gurgaon cities had been 600 and 400 tonnes, respectively. It is revealed that the operator had been supplying recycled products to boilers and compost to the market, but a slump in the demand had left him in losses. In view of the bleak chances of the revival of the plant, the authorities of both Faridabad and Gurgaon had started working on the development of independent waste management plan by having their own recycle plants in the respective territory, revealed the sources. While the MCF Commissioner claimed that the district had been allotted four new sites of developing such plants, the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Gurgaon, recommended new plants for Gurgaon following shutdown of the Bandhwari plant. |
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Potholes give hard time to commuters
Faridabad, March 16 “Despite the tall claims made by the administration, one gets stuck in traffic jams especially during the peak hours,’’ said Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Sector-3 here. Rajesh said he had been using the stretch to avoid traffic jams on the national highway, but he often get stuck in traffic jams as the road was too narrow at some places due to encroachments. “Though the authorities have converted several kilometers of the stretch into a cemented one, still a large part of the road has developed potholes,’’ said Rajiv, another resident of the town. He said some places, including the Kheri Pul Chowk and Palla Chowk which provide access to sectors and colonies located across the Agra canal and in the Nehar Par areas, witnessed acute congestion due to lack of adequate passage and damaged road. “The authorities should provide flyovers at such spots,” said Saurabh, a student. A senior official of the Haryana Urban Development Authority, which had widened road, said a majority of the encroachments had been removed and the road at some places could have been damaged due to the recent rain. The encroachments, if any, were perhaps due to legal tangles, he said and added that some new overbridges were being built for smooth flow of traffic. |
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Experts stress cooperation between India and gulf countries
Kurukshetra, March 16 Professor Puri was speaking at the two-day national seminar on the ‘Changing dynamics of India's neighbourhood policy’ organised by the department of political science of Kurukshetra University, which concluded here yesterday. He said despite substantial changes at the regional and global level, the role of history and geography could not be ignored. Prof AK Pasha of the Centre for West Asian Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University emphasised cooperation between India and gulf countries through trade, aid and investment opportunities. Dr Sanjeev Kumar, HM, South Asian University, termed India a big and fast emerging power and focused on strengthening social cooperation among the South Asian nations. He said the South Asian countries were concerned about the issues of sovereignty and political territoriality. Hence, there was a need that these countries liberate themselves from the structuralist and materialistic international order to have cordial relations at the regional level. Professors, college lecturers and researchers from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Jamia Milia University, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, Panjab University, Pondicherry University, Hyderabad University, Patiala, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Indira Gandhi National Open University and from various colleges of Haryana participated in the seminar. |
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Flow of illicit arms, liquor, money on police radar
Faridabad, March 16 "Faridabad has a porous border with Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. It is sensitive in terms of inflow of illicit arms, liquor and money, which were considered as the three main ingredients to make the election process a success by aspiring candidates in the past," claimed Yogesh Sharma, advocate and social activist. He said officials might claim taking tough measures, but the entry and role of these ingredients in the elections was too difficult to be ruled out. "Though the administration and the election office release contact numbers of various officials to report irregularities, the action and response cannot be guaranteed to be quick enough to nail the culprits," claimed Pardeep Kumar, a local resident. He said there were dozens of residential colonies and slum clusters where various items, including liquor, were distributed in the last week of the election process to manage the votes of electors, which had nearly become the norm. Demanding strict action against the inflow of liquor and money, Rajinder Bisla, former MLA, said the authorities should ensure a strict vigil and curb on the movement of suspicious elements. "Around 1,550 licensed weapons out of 4,302 have already been deposited with the police and the rest are likely to be taken in police possession by March 28," said Commissioner of Police AS Chawla. Stating that over 55 'nakas' or checkpoints had been made operational round the clock in the district, he said the police had recovered 16 illicit weapons and 80 live cartridges since the announcement of polls. He said the police seized over 13,680 bottles of liquor on Thursday night from a truck with a fake registration number which was on its way from Punjab to Gujarat. He said several teams had been working constantly to track the movement of criminals and weapons.
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Police inaction costs Rohtak youth his life
Rohtak, March 16 Manoj, an accountant with a private firm,
was shot while returning home last evening. He was rushed to the local PGIMS, but could not
be saved. The murder sparked protests and local residents blocked the road. The protesters also burnt an effigy of the Chief
Minister. They agreed to lift the blockade last night after personal requests and assurances by the local MLA, SDM and DSP that the culprits would be nabbed soon. However, as the police were not able to arrest the assailants today, the youth’s family members and their supporters placed his body on the road and resumed traffic blockade, which was continuing till the time of filing this report. Police sources said Manoj was married about two years ago. The matrimonial proposal of the girl whom he married had
earlier been sent to Sonu of Kalanaur village in the district. When Sonu came to know about Manoj getting married to that girl, he objected to it. Around three months ago, Sonu allegedly shot at Manoj near his house. A case of attempt to murder was registered. However, Manoj’s family alleged that the police did not take any concrete action for more than three months. Manoj was shot again last evening. |
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Leopard fear grips Jind village
Jind, March 16 A team of the Forest Department, which was also present in the area, confirmed that the foot signs of the animal were similar to that of a leopard. “Though there is no concrete evidence to confirm the presence of a leopard in the area, we cannot stop the search or take chances,” said Manvir Singh, a Wildlife Department guard, Kalwa village. |
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Cleric held on rape charge sent to judicial custody
Yamunanagar, March 16 The victim (23) lives in a village of Chhachhruali block. She had stayed at her elder sister’s house in a village near Yamunanagar for six months, during which she was allegedly raped. In his complaint to the Farakpur police, the victim's brother said she had gone to study Urdu at the mosque in their sister’s village. He alleged that the “maulvi”, who was also a leader of a political party, had raped her repeatedly, following which she had become pregnant. He said a few days ago, she had complained of stomachache and was taken to a private hospital. The doctor told them that she had been pregnant for six months and the foetus had died, he added. Thereafter, a surgery was performed to remove the dead foetus at PGI, Chandigarh.
— OC |
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3,043 hypersensitive poll stations
Chandigarh, March 16 The Ambala SC Lok Sabha constituency has 183 HPS, Kurukshetra 419 HPS, Sirsa 236 HPS, Hisar 297 HPS, Karnal 338 HPS Sonepat 241 HPS Rohtak 319 HPS, Bhiwani-Mahendegarh 391 HPS, Gurgaon 291 HPS and Faridabad 328 HPS.
— TNS |
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Blood donation camp held
Ambala, March 16 District and Sessions Judge Harnam Singh Thakur inaugurated the camp. As many as 84 units of blood were collected at the camp. Amita Thakur, wife of District and Sessions Judge, and Ravneet, CJM-cum-Secretary, DLSA, Ambala were among the donors.
— OC
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Chandigarh, March 16
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