 |
H A R Y A N A |  |
 Thursday, November 4, 1999 |
|
Road accidents on the rise SONEPAT, Nov 3 — Road accidents in this fast growing industrial city have increased considerably during the past few months. Reports of fatal accidents on the G.T. Road and other state highways come in every day.
|
 |
CM discriminating against dists:
Cong |
|
A village
divided over "Baba" Abducted
girl rescued Encroachments
removed Recover
power bill arrears, CM tells officers Haryana
officials to visit Orissa Channel
augmentation to benefit villages |
|||||||
 |
|||
Road accidents on the rise SONEPAT, Nov 3 — Road accidents in this fast growing industrial city have increased considerably during the past few months. Reports of fatal accidents on the G.T. Road and other state highways come in every day. The reasons behind the rising number of accidents are the plying of unauthorised buses, jeeps and three-wheelers, drunken driving, poor maintenance of roads, lack of traffic lights at busy intersections and poor maintenance of buses and trucks. Some vehicles don't have proper brakes and headlights. Pedestrians allege some traffic constables, instead of doing their duty, are busy extorting money from truck drivers. Such scenes can be witnessed every day at busy intersections. School buses do not observe the Supreme Court guidelines. Rickshaws, overloaded with schoolchildren, are a constant traffic hazard. There is no check on three-wheelers which release fumes beyond permissible limits. To solve traffic problems in Sonepat, a committee of prominent citizens was constituted last year by the Senior Superintendent of Police, to suggest ways and means to check traffic hazards. Members of this committee had met only once and thereafter, no improvement was seen in the traffic situation. A police official said it was the duty of the RTO to check vehicular pollution but none of the officials had ever checked such vehicles and penalised the erring drivers, who stopped in the middle of the road to pick up passengers. Meanwhile, the district transport officials and the police have allegedly been turning a blind eye to check the overloading in private buses and jeeps. The overloading according to commuters is posing a serious danger to the lives of thousands of users of the private buses and jeeps. "They are waiting for a major mishap to happen," lamented many commuters. Commuters point out that operators of private buses and three-wheelers first pack their vehicles to capacity and then accommodate maximum number of passengers on roof tops. Passengers, going to their places of work during peak hours, are often seen travelling on roof tops of private as well as roadways buses. "This is due to the less number of buses of Haryana Roadways available to rural commuters, who visit the district headquarters", say many office-goers. The roadways buses are hardly seen on certain routes and commuters are forced to travel by private buses. This situation on the Sonepat-Gohana route is the worst as none of the Haryana Roadways bus plies in accordance with the schedule affixed on the general bus stand in the city as well as Gohana town, commuters say. Moreover, in the absence of fixed duty hours, drivers are also compelled to work for long hours causing fatigue and resulting in accidents, they say. The poor maintenance of rural roads make the situation worst. Private buses and jeeps
are normally parked on the main roads, thereby hampering
the free movement of the traffic, say a number of
shopkeepers into the city. |
CM
discriminating against dists: Cong KARNAL, Nov 3 — Mr Ved Pal, President of the Haryana Pradesh National Congress Party and a former Chairman of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, has alleged that the Chautala government is discriminating against Panipat, Karnal, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Kaithal and Kurukshetra districts in the matter or road construction. Mr Pal stated that while Mr Chautala was laying emphasis on the construction of roads in other parts of the state, the roads which had already been sanctioned by the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) in the above mentioned districts had been ordered to be put in cold storage. The former chairman stated that after taking over, Mr Chautala had not sanctioned the work on at least 20 link roads which had already been sanctioned by the HSAMB. The statement stated that these link roads were sanctioned after due consideration on merit. Only the construction work was to start while other formalities had already been completed, to it added. Even the survey of the roads had been conducted and estimates prepared. Further more, the government had also accorded its approval and sanction and tenders were called. The tenders had been submitted to the authorities concerned. Meanwhile, elections were declared and the code of conduct came into force. The HSAMB stopped the work on these roads in deference to the wishes of Election Commission of India. Mr Ved Pal states that
the roads were important for the farmers of the districts
to take their produce to the grain markets. He demanded
that such discrimination should be ended and these roads
in the northern parts of Haryana should be got
constructed soon. |
Of an ailing PGIMS ROHTAK, Nov 3 — Night patrolling has been introduced on the campus of the Pt B.D. Sharma PGIMS, the only state-owned post-graduate institute in Haryana, following increasing incidents of eve-teasing and chain snatching. The Resident Doctors Association had been complaining for the past couple of months that anti-social elements were roaming freely on the campus and indulged in lawlessness particularly near the girls' hostels. The Director, Dr S.B. Siwaich said that besides introducing night patrolling, the security barrier at the entry gate has been activated and a PCR van with security personnel keep roaming through-out the night. All electric points, including the street lights have been put to work and the campus was fully illuminated at night. Dr Siwaich, who took charge as Director on August 12 last, told that the institute was facing severe shortage of funds. The budget allocation for machinery and equipment for the current financial year has been exhausted and the institute had no money for the orders placed (worth over Rs 1.70 crore) before August. He said that nearly 40 per cent posts of class IV employee in the PGIMS were lying vacant and this was causing great difficulties in maintaining proper cleanliness, security and patient care. Dr Siwaich claimed that the CT Scan, which was out of order for the past one year, has been put back to work. Every day nearly 30 scans were being done and each cost about Rs 1500 on an average. The number of beds in the paediatrics department have also been increased from 54 to 90 as was desired by the Medical Council of India. The Chest and TB Department, which earlier was located adjacent to the paediatrics ward, has been shifted to another building, which had capacity for 192 beds and was lying unused for the past seven years. He said that 20 beds have been earmarked and separated for cancer patients (Surgical Oncology) who require longer stay following surgery. Dr Siwaich disclosed that the institute has a budgetary allocation of Rs 95 lakh for maintenance but the employees of various PWD branches entrusted with the job of maintenance draw an yearly salary of Rs two crore, i.e. double the total allotted budget. Interestingly, he continued, none of the 324 employees of the PWD departments is available on the campus. The PWD officials, he complained, have not provided them with the inventory of the Air-Conditioners, Geysers, fans etc which it had purchased out of the institute funds. Dr Siwaich says, that he is yet unaware as to where these items have been installed. Dr Siwaich has urged the
government to order a vigilance inquiry into the
functioning of the PWD employees posted at the PGI campus
as the senior functionaries of the PWD departments have
failed to reply any of his letters. He has also charged
that some of these employees have opened repair shops
near the campus and pilferage the PGI equipment taken
there in the name of repairs. |
A village divided over
"Baba" BABUA (Hisar), Nov 3 — This small village of about 4000 persons has started a war against superstition. The immediate provocation has been a self-styled incarnation of Shiva who is claimed by his followers to be staying in a "cave" in the village periphery. The village appears to be divided into two groups. One group of people, relatively smaller than the other has full faith in the ‘miracles’ of Bhole Baba (incarnation of Shiva), while the other group described him to be a fraud. The joint panchayat of Babua and a nearby village Hassangarh passed a unanimous resolution urging the district administration to arrest the ‘Bhole Baba’ as "he is likely to prove threat to peace in the villages. According to Mr Ishwar Singh a local farmer, who has provided land to the ‘Bhole Baba’, he has seen him performing miracles. What sort of miracles? Mr Ishwar Singh was not able to explain. He claimed several cancer patients were treated by ‘Bhole Baba’! One woman said to have been cured was also produced before a group of reporters today. However, Ishwar Singh's own elderly mother has no faith in Bhole Baba. She is also suffering from ailments and is being treated by the village doctor. She has been siding with the village panchayat seeking arrest of the ‘Bhole Baba’. Baba's followers claim, every Monday and Friday a mela is organised and thousands of people throng the village to have a ‘darshan’ of the Baba, a fact confirmed by the villagers also. Baba gives them the ‘vibhuti’ (the cowdung ash) and all "their problems are solved". The Baba comes out of the cave only on these two days. The villagers said the Baba belongs to Mundali village in Sonepat district. He has been disowned by his family. He came to the village a year ago. They alleged, he befooled some people, who are now his ardent devotees. During today's visit, it was difficult even dangerous to contest any claims about Baba being Shiva's incarnation. Ishwar Singh said, "sometimes Baba looks like 17 and some times he appears to be 27. Even I have seen him in snake's form: The belief is unfailing. The village sarpanch Bimla Devi said, she had already lodged a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner, who is said to have marked it to the SP. The SP has asked the Barwala SHO to check Baba's antecedents. The SHO told The Tribune that he had not found anything suspicious about Bhole Baba. He, however, disclosed that the Baba was not there and he had already left. The villagers said, the Baba had fled after he came to know that the SP had ordered an enquiry into his antecedents. The villagers have been levelling different charges against the Baba. They alleged, he had been inviting women into his cave and even collecting money. Both charges were denied by Baba's followers. The Baba is said to have
kept about seven snakes inside his cave. Nobody is
allowed a peep into the cave unless Baba gives the
permission. Whenever a snake inside the cave come out the
followers believe Baba has come out in the shape of the
snake. The followers believe that he can transmigrate
into any living form. |
Abducted girl rescued SONEPAT, Nov 3 — The Baroda police today claimed to have recovered a 14-year-old minor girl who was allegedly abducted from a brick-kiln at Bhainswan village in this district on May 1 last. Superintendent of Police K.P. Singh told mediapersons here today that the police had also arrested a youth, Mohinder, of Kot village in Bhiwani district in this connection. The arrest, he said, followed an FIR lodged with the police by Sharif, a labourer of Kandla village in UP, that his daughter had been abducted by Mohinder and his associate Sushil, who were also working as labourers there. He disclosed that both
the girl and the culprit had been got medically examined
and further action would be taken after the receipt of
the medical report. |
Encroachments removed GURGAON, Nov 3 — A team of the Delhi Municipal Corporation removed encroachments and "illegal" constructions along the Mehrauli-Gurgaon road near Aya Nagar village today. The encroachers were mainly traders of marble and granite. The shopkeepers alleged that the operation was illegal. One of them, Rishi Pal said "we are the victims of harassment both by the Haryana and the Delhi governments. "Despite the claims of Delhi state officials that the area falls under their jurisdiction, the Gurgaon administration ordered the removal of all structures in the area to widen the road sometime ago, added Rishi Pal. He claimed that about 6000 residents of Aya Nagar had not only lost their agricultural land but were also not allowed to utilise the "shamlat land". Some residents also alleged that a place of worship and a chaupal was also demolished. Mr Amar Singh SDM, Mehrauli, who was supervising the demolition, clarified that there was no inter-state dispute over the piece of land and the area was well-demarcated. He said the area was earmarked as a "Ridge area" in Delhi's master plan. He also denied that any place of worship was demolished. The Deputy Commissioner
of Gurgaon was not available for comment. |
Recover power bill arrears, CM
tells officers CHANDIGARH, Nov 3 — Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Chief Minister, today directed officers to make all-out efforts to recover arrears of power bills from defaulters and ensure adequate power to consumers, particularly to the farmers, who require it for the rabi sowing. Presiding over a meeting of Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police, at which the working of the PWD, the Panchayati Raj institutions and the marketing board was reviewed here, the Chief Minister asked them not allow any Red Cross melas to be organised as these perpetuated encouraged gambling. He also asked them to ensure that funds meant for development were utilised properly. It was decided at the
meeting that all districts should set up stalls on the
occasion of Gita Jayanti mela to be held at Kurukshetra
on December 10. |
Haryana officials to visit
Orissa CHANDIGARH, Nov 3 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today expressed concern over the havoc caused by cyclone in Orissa. The Chief Minister, while addressing a meeting of Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police here today urged them to mobilise dry ration and procure medicines in large quantities by involving social organisations to provide succour to the victims. He also announced that immediately after Divali one or two ministers with a team of officials would be sent to Orissa to provide aid. He asked them to motivate doctors and prepare a list of those who would volunteer to visit the affected areas.
|
Channel augmentation to benefit
villages CHANDIGARH, Nov 3 — The Haryana government has decided to augment and improve the Salhawas lift irrigation channel to bring an additional 4,167 acres of land under its command. The augmentation scheme to be executed at a cost of Rs 4.80 crore will benefit nearly 50 villages of Jhajjar, Rewari and Gurgaon districts. While the water supply at the tailends will improve, the problem of water logging in villages like Bhurawas, Bithala, Jatwara and Subana will be contained to a large extent. Mr Om Prakash Chautala,
Chief Minister, will lay the foundation stone of the
scheme on November 4. |
HSEB man held in bribery case FARIDABAD, Nov 3 — Ram Singh, a foreman working in the Haryana State Electricity Board, was allegedly caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 3,000 from a consumer in lieu of installing a new meter. In another incident, the body was recovered near the railway track here today. According to the police
the victim was run over by a speeding train while he was
crossing the railway track near old Faridabad Railway
Station. A case has been registered. |
Drive against ST evasion CHANDIGARH, Nov 3 —
The special staff of the Haryana Vigilance Bureau carried
out a drive to check sales tax evasion in the state on
October 30 and 31, and realised Rs 1.06 lakh from the
defaulters by way of penalty. |
 |
||
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | Chandigarh | | Editorial | Business | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
