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| Thursday,
November 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Plots of
criminals
to be auctioned Ghaziabad, November 21 The police have pasted posters and announced on the loudspeakers in adjoining village for the purpose. It may be recalled that the police had announced an award of Rs 50,000 on Ajay Phaphrana in keeping with the verdict of the Supreme Court. Ajay along with his companion Sushil had reportedly murdered Sukhbir, a native of his own village. Ajay was granted a bail as his father and one Vijender had stood guarantee for him. But Surender, son of Satender, appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court bail order in favour of Ajay. The apex court asked Ajay to present himself in the court, but he failed to show up. So, his bail plea was rejected by the court. Vijender, Ajay's guarantor, had deposited Rs 10,000 in the court, but Ajay's father, Mohinder, had failed to deposit another Rs 10,000 as the guarantee money required in the court. In the meantime, Ajay allegedly murdered Sukhbir's second son in Muzaffar Nagar. Ajay's father, Mohinder, was also named as an accused in the murder case. Police confiscated the land as per the apex court’s orders. Taking a serious view of the matter, the court asked the police why the land of the dreaded criminals had not been auctioned so far? |
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Lokayukta decision
on store scam today New Delhi, November 21 About 200 persons from the constituency, represented by Dr Yoganand Shastri, were alleged to have been appointed in the store in violation of service rules and regulations without advertising the vacancies and without constituting an appointment committee. Appointments had been made on October 14, 1999, to various categories of posts, including deputy manager, sales supervisor, salesman and helper. During the course of its hearing, the Lokayukta recorded that although an advertisement was issued in a local Hindi tabloid on July 8, 1999, notifying the vacancies for the posts of a supervisor, salesman and helper, the name of the store and the number of vacancies had not been mentioned. A month later, another advertisement was published in that tabloid and an English broadsheet, inviting applications for the post of deputy manager and assistant manager; post-graduation was the stipulated educational qualification. This time, too, the name of the store and the number of vacancies had been omitted. It was later detected that the number of candidates absorbed was disproportionate to the number of posts.. It was also alleged that the minister’s son-in-law had been doing business through two firms – M/s Vandana Enterprises (named after the minister’s daughter) and M/s Surya Printers and Stationers and General Order Suppliers – and had supplied goods worth Rs 26 lakh to the Delhi Consumer Co-operative Wholesale Store Limited during the years 1999-2000 and 2000-2001. Operating from the same business premises – 248-A, Rama Market, Munirka – both firms had sold various items of stationery, furniture and other household goods at very high rates to the store. A number of bills submitted by Vandana Enterprises and Surya Printers and Stationers had been signed by the same person. The Lokayukta, in an earlier order, dated October 15, 2001, had recorded that “a large number of bills, both of Surya Printers and Stationers and Vandana Enterprises, bear signatures of the same person or at least there is a strong resemblance between the two signatures.” Besides, an order for the supply of tarpaulin worth Rs 5.14 lakh was placed on Vandana Enterprises and the entire payment had been released on July 6, 2001 without tarpaulin having been supplied. Curiously, after an initiation of inquiry on September 13, 2001, an amount of Rs 5.14 lakh was refunded to the store without interest. The minister, on his part, has steadfastly denied the allegations. He has claimed no knowledge about the supply of items by those two firms and that he has had no role whatsoever in placing of orders on Sanjay Singh or his concerns by the store. Incidentally, the inquiry already claimed the scalp of the secretary of store, Comred Iqbal, who resigned after the Lokayukta had passed an adverse order recently and also written to the Lieutenant-Governor. |
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Govt inaction
irks Gurgaon chamber Gurgaon, November 21 The president of the GIA, Mr Jagan Nath Mangla, said that the 1999’s policy had provision for the constitution of an apex standing committee for the state which would have government representatives and members from various industrial organisations. The proposed committee was to study the existing laws and procedures relating to setting up of new industries and suggest modifications, if any. According to him, the GIA has not received any intimation on this front from the Government, even though the policy was drafted after taking into account the views of various associations relating to the industry. Although the GIA praised the state's industrial policy as a whole, it expressed concern over the non-constitution of the single window service. Earlier, the
additional deputy commissioners headed the single serive window in the districts. But the policy revamped the mechanism so that it would act as district-level Industries Grievances Redressal Committee. It expressed the view that the
non-implementation of this was affecting the industrial growth in the state. Besides, it demanded the provision for adequate representations from the industrial organisations. The GIA also urged the Government to provide land to the entrepreneurs at cheaper rates so that more investors are attracted. Setting up more industries would help boost the Government's revenue and expedite the developmental works of HUDA and HSIDC. It advocated for longer period for repayment of loans by the entreprenurs to the financial institutions under the state government. On the burning issue of Change of Land Use(CLU), the GIA urged that all the relating powers be given to the deputy commissioners in the districts so that the entrepreneurs do not have to shift to Chandigarh. It urged for reduction in the external
development charges and the CLU charges for faster industrialisation in the state. The GIA urged for amendments in the rules so that any firm, changing its nature of production, continues to avail sale tax exemption. |
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Zimbabwe diplomat
burnt to death New Delhi, November 21 The incident occurred when he was alone in the house. His family members had gone to attend some function, the police said. The victim, who was reportedly in an inebriated condition, had cooked some food in the kitchen and bolted the door from outside without turning off the LPG cylinder. The fire, which started from the kitchen, slowly engulfed the entire house when the victim was asleep, the police said. Further investigations are on, the police added. The incident came to light at about 1.30 am when the wife and other family members of the victim returned from a function. |
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A pigeon
finds a saviour in a dog-eat-dog world New Delhi, November 21 The incident demonstrates that well-meaning people still exist in this 'kaliyug'. There is also a lesson for hundreds of thousands of Indians who want to help, but invariably end up doing nothing, a manifestation of the Lord Jim complex. Dr Ravi Gupta, a medico who runs a hospital in Pushpanjali in north-west Delhi, was taking his morning stroll in a park in Saraswati Vihar when he was button-holed by a friend. The friend had a gory tale to tell: He had found in his lawn a pigeon, pecked to near-death by crows. The crows were swarming over the motionless pigeon, gnawing at it with their sharp beaks, when he picked it up and deposited it in a secure place. The pigeon's intestines had been culled out; the redeeming feature was that only its rear side had been attacked. Dr Gupta escorted his friend to his house. Two others, Anil Jindal and Surinder Gupta, both businessmen of Saraswati Vihar, also joined them. Dr Gupta examined the pigeon, as he would have examined a patient in his Balaji Hospital. He concluded that the bird could be saved, even though the crows had half-eaten its rear side. “The pigeon's vital organs are intact. Will you write off a man because a truck has crushed his legs?" Dr Gupta reasoned before his doubtful companions. However, better sense prevailed and Dr Gupta and his friends decided to treat the injured bird. Mr Jindal rang up the Maneka Gandhi-run Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre at Raja Garden and asked for help. The centre was sympathetic but said that its ambulance had been despatched to R K Puram to pick up a patient. Further, the ambulance would not be available for two hours. Dr Gupta immediately summoned his hospital's ambulance and despatched the pigeon to the Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre, where the vets bandaged the pigeon and fed it. It had been saved. Later, the centre’s director, Dr Sunita Naudiyal, informed them that daily 200 to 250 animals were brought to the centre. Mostly, they were victims of reckless driving. According to Ms Belinda Wright, executive director and founder of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, “Any kind of gesture towards birds and animals is wonderful. If all of us do our bit to protect animals, we can do a lot. People just kill animals for the heck of it. This shows their lack of respect for life.” Mr Vivek Menon, executive director, Wildlife Trust of India, also lauded the action. Only it is ironical that the three gentlemen came to the aid of a pigeon. But would they have done the same for a human? It requires grit to ferry an injured person to a hospital. “The public perception is that one would be bothered incessantly by the police, if one helps an accident victim. This impression has to be dispelled,” concluded the good Samaritans. |
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IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, November 21 The ministry had allocated Rs 249.58 lakh under the National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS) and another Rs 53.87 lakh under the Annapurna Scheme during 2000-01. However, official figures placed before Parliament today revealed the NCT Government was yet to utilise even a single rupee for the implementation of the schemes. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said that it had been noticed that non-compliance of conditions governing the release of funds and shortage of trained staff with the implementing agencies at the state level had “sometimes hampered the full and effective utilisation of the available funds”. There are nine centre-sponsored poverty alleviation schemes for which funds are allocated to state governments. These schemes are: Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY), the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS), the Annapurna Scheme, the National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS), the Integrated Watershed Development projects (IWDP), the Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) and the Desert Development Programme (DDP). No funds were provided by the Centre to the NCT government schemes other than the NOAPS and the Annapurna Scheme during 2000-01. There has also been a decline in the amount of funds made available by the Centre to the NCT Government under the Rural Sanitation Programme. During 2000-01, Rs 2.31 lakh was allocated for Delhi by the Ministry of Rural Development – a significant decline as compared to the corresponding figure of Rs 5 lakh in the previous year, Mr Naidu informed the Rajya Sabha in reply to a separate question. The Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CSRP) was restructured in April 1999, which is primarily based on a “demand–driven” approach. However, funds are being provided on the basis of projects received from the states. Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr Vidyasagar Rao, today informed the Rajya Sabha that the number of IPC-related cases reported in the National Capital Territory of Delhi during the last six months from May 2001 to October 2001 has registered a decline of 4.62 per cent as compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. A total of 27,597 IPC cases were registered during the period this year as compared to 28,934 cases in the previous year, the minister informed the House. While a total of 1,156 `heinous crimes’ were registered this year, down from 1,366 last year, 26,438 ‘non-heinous crimes’ were registered during the period this year – a drop from 27,568 cases last year, Parliament was informed. In reply to a separate question, Mr Vidyasagar Rao said that some Members of Parliament had expressed apprehensions regarding their security. The security of MPs and other threatened persons was provided on the basis of existence of threat assessed by the specialised security agencies. Accordingly, the representations had been examined in consultation with the central security agencies and the state governments concerned, wherever necessary, the Minister told the House. |
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Mobike driver
bites off cop’s thumb Faridabad, November 21 According to a report, sepoy Mukesh Kumar entered into an argument with the accused Satbir Singh of Bhuapur village when he was stopped at the red light crossing for the verification of his bike papers. It is learnt that both of them bandied words and the cop was allegedly assaulted. The dress of the constable was torn in the scuffle. It is also alleged that the accused even bit the thumb of the policeman. Even as the residents rushed to intervene, the motorcyclist was arrested. The policeman had challaned the accused for not possessing proper papers. |
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Sure road to riches: Open a nursing
home Sonepat, November 21 Drive into any area of this fast growing industrial city, which is a district headquarter, and see the mushroom growth of private clinics, polyclinics, laboratories, blood banks, sex and skin care shops, charity hospitals and gargantuan nursing homes. The recent spurt in the number of nursing homes is attributed to a phenomenal rise in the entrepreneurial class that has been hyped on the new consumer culture. From posh colonies they move into well-established nursing homes for instant cure and special care. Normal upper class nursing homes continue to charge between Rs 100 and Rs 300 per room exclusive of medicare, medicines and the food. Parties in celebration of the newly born may cost a little more through other channels as overhead charges multiply. For a very minor ailment, the specialists will recommend tests that are of no relevance to the disease. The tests are conducted to raise the bill amount and satisfy the ego of the patient. Many doctors feel that the so-called fleecing by the nursing home owners is a two-way traffic. The homes are eager to earn more, the rich patients are eager to pay more for the facilities that have nothing to do with the medical treatment. There is only one 100-bedded government hospital and a civil dispensary in this city. The civil hospital is about 3 km away from the main city and a visit to it costs more money. This is frightening enough to push the patients to private clinics and nursing homes where the charges are so high that a poor patient cannot afford visiting such a place. Some doctors, who have worked in nursing homes and private clinics, allege that there is a nexus between some private medicine shops, clinics and laboratories. Patients are passed from one place to another for a sharing of the spoils later in the day. A not-so-rich patient, who was recently admitted into one of the nursing homes with a complaint of diarrhoea, was recently put on an IV drip which, according to the doctor attending on him, was not needed. But the IV drip meant more cash for the owner of the nursing home. At another nursing home, the non-availability of sterilisation technique was corrected by administering a heavy dose of antibiotics. The bombardment of antibiotics could have pulsated the patient from bacterial bang but the side-effects were overlooked with probable disastrous portends in the long run. Instances of such arbitrary treatment can be multiplied from one nursing home to another. But this mad rush for the nursing homes is so widespread as a result of lack of reasonably priced public services at a government hospital. The non-availability of funds for the professionals to set up nursing homes at considerable costs and lack of help from the banking institutions for the
genuine professionals also attribute to the mushrooming of such commercial nursing homes. Significantly, all is not bleak in this scenario of mushroom growth of medicare services at nursing homes. There are many committed persons wedded to public service. There are some who help a large number of needy patients. But all gets lost in the miasma of greed. Experts feel that the whole gamut of medicare and the consequent facilities both in the public and the private sector need a wholesome approach with a drastic surgery at the planning level. This includes the sale of medicines, the consultation clinics, the polyclinics and also some cure centres. Where human lives are at stake, the government must take care not only to protect the interests of the populace but also the overall health of the community, the experts opine. While the populace waits for restructuring of the medicare facilities at the micro and macro-levels, certain immediate steps could be taken to subject the nursing homes to stringent checks with strong penalisations wherever needed. Representatives of various social and voluntary organisations and trade unions have urged the state government to take immediate and concrete steps for inquiring into the public complaints about the non-availability of basic facilities to the visiting patients and stopping the loot. They alleged that the rooms are dingy in most of the private nursing homes and clinics and insanitary conditions prevail in them. Moreover, the patients are fleeced on one pretext or the other, they allege. |
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SONEPAT To register their protest against the impounding of buses by the District Transport Officer (DTO), Mr Jaivir Singh Arya, hundreds of rural women held a demonstration and shouted slogans against the DTO in front of the Rai police station, about 13 km from here, on Tuesday. According to a report, the Managing Director of the Swashakti Pariyojna, Ms Surina Rajan, arranged four buses for rural women from Biswan Meel who wanted to visit the India International Trade Fair, New Delhi, so that they could get information about various trades that could be started as self-employment ventures. In the meantime, a group of employees led by the DTO, Mr Arya, arrived and asked the drivers of the buses to accompany him to the Rai police station for checking. But the drivers resisted the move. They were forcibly taken to the police station which angered the women passengers who started a protest demonstration and shouted slogans against the DTO. Ms Surina Rajan and the district manager of the pariyojna, Ms Sunita Punia, arrived at the police station and demanded the return of the buses but the DTO declined and he allegedly used objectionable language against both the women officers. In the meantime, about 300 women arrived on the scene and started shouting slogans against the DTO. They also threatened to block the G. T. Road. Thereupon, the DTO left the place in panic. The buses were later released on the order of the Deputy Commissioner Mr S. N. Roy.
Demolition Officials of the district and civic administration swung into action and demolished a large number of unauthorised structures on the Jandi road, near Ashok Nagar (kutcha quarters) here Tuesday night. According to official sources, the night operations were carried to avoid any resistance from the house owners and the shopkeepers of the area. Mr Y. S. Gupta, executive officer of the Sonepat Municipal Corporation, monitored the demolitions. A number of JCB machines were pressed into service and the work was completed within an hour at the presence of a strong contingent of police. The Jandi road, it may be recalled, had become narrow and the movement of traffic was obstructed owing to large-scale encroachments on the municipal land. This has also hampered the repair work of the road. The demolitions were part of the measures to give a facelift to the city the work of which is being undertaken on a war footing by the district administration.
No water Widespread resentment prevails among residents of Kath Mandi, Bharat Puri and Gandhi Nagar against the erratic supply of drinking water. Many residents pointed out that they had not been receiving water supply regularly for the past few months and all their complaints to the authorities concerned had fallen on deaf ears. They also threatened to block the traffic if the situation failed to improve immediately.
Transfer urged The Sonepat Residents Welfare Association on Wednesday demanded immediate transfer of the Sub-Divisional Officer, Public Health, and a junior engineer as they were violating the orders of the Superintending Engineer. In a press release, it alleged that both these officials were misusing the public funds by preparing false bills regarding maintenance works.
Girl raped A girl student of class VI was allegedly raped by a youth at Dubeta village, about 25 km from here, Tuesday night. The girl was passing through the street when she was whisked away by the youth to his house where she was allegedly raped. The Ganaur police have registered a case against the youth and the girl was medically examined.
Prisoner dies Daya Ram, a prisoner in the district jail here, died under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday. According to a report, Daya Ram, who was a driver of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), was convicted and sentenced to 18 months rigorous imprisonment on the charge of rash and negligent driving on November 9. |
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FARIDABAD Faridabad, November 21 The victim, Mr Devi Ram, who was employed as a permanent worker in the factory, had met with the accident in 1996 while working on a machine and lost the fingers of one of his hands. He stated in his application that the Labour Court in its order had asked the management (owners) of the factory to pay Rs 19,775 as compensation. But the factory owners had not only been delaying the payment but also abusing and trying to victimise him for going to the court, he alleged. The Deputy Commissioner in the darbar today marked the case for the next meeting of the District Grievances Committee. The darbar took up as many as 77 complaints today. Majority of the complaints taken up today was about problems regarding old age pension, widow pension, water, power, cleanliness, encroachment and unemployment. |
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GURGAON Gurgaon, November 21 The IDPL Marketing Division Karamchari Sangh general secretary, Mr Jago Ram, alleged that the chairman and managing director (C&MD) and one director (Production) of the IDPL still continued in their services even though they had crossed 59 years. Mr Jago Ram remarked that the C&MD, Maj Gen V. K. Sareen, and the Director (Production), Mr Kaushal Goel, who had no background of pharmaceutical industry, were inducted in the IDPL. Moreover, both of them had been allowed to continue in their posts even after crossing the 58-year age limit. Interestingly, the same C&MD who himself had crossed the limit was eager to implement the retirement age scheme when it came to the employees below the board level, he alleged. More than 400 employees were relieved on March 31, 2001 without paying them their dues. Besides, hundreds of employees who had been retired on the superannuating age and also those who had been relieved under the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) long time back before March 31, 2001 had not got their dues so far, Mr Jago Ram said. The general secretary lamented that the officials of Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and IDPL are least bothered about the problems of the employees. They had not cleared the dues even to the kith and kin of about 300 employees who had died. The sangh further said that on one hand, the management had relieved below board level employees (up to the level of peon) at the age of 58 years without paying their dues,. |
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Four
dead, 25 hurt in mishaps New Delhi, November 21 In the first incident, three persons were killed and 25 injured when a speeding tempo overturned on the Ridge Road near Rajinder Nagar this morning. The tempo was ferrying catering material for a marriage party to be held this evening in Vasant Kunj in South-West Delhi. The accident occurred when the tempo struck a road kerbstone and cart wheeled, trapping several people under its weight. Two persons were killed on the spot while one died on the way to the hospital. Reports said the driver lost control over the vehicles once it hit the stone as it was overloaded with over 25 persons. The injured were rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where a few of them were stated to be in serious condition. The Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Mr Maxwell Pereira, said that traffic police had noticed long skid marks on the road, indicating that the driver had lost control of the vehicle. It showed that the driver desperately braked to avoid toppling over but the tempo was in high speed and the vehicle overturned. Some people standing on the side were hurled over the barbed wire that fences the Ridge Road area and received serious injuries. This is the second major road tragedy in this week. The first incident took place Sunday night near Chirag Dilli flyover where four persons were
killed. In another accident, Santosh Kumar (30) was killed and his friend Anar Singh injured when their scooter was hit reportedly by a speeding military truck in the Nangloi area of West Delhi last night.
Santosh died on the spot while his friend, who was pillion riding, was admitted to a nearby hospital where he was stated to be out of danger. The truck driver,
Vipin, was arrested on charge of rash and negligent driving causing death. |
Gang busted, 24 vehicles
seized New Delhi, November 21 The police said the gang had been operating for the past one year and was involved in 42 cases of vehicle thefts mostly from Prashant Vihar, Rohini, Model Town and Adarsh Nagar. The vehicles stolen were mostly Maruti 800 cars, barring one Tata Sumo and one Santro car. On November 18, at about 1:30 pm, the cops acting on a tip off, started checking vehicles by setting up a picket at Ghoaga Sannoth Chowk. As per the information, one white Maruti car (DL-4C-E- 6520) was stopped. During interrogation, Anjay Shukla, alias Munna, who was driving the vehicle, revealed that he along with his associates had stolen the car from Rohini on November 14. |
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Beef
seized, nine arrested Faridabad, November 21 |
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3 held
for abducting girl Faridabad, November 21 |
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