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Blanket of fog may envelop Delhi New Delhi, December 20 However, the Capital is again expected to be enveloped in a blanket of fog from 11 tonight. The fog will remain till eight the next morning. The India Meteorological Department said there was no fog in the Capital this morning and the temperature at 5.30 a.m. was at above 10 degree Celsius. The visibility, said the Met Department, was okay this morning. At the Palam airport, it was at 1,500 metres at 7.30 a.m. much above the 200 metres yesterday. As the day progressed, the temperature climbed to 14.4 degrees at 1100 hrs. There was no rain in Delhi or anywhere in the region, the IMD spokesman said. There was mist in the morning, which is usual during winter when the temperature rises to above 10 degrees, he said. The Met Department, however, forecast fog tonight and in the morning tomorrow, which is likely to affect air and rail traffic. The Northern Railway said weather conditions around the Capital have delayed the arrival of several trains. Some trains from Delhi, including the Mumbai Rajadhani and the Bhubaneswar Rajadhani Express, have been rescheduled, it was pointed out. |
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Khurana bitterly disillusioned by today’s politics New Delhi, December 20 “I have decided to keep myself away from politics for the time being … keeping myself away from active politics will bring me some solace that I am no more a politician,” Mr Khurana told the people who pleaded with him not to leave Delhi. Surrounded by callers-on from Moti Nagar, the Assembly seat he vacated, Mr Khurana said he should not be held responsible for the BJP’s failing to wrest power in the Capital as the party had fared better in the recent election than 1998. He said the reports about a gubernatorial post being offered to him had no connection with the party’s debacle in Delhi. The offer of nominating him to the Rajya Sabha or making him Governor was made two years ago. In his meeting with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee a couple of days back, Mr Khurana had expressed a desire for a gubernatorial post in Uttar Pradesh. However, that request was turned down as there was no vacancy there. The party is keen on sending him as Governor to Rajasthan. Denying that he was being rehabilitated after his unsuccessful stint as president of Delhi Pradesh BJP, Mr Khurana said he did not see a gubernatorial assignment as a punishment. Expressing his anguish at today’s politics when politicians were looked down upon as corrupt, he said there was a time when people had high regards for the persons who joined politics but that time had changed in the interim. Mr Khurana has won every election he has contested since 1967 with the exception of the Lok Sabha election of 1984. He reiterated that his decision to quit active politics was not taken hastily but that he had sounded out the party long before. |
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Much-touted tourist complex yet to become a hotspot Faridabad, December 20 The decision of the authorities to open a bar for the visitors is likely to boost the arrival of more visitors to the palace restaurant, feel officials of the Tourism Department. They have informed that the Excise Department has given permission to start a bar at the spot. It was likely to begin very soon, said the Divisional Manager, Tourism, Mr S. P. Jain. He claimed that several visitors had already been there though the flow was still to pick up on the expected lines. He added that the concept of using a historical palace for tourists and for get-togethers was unique, and in the recent past, many residents had shown interest in holding parties and functions at the spot as one felt a sense of pride in organising private functions at a royal place where once a famous king lived. It may be recalled that the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had inaugurated this tourist complex on September 27 this year and had announced launching of a new scheme named as farm tourism in the state. While figures about the arrival of tourists in the identified farm houses in the region have not been made public, this concept also appears facing the initial hurdles. Though the Tourism Department officials are confident about the Nahar Singh Palace Tourist Complex as emerging a successful venture not only in attracting the visitors but also in preserving the cultural heritage of the region. They add that the ambience and the decor required for holding a function, including marriage reception, were marvellous and unmatched. The authorities have also announced a cut in the room charges at this motel from Rs 1,200 to Rs 800 only for a day. There are four air-conditioned rooms made available for the stay. But the main aspect that seems to be worrying the officials concerned is the location and the approach of the spot. The managers of the spot are reportedly facing a peculiar problem. Unfriendly and unwanted visitors in the shape of houseflies frequent the complex as the surroundings of the palace are reported to be unclean. Dairies operate in nearby areas! |
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Medical services paralysed in Meerut after doctor’s murder Meerut, December 20 Dr Shyam Mohan Rastogi (38) of the city pathology lab was shot dead while he was on his way home. According to some eyewitnesses, two armed
As the news of the murder spread in the city, all the private practitioners gathered on the spot and went on indefinite strike. The doctors then blocked all the five roads leading to Begum Bridge, heart of the city and shouted slogans against the police/administration. Several senior police and administrative officials visited the spot and started investigations. The officials were gheraoed by the mob. Hundreds of doctors headed towards NH-50 and blocked it for over three hours. Meanwhile, panic gripped the administrative officials after the declaration of strike. |
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Cops still clueless about four missing boys Noida, December 20 Sonu, Prem Shankar, Balbir and their friend Ram Kishen had disappeared from Salarpur on the evening of December 12. Their families had lodged a missing report with the Sector 39 police on December 12. The boys are known to have taken some money and additional dresses from their homes and are suspected to have gone to Mumbai. In spite of the Noida police having alerted all railway stations and police stations en route, lack of information about the boys has become a great source of worry for the parents and a challenge for the police. The police say they are checking all trains leaving and coming in at Delhi stations. |
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After dark Paint shop owner shot dead near police post Sonepat, December 20 According to information, Surender who was the owner of Manoj Paints Shop, was returning to his house in Adarsh Nagar around 9 pm. When he reached near a police chowki on the road leading to Sector-14, some car-borne gangsters reportedly fired at him. Surender died on the spot. Though the incident took place near the police post, no police personnel came out of the chowki even after hearing the gunshots. However, some women passing through that way noticed the body lying on the roadside. They informed the police in the chowki about the incident. The police then reached the spot and took the body in the civil hospital for postmortem. |
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Two kidnappers nabbed while collecting ransom GHAZIABAD: The Sahibabad police have recovered a boy, Kavinder, who was kidnapped some 22 days ago, by arresting two criminals who had reportedly come to collect the ransom amount. According to Mr Umesh Srivastava, SP, City, Kavinder, son of Raghubir Prajapati, had gone missing on November 29 while he was playing in front of his house in the evening in Pasunda village. A missing person report was lodged with the police. On December 16, Raghubir got a phone call for a ransom of Rs 3 lakh. The kidnappers had been making phone calls to Raghubir at his house. But when he said he could not pay this much amount, the kidnappers agreed to Rs 1 lakh. But the criminals changed the place indicated for collecting the ransom four times. When Raghubir reached there with the ransom amount, soon after two persons along with Kavinder came there. As soon as Raghubir exchanged the amount for his son Kavinder, the police, who were lying in wait, pounced on the duo.
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Sheila government sets the ball rolling New Delhi, December 20 The Chief Minister chaired introductory meetings with Power Minister Haroon Yusuf and Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely. Chief Secretary Shailja Chandra and officials concerned with the three departments were present when roadmaps were drawn up. Accordingly, the private distributors of electricity would have to take immediate steps to meet the anticipated spurt in demand. This winter, the peak demand is expected to touch 3,100 megawatt. The matters pertaining to meters and billing would also be taken up. Taking a serious view of the persistent complaint about meters, Power Minister Haroon Yusuf said the Government of NCT of Delhi would impress upon the private distributors to inform consumers about the benefits of installing new electronic meters. The minister said the private companies would also be asked to remove discrepancies in the billing. The transmission and generation companies, he added, were geared up to meet the demand of even up to 3,300 megawatt this winter. Yusuf, who also holds the portfolio of transport, said high capacity bus system would be introduced after a few months. Instead of operating the high capacity buses on dedicated corridors, the Department of Transport has decided to ply them on existing roads. Arvinder Singh Lovely, who heads the Department of Education, in his meeting with the Chief Minister, agreed to fill up the vacancies in schools run by the Government of NCT of Delhi and augment the infrastructure required for teaching. Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, who chaired a separate meeting of the officials of his department, said the Chief Minister would unveil an insurance plan for the BPL families on January 1. More than four lakh people would stand to benefit from it. The Delhi Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Financial and Development Corporation will be the nodal agency for the insurance scheme. The insurance premium will be to the tune of Rs 200, of which Rs 150 will be paid by the government and Rs 50 by the beneficiary. In case of the death of the beneficiary, his family will receive Rs 20,000. If the beneficiary dies or is handicapped in an accident, the amount will be Rs 50,000 and if he loses an eye or a limb, he will get Rs 25,000. The government will also give Rs 200 per month to the BPL card holders whose children are in IXth, Xth, XIth and XIIth classes, subject to a maximum of two children. The insurance cover, he felt, would be an apt New Year gift. |
‘Housing boom still a distant
reality’ New Delhi, December 20 The convention, with the theme ‘Housing for All’ saw the coming together of builders, real estate developers, brokers, financial institutions, banks and other housing organisation. The president of NAREDCO, Mr Som Datt, said, “Every citizen has the right to have access to adequate housing. The state and the Center must respect and protect this right. In fact, resource shortage is no more a problem. Projects have to be viable and presented in a transparent manner. Awareness needs to be created about the benefits accruing to the economy on account of such projects. Housing census of India 2001 shows that though the average living conditions of Indian households have improved perceptibly, there is still a long way to go for the housing boom to happen in reality.” He insisted on government and private sector participation in making houses available to all. He said that the provision of housing to the masses and eradication of slum and squatter settlement have been recognized as a political imperative since Independence, but millions of houses were needed in major metropolitan cities. In case of Delhi itself, which faces a variety of housing typologies, the population and the housing ratio differs widely. More than 60 per cent of the Delhi was unauthorised and needs to be regulated. About two-third of the families in Delhi fall under the category of economically weaker section (EWS) and low-income group (LIG). He said the process of evolutionary generation of settlement and shelter was a complex process. It required a complete reversal in the prevailing attitude. Instead of asking the people to participate in the shelter programmes organised by the formal agencies, the agencies themselves will have to get organised to participate in the development and shelter process of the people. To bridge the wide gap between demand and supply of services, mass transport and community facilities in housing areas, including unauthorized colonies, it was essential to adopt various options. |
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Rohini’s green lung becomes the new hotspot for residents New Delhi, December 20 Spread over an area of 250 acres, the park is being touted as the green lung of the area. The park, which was inaugurated by Mr Jagmohan in 2000, was constructed in a record time frame of 18 months by Unitech Limited. The park has now become a hot spot for the people wishing to picnic with their families in clean and beautiful environs. Cemented and thatched shelters, jogging and walking tracks, tastefully done landscaping with brilliant hues of flowers and lakes beautified by migratory birds and fish are the features that act as crowd-pullers. According to the nodal officer responsible for development and maintenance of the park, Mr Balraj Pahuja, more than 25,000 people visit the park everyday and the number multiplies on holidays. Calm surroundings of the park attracts the people here, added Mr Pahuja. To ensure the cleanliness of the park, the authorities have prohibited the entry of vendors and have allowed only two licensed eating joints. The park, said Pahuja, was eco-friendly in which natural depressions in the area have been integrated with basic design of the park. He points out that land troughs were retained for water harvesting and the larger ones have been earmarked for lakes and ponds. It was also pointed out that the water from the nearby sewage treatment plant was used for irrigation. A part of the park is now being developed into an amusement park. Unitech is expected to spend about Rs 80 crore for the development of an amusement park in phases. The park is expected to be completed in five years, but will be open to the public in two years after the completion of the first phase. |
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SPECIAL FOCUS ON REWARI Rewari, December 20 Furnishing a synoptic account of the aims, objectives and operational plan of the campaign, Mr Kapriwas, who himself is a vanquished champion of several electoral battles, told the NCR Tribune here today that if the formation of various governments in Haryana in the past two decades was any indication it could be reasonably construed that MLAs from South Haryana went in a big way to the making of chief ministers as well as the state governments. But it was ironical that this “chief ministry giving” region received only a callous and tawdry treatment from those chief ministers. Thus, South Haryana’s cry for equitable canal water, allocation of its legitimate share in government jobs for its youths, availability of adequate power to its peasantry and elimination of disparities and injustices in the implementation of development works had persistently remained unheeded much to the chagrin and dismay of the masses as well as the elitists. Consequently, the whole of South Haryana, which is popularly known as Ahirwal, mainly comprising the 10 assembly segments of Narnaul , Ateli, Mahendragarh (Mahendergarh district), Bawal, Rewari, Jatusana (Rewari district), Pataudi, Gurgaon , Sohna (Gurgaon district ) and Salhawas (Jhajjar district) had been endlessly waiting for a unified campaign that could be instrumental in its radical transformation. Mr Kapriwas went on to explain that the manch had, therefore, decided to take up the cudgels in this regard. He informed that the decision to forge a united electoral front for this purpose was unanimously endorsed by the manch activists at a largely attended special convention of the manch held here on December 13. He further informed that though the campaign to forge a team of tenacious political and social activists had now started gaining momentum yet things would take some time more to get crystallised as well as take concrete shape. Initial discussions in this regard were recently held by Mr Kapriwas with Mahant Chand Nath (Narnaul), sister Kalawati (Ateli), Mr Shri Chand Sharma (Mahendergarh), Mr Krishan Kumar Yadav (Sohna), Mrs Rajesh Mehra (Pataudi), Mr Mahender Singh Suthana (Bawal) and Mr Rajender Singh Lodha (Jatusana). Besides, efforts were also on to hold meaningful parleys with legislators Raghu Yadav, Rao Ajit Singh (younger son of former Union Minister Rao Birender Singh) and several others, conceded Mr Kapriwas. Simultaneously, it was also revealed to NCR Tribune by Mr Kapriwas that there was near unanimity among these political activists over the main issue of espousing the cause of Ahirwal efficaciously and resolutely. He was hopeful that the determined efforts being made by him and his other confidants could shortly lead to the emergence of some sort of a united electoral front which could prove a turning point for Ahirwal in the electoral battles that lay ahead. Besides, it could also be instrumental in providing a long–lost dignified status to Ahirwal which it urgently and direly needed.
Rewari makes rapid strides in exports With several of its prestigious units having made rapid strides in the production of a variety of industrial goods, Rewari district has made spectacular progress in the domain of industry in the past few years. The increasing volume of exports of these manufactured goods has tended to put Rewari on the global map prominently. Giving details in this regard, the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Neerja Shekhar, informed that goods worth Rs 119.50 crore were exported to a number of foreign countries by 13 industrial units of the district during the year 2002-03. She said that brass sheets manufactured here were exported to Bangladesh, Cyprus, Singapore, Korea and Israel while Germany, Egypt, Spain, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and France imported ceramic glazed tiles from here. Similarly, motor cycles and their spare parts were exported to Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Japan, Bangladesh and Dubai; zip fasteners to Nepal, Bahrain, Kenya, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bangladesh and Japan; cotton and synthetic yarn to Italy, Hong Kong, Canada, Taiwan, Korea and Cyprus; coloured televisions and audio systems to Singapore, Dubai and Germany; slate stone to Egypt, Korea, Nepal, USA, Europe and Australia and soluble sulpher to Germany, Iran, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Spain and Bangladesh. She further informed that as many as 93 small and cottage industries with an investment of Rs 7.46 crore as well as seven large and medium scale industrial units with an investment of Rs 36.12 crore were set up in the district during the past three and a half year tenure of the present state government. Besides, 2,030 jobless youths were also provided loans under the Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojna (PRY) for starting their employment–oriented ventures during the past four years.
Juvenile home staff
face action Following the alleged mysterious disappearance and delayed return of a girl inmate of Astha Kunj, a government run juvenile home here for destitute children, three of its employees have been suspended while a fourth one, who was serving as a caretaker on a contractual basis, has been relieved of his charge by the district administration. The penalised employees reportedly include Superintendent Raj Kumar, Probationary Officer Nalini Yadav, accountant Ishwar Singh and caretaker Satish Kumar. It is stated that the minor girl, who had mysteriously disappeared, returned to the home after about 24 hours. The Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Neerja Shekhar, who maintained that the employees had been placed under suspension on account of dereliction of duty as well as commission of certain irregularities in the day-to-day functioning of the home, informed that they had been chargesheeted and further penal proceedings against them were under way. |
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RGF assisting 870 child victims of terrorism New Delhi, December 20 The RGF, which offers emotional help and counselling to each child, initiated a community oriented psychosocial support project in Badgam district of Jammu and Kashmir to help ease the suffering and depression of people affected by the conflict in the state. According to a press release, a cadre of barefoot community health counsellors has been created who could act as a first line of defence against stress-related mental health problems. The foundation has trained 175 persons in basic counselling skills. In addition, schoolteachers have been taught theatre craft for use in the classroom to combat depression among children. A documentary film on the project entitled `A Ray of Hope’ has been prepared. In the field of literacy, the RGF’s village library programme, started in 1993, has now created a network of 1,147 village and slum libraries across the country in 16 states. During the year, 45 new village libraries were established - 30 in Andhra Pradesh, 10 in Haryana and five in Uttar Pradesh. The foundation provided technical expertise to establish 75 village libraries in six districts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana in the World Bank and IFAD funded Swa-Shakti project. The libraries will be linked with women’s self-help groups. In its efforts at water conservation, the RGF’s Green Corps of rural volunteers increased in numbers from 41 to 59 in Rajasthan. Forty-six water harvesting structures were completed and work was in progress in 15 more sites. |
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SEARCH WITHIN Christmas is here and the world is once again agog with excitement and merrymaking of the season. And in the midst of all these, the reason for the season is forgotten. What exactly is the meaning of Ch watching over their sheep and made this announ cement: “Behold! I bring you Good Tidings of great joy which shall be to all people…For unto you is born in the city of David (Bethlehem), a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”(Luke 2: 10) Christmas is the celebration of that story of God taking human form and coming into our world as the saviour of mankind. The Bible tells us that He came to save man from his sins and bring him back to God. ``If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all that is evil.” This is because “Jesus Christ died for sins once for all, the Sinless One for the sinful, to bring you to God.” His death on the Cross is the price He paid for the sins of mankind. “He died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried and He was raised on the third day, according to the scriptures.’’ Jesus Christ, the risen Saviour not only promises forgiveness from past sins and a sure hope of heaven, but also promises His own presence through His Holy Spirit within us so that we can live a life that is acceptable to God and personally fulfilling. Jesus declared: “You believe in God, believe also in me. I have authority on earth to forgive sins. I am the resurrection and the life; whoever lives and believes in me will never die. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one can come to God except through me.” Christmas for the Christian is clothed with deep theological meaning. It says many things about the nature of God. Far from being unknowable or impersonal, Christmas says that God can be known. He is a person of love and compassion. Christmas is God’s self-disclosure, the revelation of Himself. Christmas says that there is a God who cares, who is concerned about you. Something happened in Bethlehemthat first Christmas which set the bells ringing and the choirs singing. Which motivates people to build churches, schools, orphanages and hospitals. He was born to lead us to God, to make us ready for heaven on earth. Which makes it possible for every day to be Christmas in your heart and open up heaven for you to enter in. Charles M. Duke, Jr, Apollo16 astronaut, who walked on the moon, speaking at one of the functions held in Delhi years ago said that God walking on our earth was of greater significance than man walking on moon. Of Him, it has been recorded by history: “He came from the bosom of the Father to the bosom of a woman. He put on humanity that we might put on divinity. He became the son of man that we might become the sons of God. He was born in a supernatural way, lived in poverty, reared in obscurity. Only once He crossed the boundary of the land, in childhood. He had no wealth, nor influence, and no college education; yet the profoundest wisdom of emn has never equaled his last discourse in John 13 to 17(Bible) and the Sermon on the Mount. “Never man spake like this Man.” He never wrote a book.; yet not all the libraries of the country could hold the books that have been written about Him. Yet He furnished the theme of more songs than all the songwriters combined. He never founded a college, yet all the schools together can not boast of as many students as He has. He never marshaled an army, drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun, yet no leader ever made so many volunteers, who have under His orders made rebels stack arms or surrender without a shot being fired. “Great men have come and gone, yet He lives on. Herod could not kill Him. Satan could not seduce Him. Death could not destroy Him, the grave could not hold Him and even demons obeyed Him. He fed the hungry multitudes with a boy’s little lunch, broke up funerals and gave back to life those that were dead. He laid aside His purple robe for a peasants gown. He was rich yet for our sakes He became poor. As to how poor? Ask the wise men. He slept in another’s manger.; He cruised the lake in another’s boat. He rode on a borrowed best. He was buried in a rich man’s tomb. He conquered death, rose on the third day as He said He would, ascended into heaven, is now at the right hand of the throne of God, and one day will come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory for His own born-again, blood-bought ones to be forever with Him according to the promise after which He will judge the world in righteousness…, when every knee shall bow to Him and every tongue shall confess Him as Lord…’’ Of Him, Philip Brooks, New Testament scholar recorded: “I am not far from the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched and the navies that were ever built, and that all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned put together have not affected the life on man on earth as much as did that one Solitary Life.” Christmas is all about that perfect one. Of Him, another Christian author James Stewart testified: In Him, you have everything you may need here and in the hereafter—hope when all hope seems broken, courage when you are terrified, light when you are in darkness, forgiveness when you have blundered badly, friendship when you are feeling lonely and forsaken and at the last a wonderful welcome home from the Lord of life eternal, when your day has run to sunset and the evening star is in the sky.” M P K Kutty |
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DSGMC changes route for celebrations NEW DELHI: The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee has changed the route for the celebrations of the birthday anniversary of Sahib Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji on January 4. The route has been changed since the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) has converted the Panchkuian Road into one-way due to the work undertaken there. The new route will be Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib–Pandit Pant Marg, GPO–Ashok Road – Patel Chowk – Parliament Street – Regal Building – Connaught Place – Madras Hotel – Panchkuian Road – Kalawati Hospital – Bhagat Singh Market – Bangla Sahib Marg – Gurdwara Bangla Sahib.
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, December 20 The tour of the students of Makhan Lal Chaturvedi Rashtriay Patrakarita Vishwavidyalaya at Noida to the leprosy centre run by late Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity (MoC), was sponsored by Subhadra Nambudri Foundation (SNF), a leading voluntary organisation working in the field of health awareness. The students were accompanied by doctors, lawyers, government servants, journalists and corporate executives associated with the SNF, a release issued by its director, Sunit Govind, said here today. The students enquired about the problems faced by the 300 inmates and served them food and sweets. The visitors also interacted with sisters of Missionaries of Charity, who said that the inmates’ main requirement during winter was of warm cloths. The Foundation urged the students and visitors to make efforts to supplement the efforts of Missionaries of Charity in providing help to the inmates.
There is good news for the Punjabi music lovers as the season’s biggest musical extravaganza in Punjabi music, ‘Nachange Sarri Raat’, will be telecast on Punjabi music channel ‘Balle Balle,’ on the New Years eve. The programme, “Nachange Sarri Raat,’ which would start at 9 pm on December 31, will have performances by 35 superstars of Punjabi music like Jazzy B, Harbhajan Mann, Sarabjeet Cheema, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Manmohan Waris, Kamal Heer, Kimi Verma and Balkar Sidhu. This was recently announced to the media by the CEO, Balle Balle and Punjab Today, Mr Upinder Nayar. There will also be a host of other stars like Gulzar Lahoriya, Bhupinder Kaur Mohali, Jajj Sharma, Nirmal Sidhu, Bhai Amarjit, Ravinder Ghoda, Udvir Manak, Rani Randeep and Ravinder Grewal to make it a memorable evening.
Load shedding announced The Yamaha company has announced load shedding in Khyala, Vishnu Garden, parts of Jaffarpur, Mundella, CRPF, Khera Dabar, Pandwala, West Patel Nagar, NG Road, DTC Shadipur depot, DMS 2, J and H blocks, Kriti Nagar, Rama Road, Ranjit Nagar community centre, Shadi Khampur, Pandav Nagar and its adjoining areas. |
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NCR BRIEFS Jhajjar, December 20 The Deputy Commissioner said that the panchayats had been directed to spend the funds lying unused by December 31. Giving details of the development and poverty alleviation programmes in the villages, Mr Kumar informed that about 3500 families have been given employment under the Swaran Jayanti Gram Savrojgar Yojna by spending Rs 3.38 crores. He said that 205 self-help groups have been constituted to benefit the rural families under this scheme. About 1,500 development works were completed in the villages with funds worth Rs 5.80 crore under the Jawahar Gram Samradhi Scheme, he said. The Deputy Commissioner called upon the panchayats to take advantage of the various welfare schemes being implemented by the government in the district.
5 years RI for kidnapping Sonepat: The District and Sessions Judge of Sonepat, Mr B. L. Singhal, yesterday convicted Feroz Khan alias Joni of Tharia village under Section 366 IPC, and sentenced him to five years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 3000 or in default to undergo further one year rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping a girl Promila from her house in Kalash colony of Sonepat on January 24, 2000. According to a report, the Judge also convicted the accused under Section 363 IPC and sentenced him to four years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 2,000 or in default to undergo further two years rigorous imprisonment.
Youth assaulted, looted Three armed motorcycle-borne youths reportedly assaulted a boy, Dev Raj Pahuja, and snatched Rs 1,800 from him after threatening him with knives near the Bodhwal Majri railway station, about 22 km from here yesterday. According to a report, they beat up the youth mercilessly when he offered resistance and fled on the motorcycle. The police are investigating into the case, though no case had been registered so far in this connection.
Body found The police recovered the body of a youth, identified as Surinder of Adarsh Nagar, lying near the general bus stand here yesterday and sent it for the postmortem examination. According to a report, the police believe it to be a case of murder. A hunt is on to apprehend the culprits. |
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New Delhi, December 20 The mela will be inaugurated by Mr Bhishma Narain Singh, former Governor of Tamil Nadu and Assam. Mr Vishwa Bandhu Gupta, honorary secretary of the Ballooning Club of India, said that there will also be an “On-the-Spot” children painting competition at the same venue from 2 pm to 4 pm. Children between 5 years to 17 years can participate in the painting competition. Children should reach the `Balloonport’ at 2 pm and bring their own painting materials with them. The drawing paper will be supplied by the club. Free joy rides will be given to the participants of the painting competition by draw of lots. According to Mr Gupta, the Ballooning Club of India had been organising ‘India International Balloon Melas’, annually since 1985. The Mela was held under the auspices of Aero Club of India. TNS |
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PVR manger killed in car accident New Delhi, December 20 The victim, identified as Vinit Punia (28), resident of Delhi Cantonment, who was driving the Indica car, died on the spot while his friend, Varun (22), resident of DLF Phase-III, Gurgaon, sustained serious injuries. The incident occurred at around 12.15 am when Vinit and Varun were coming from Gurgaon. As they reached Dada Bari Jain Mandir, the car overturned and Vinit was crushed under the car and died, the police said.
Car snatched Four unidentified youths armed with knives robbed one person of his car and Rs 900 yesterday at the J-Block, Saket. The youths entered the car and threatened the victim with knife to continue driving the car. Later, the victim was asked to get down from the car in Faridabad. The victim, Robin Sarkar (45), resident of Vasant Kunj, had gone to the J-Block market, Saket, for shopping with his wife. While his wife had gone inside a shop, the victim was waiting for her near his Alto car. (No DL-2C-Z-7275) Suddenly, four youths armed with knives entered the car and threatened him to drive the car, the police said. The four youths also robbed him of Rs 900 and drove away the car after reaching Faridabad. Fortunately, the victim, who works in a private firm, escaped unhurt. The police suspect the criminals to be from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, members of a gang involved in auto thefts. The police have obtained the description of the criminals from the victim and formed special teams to trace them. A case of robbery and kidnapping was registered in the Malviya Nagar police station. |
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Two ISI agents escape police net Sonepat, December 20 According to a report, Ramphal belonged to Fazilpur village on the outskirts of the city while the original residence of Ramesh was still unknown. Ramesh came into contact with Ramphal through a property dealer of Sector 14, a residential colony of HUDA. Both the agents had telephone ISD and STD connections and made frequent telephone calls to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Kuwait. Police sources said both the agents used conference telephone system to talk to their colleagues in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madras and other southern states of India. The activities of the two ISI agents came to surface on December
It was estimated that both the agents had made telephone calls for over Rs 7 lakh in a month. While inspecting their call records, the officials of the BSNL, became panicky and informed the police immediately. On receipt of information, the police immediately swung into action and conducted the surprise raid on the house in which they were living. However, they managed to flee the place before
the raid with their belongings. Meanwhile, the police were unable to achieve any breakthrough in identifying Ramesh and his whereabouts so far. |
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