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Ajay Chautala dubs Cong resignations on SYL as ‘charade’ Power Utilities heading for financial crisis Indiscriminate use leaves Karnal, Panipat weak on power Panels to probe bogus caste certificates INLD meeting deferred amid protest |
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Cong workers stage dharna Cong leader’s killer brother still at large Kidnappers’ arrest saves many Kidwai to unfurl Tricolour at Panipat Jain sadhvi’s divine pursuit
Leaf from
History Scuffle at toll barrier Man, son killed over land dispute Retrenched employees hold demonstration Development loan notified
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Ajay Chautala dubs Cong resignations Rohtak, July 26 Addressing a press conference after inaugurating an extension counter of Rohtak District Central Cooperative Bank at the Directorate of Distance Education, Maharshi Dayanand University, he said the Haryana Congress leaders were in league with their Punjab counterparts on the issue and were trying to mislead the people of the state. He said the Congress had always wanted to delay the issue for political gains and the people of Haryana should not expect it to change its policy now. Had the Congress been sincere, the canal would have been a reality by now, he added. Mr Chautala wondered what the UPA government at the Centre wanted to achieve through a Presidential reference on this issue. All it was required to do was to implement the apex court decision and get the canal constructed through one of its own agencies. He said the Haryana Government would not appeal against the Punjab decision to annul water agreements since Haryana’s case had already been decided in its favour by the Supreme Court. Approaching the court again would be falling into the Congress trap and delaying the construction. Criticising Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda for “misleading” the people on the issue of distribution of Bhakra waters, he said when the Bhakra water was appropriated, Mr Hooda’s father was the Irrigation and Power Minister in earstwhile Punjab. He lauded the bank for its performance saying it had left behind many of the bigger banks in providing customer service, which had helped it earn huge profits. Mr Jagjit Singh Suhag, chairman, and Mr Kehar Singh Chauhan, general manager of the bank, were also present on the occasion. |
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Villagers plan black-flag demonstration Sonepat, July 26 A resolution to this effect was passed unanimously at a meeting of the panchayat held at Nangal Khurd, 15 km from here, today. A large number of panches and sarpanches, members of the block samitis and the Sonepat Zila Parishad participated in the meeting. Mr Howa Singh, president of Antil Khap, presided over it. Addressing the panchayat, Mr Howa Singh charged the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, with making an attempt to destroy the federal structure of the country by scrapping the water agreements which were duly approved by Haryana and Punjab. He cautioned him that such an irresponsible act was bound to lead to chaos in the two states. He said that if any attempt to stop the flow of water to Haryana was made, the farmers of Haryana would not remain silent spectators and would take drastic step to safeguard their interests. He alleged that the Punjab Chief Minister was acting in a very irresponsible manner and if he was really interested in the welfare of the state he should stop the flow of river waters to Pakistan. He said that the dates for holding the black-flag demonstration and blocking the flow of water to Delhi would be announced shortly. |
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BJP activists to gherao Punjab Raj Bhavan Ambala, July 26 Prof Ganeshi Lal was in Ambala City to felicitate former BJP MLA Veena Chibber who had resigned on the SYL issue. Talking to mediapersons, Prof Ganeshi Lal said they were going to intensify their agitation. “Our MLAs were the first to resign on the SYL issue. We are now going to take out jal yudh yatra,” he said. The yatra will start from different places in Haryana, including
Kalesar, Dabwali, Hodal, Naggal Chokha, Samalkha and Bahadurgarh. “The yatras will cover 15 Assembly segments each,” he said. Prof Ganeshi Lal termed the annulment of all water pacts by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha as undemocratic and unconstitutional. “It is a deep-rooted conspiracy to deny water which rightfully belongs to the Haryana. The Congress is pursuing an appeasement policy in Andhra Pradesh,” he said. A former Ambala MP, Mr Ratan Lal
Kataria, said they were going to contest the forthcoming Assembly elections in Haryana alone. “We are not going to enter into any alliance. We have always challenged the anti-people policy of the Chautala government and we will continue to do so,” he said. |
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Power Utilities heading for financial crisis Panchkula, July 26 The ever increasing electricity dues of the power distribution companies and poor bill collection efficiency in the state, are adding to the financial woes of the Utilities. An astounding Rs 1500 crore is due as arrears from the consumers in the domestic, commercial and rural sectors. Officials say the amount outstanding to the two distribution companies — Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) against the rural sector (both domestic and agriculture) is to the tune of Rs 1000 crore. The cumulative arrears due from the domestic consumers, in both rural and urban areas was Rs 1165 crore, as on March 31 this year. As against this the industrial consumers and the government offices owe the distribution companies approximately Rs 100 crore. The dues have further increased over the past four months, say sources. Officials say that dues have mounted over the past three years, inspite of the waiver schemes and campaigns to disconnect the defaulters. They say that as compared to the due arrears of Rs 1091 crore in the year 2001, they rose to Rs 1391 crore in 2002, and Rs 1457 in March 2003. The Chairman of Haryana Power Utilities, Maj Gen (retd) B.S.
Rathee, has now appealed to the defaulters in various sectors to pay up their dues. “Because of the adverse weather conditions, the state is facing the worst ever power crisis. There is a shortfall of approximately 200 MW of power, in spite of the Power Utilities buying power from various sources in Himachal and Orissa. The state is also overdrawing power from the Northern Grid, even when the frequency of power is low and we have to pay penal rates at almost double the original rate per unit,” he says. Maj Gen Rathee says that with the power cuts and austerity measures being imposed on urban and industrial consumers for a week, beginning on July 27, the Utilities are further going to lose out on the revenue generated from them and lead to additional financial pressure. He informs that the state has made a bid for 200-250 MW of power from the Unallocated Central Pool of the Ministry of Power, and the decision was still awaited. |
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Indiscriminate
use leaves Karnal, Karnal, July 26 In rural areas, thousands of farmers had installed capacitors on electric water pumps to run these on two-phase supply meant for household use. In urban areas, air-conditioners were being run in Central and State government offices and residential areas, thereby putting an extra load on the supply channels. More than 1,000 transformers had developed snags in Karnal and Panipat districts during the past one month. This clearly indicated the extra burden being put on supply lines leading to adverse situations. The Superintending Engineer of the HVPN, Mr C.S. Khurana, admitted that Karnal and Panipat districts were facing power shortage of 10 to 12 lakh units per day. However, the situation could well be tackled if the people cooperated by not installing capacitors and stabilisers on electric water pumps and made judicious use of domestic supply. The state government had imposed restrictions on the use of air-conditioners in government offices. The orders to this effect came into force from today, but when a Tribune team visited the mini secretariat and the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) this afternoon; most of the air-conditioners installed there were functioning. The District Magistrate, Karnal, Mr R.S. Doon, said he had not so far received the orders of the state government imposing restrictions on the use of air-conditioners in government offices. “I will strictly comply with the decision of the state government within the district soon after the orders are received by my office”, he said. Meanwhile, the HVPN has a launched a campaign in Karnal and Panipat districts to check the use of capacitors on electric water pumps and power thefts. The water supply position in Karnal city has also worsened during the past couple of days. In the urban estate areas, there was hardly one-hour supply and that too on low pressure, especially in the morning. Afternoon supply has almost ‘evaporated’ while people get water for just two hours in the evening. |
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Unscheduled power cuts spark protests Bhiwani, July 26 Addressing the agitators, Ms Parmar said that the INLD supremo, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had forgotten his promise of supply of free power and water. Uncounted and unscheduled power cuts had thrown life out of gear, she said, adding that the farmers were facing double stroke in the wake of drought and no power. The crops were ruining and the state was under the grip of a tremendous drought. She demanded from the Chief Minister to declare the state as drought-affected. A senior party leader, Ms Vidya Chauhan, said that the Chautala government was giving step-motherly treatment to Bhiwani district and warned that the INLD would have to face consequences of such behaviour in the coming assembly elections. The others who addressed the demonstration were Ms Darshna Devi, president, Buwani Khera unit, district president of Congress Sewa Dal Laxmi
Kadiyan, Ms Sushila Sangwan, Ms Kanta Devi, Ms Nirmla Devi, NSUI state vice-president Anil Paintawasia and Ms Laxmikant Sharma. |
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Panels
to probe bogus caste certificates Chandigarh, July 26 While stating this here today, an official spokesman said the 5-member district level scrutiny committee would be headed by the Deputy Commissioner and will have Superintendent of Police, District Welfare Officer, district level officer of the concerned department or public sector undertaking as its members. The City Magistrate would be the member-secretary. He said that any case of forged certificates might be referred to this committee by the Deputy Commissioner of the concerned district. The committee would get the cases examined and if the claim was found to be wrong or bogus, the caste certificate issued would be declared as invalid by the district level committee. Also, the benefit availed by the applicant would be withdrawn and a criminal case would be registered against the applicant and the guilty official for misrepresenting the facts. The affected person, however, will be eligible to appeal to the state scrutiny committee. He said the 4-member state scrutiny committee would be headed by Commissioner and Secretary, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Department. The members would include head of the department of which the employee wanted to avail the benefit and Special Secretary or Joint Secretary, General Administration. The Director, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Department, would be the member-secretary. He said that the state-level committee would hear appeals on the decisions taken by the district level committee and review the functioning of the district level scrutiny committees. |
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INLD meeting deferred amid protest Sonepat, July 26 As a significant number of party workers reached the rest house to support the candidature of persons of their choice, senior leaders, including Mr Sethi, four INLD MLAs — Suraj Mal Antil, Padam Singh Dahiya, Ramesh Khatak and Ram Kumar Saini — Zila Parishad Chairman Raj Singh Dahiya, former minister Ved Singh Malik and others went into a room to finalise the list of the office-bearers of the block-level units. However, after rumours that senior leaders were favouring their candidates and relatives for the posts, an altercation broke among workers. Also the workers raised slogans against party leaders. The senior leaders tried in vain to pacify the party workers. When the agitated workers failed to pay any heed to the leaders’ pleas, Mr Sethi postponed the meeting for indefinite period. |
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Cong workers stage dharna Bhiwani, July 26 Addressing the dharna, the vice-president of the Youth Congress, Mr Ashok Verma, alleged irregularities had been committed on a large scale in the development works by the municipal council. The state of sanitation in Buwani Khera was deteriorating and there were no proper arrangements to drain out the sewage water. Mr Mahesh Sharma, block president, who presided over the dharna, said he had been in the council for 22 years, during the Congress regime care was taken that all wards of the Buwani Khera were developed but during the tenure of present INLD government ward numbers 7, 9, 10 and 11 were given step motherly treatment. He warned that Youth Congress would organise a protest if this discrimination was not stopped . Later a demonstration was held outside the tehsil office. Mr Verma submitted a memorandum to Tehsildar Balwan Jangra.
— OC |
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Cong leader’s killer brother still at large Sonepat, July 26 Those detained are: Mr Ram Saroop, father of Vijay, his son, Ajay, and a daughter. The condition of Mr Ram Saroop reportedly deteriorated during questioning by the police and he was admitted to a private nursing home. Ms
Ishwanti, wife of Vijay Chaudhary, had lodged an FIR saying his husband had three brothers and the property and business had been distributed among them. But Mannu was not satisfied with the division. He always bore a grudge against her husband she said. Yesterday also, two brothers went to his factory at Kanwali village and threatened him with dire consequences if he failed to comply with their wishes. She also stated that Vijay Chaudhary was returning home in a car when he was stopped by Mannu on the Kabirpur village road. He asked him to come out of the car. As soon as he came out, he was shot by
Mannu. Mr Kuldip Singh Siag, Superintendent of Police, said the police was questioning members of Vijay’s family. |
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Kidnappers’ arrest saves many Fatehabad, July 26 Their arrest unearthed a secret plan of kidnapping several other persons for ransom. Subhash, a former partner of the multi-millionaire family firms, had clandestinely organised a six-member gang to execute his wicked plans. He joined hands with Jai Singh of Arya Nagar, Kulbir of Chautha Meel, an auto mechanic (all from Hisar) and two other youths for the purpose. Subhash had allegedly prepared a list of six persons, all old acquaintances, who were to be kidnapped for ransom. Interestingly, he chose his elder brother to be his first target. Subhash had allegedly got constructed two houses, one at the Gangwa road Hisar and another near Chirawa village in Rajasthan. Mr Sardana was kept at these places during his captivity. He was later recovered by the Rajasthan police from
Chirawa. When the family members of Mr Madan Lal Sardana, on the advice of the police, agreed to pay Rs 50 lakh as ransom for his release, a member of the gang of Subhash went to a PCO at Chirawa village to inform his family that he was about to get a huge amount. The PCO owner informed the local police that had already been sounded by the Hisar and Fatehabad police on the basis of information provided by BSNL about the source of mobile phone calls being received by the Victim’s family. With the arrest of Subhash, many of his rich friends have heaved a sigh of relief. They feel had Subhash succeeded in executing his plan of getting ransom from his brother, they could have been his next targets. |
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Kidwai
to unfurl Tricolour at Panipat Chandigarh, July 26 The Speaker, Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Mr.Satbir Singh Kadian, will unfurl the National Flag at Karnal, Finance Minister Sampat Singh at Sirsa, Town and Country Planning Minister Dhirpal Singh at Kurukshetra, Transport Minister Ashok Kumar at Ambala, Agriculture MinisterJaswinder Singh Sandhu at Kaithal and Deputy Speaker, Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Gopi Chand Gahlot at Jhajjar. The Minister of State for
Health, Dr M.L. Ranga, will hoist the National Flag at Gurgaon, Minister of State for Animal Husbandry Mohammad Ilyas at Faridabad, Minister of State for Social Welfare Risal Singh at Yamunanagar, Minister of State for Urban Development Subhash Goyal at Rewari, Minister of State for Education Bahadur Singh at Panchkula, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Ram Pal Majra at Jind and Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board, Rajesh Sharma, at Rohtak. The Chief Secretary, Mr.Sunil Ahuja, will unfurl the National Flag at Bhiwani, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister B.D.Dhalia at Sonepat, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Revenue, K.C.Sharma at Narnaul and Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Home, Dharamvir at Fatehabad. The National Flag will be hoisted at 9 a.m. at all these places. The Sub-Divisional Officers (Civil) and tehsildars would unfurl the Tricolour at sub-divisions and
tehsils. Police parades will be held at the level of division, district, sub-division and tehsil. It has also been decided to organise functions like kavi
sammelans, mushiaras and poetry recitation and patriotic songs at educational institutions in the afternoon. |
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Jain sadhvi’s divine pursuit Hisar, July 26 The practice is held in high esteem by members of the community. A person observing “santhara” is considered to be making the supreme sacrifice for the purity of soul and to unite with God. This is substantiated by the number of visitors thronging the premises at Katla Ramlila in the city where the sadhvi is staying. But isn’t it equivalent to suicide? To this, the community members retort with an emphatic “no”. They maintain that a person commits suicide on being compelled by adverse circumstances, but “santhara” is undertaken wilfully and with a divine motive. Mardav Shri, one of the sadhvis looking after sadhvi
Gulaban, claims that “santhara” is a challenge to death and not a cowardly act like suicide. Sadhvi Gulaban’s brother, Mr Sumermal
Nahta, has come from Hyderabad to see his sister. He recalls that his second sister, Sadhvi
Bhatuji, had also undertaken “santhara.” He asserts that the practice is a part of their culture and he is proud of his sisters. “It is not everybody’s cup of tea,” he observes. |
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‘Ludkan Baba’ rolls on Ambala, July 26 Mohan Das ‘Ludkan Baba’ passed through Ambala today. While many different ways of journey have been undertaken for world peace, this is perhaps for the first time that a person has rolled on the road to reach his destination. He started his journey from Ratlam in January this year and passed through Ujjain,
Dewas, Asta, Bhopal, Rajgarh, Guna, Gwalior, Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan and Delhi. From Ambala, he will head for Amritsar, cross the Wagah border and reach Lahore. ‘Ludkan Baba’ said it was a journey of nearly 2500 km and he was not afraid of his mission. Although he is yet to receive Pakistan visa, he is hopeful of receiving visa before reaching Wagah border. His associates claimed that ‘Ludkan Baba’ had his name in the Guiness Book of World Record for maximum journey by rolling. Ludkan Baba covers 12 km to 20 km in a day. |
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Leaf
from History Ambala, July 26 The railway line between Ambala and Kalka was constructed to make Shimla more easily accessible. A detailed study was carried out in which different factors were taken into consideration before the work on the railway line started. A letter dated August 24, 1877, from the Secretary to the Government of India, Public Works Department, to the Secretary to the Government of Punjab, states, “With reference to the report of the committee appointed to collect statistics and information regarding certain proposed railway in the Punjab received with the Punjab Government letter dated October 13, 1868, I am directed to request that the Government of India may be furnished with statement in similar forms showing the traffic between Ambala Cantonment and Kalka for 1875 and 1876, in view of an estimate being made of the probable traffic that will offer for carriage on a railway constructed between those two places.” The Secretary to the Government of Punjab, in a letter dated October 25, 1877, to the Consulting Engineer, Government of India, for Guaranteed Railways at Lahore, states: “It is requested that more specific reference may be given to the report mentioned in Government of India no. 2962 R dated August 24, 1877, of the committee appointed to collect statistics and information regarding proposed railways in Punjab.” Punjab Government trade statistics for June, July, August and September, 1867, showed the traffic between various towns which would utilise the route of the proposed Ambala and Kalka branch. According to the documents available, the towns which would have benefited include Ambala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kangra, Patiala, Amritsar, Lahore, Ferozepore, Gujranwala and Delhi. Interestingly, even before the railway line was established, regular business used to take place between Ambala and Shimla. The articles which were sent from Ambala to Shimla and vice versa include spices, English piece goods, metal vessels, English iron, sugar, tobacco, fruits, bamboos, hides and other miscellaneous items. |
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Scuffle
at toll barrier Karnal, July 26 As per the details available, the Haryana Roadways bus (HR-55-V-8461) was on its way from Chandigarh to Delhi. When the bus stopped on the toll barrier to pay toll, there were reports of heated exchange between the conductor of the bus and employees which ultimately led to a protest by the Haryana Roadways employees. The driver of the bus stopped the bus in the middle of the road and came out of the bus. Employees at the toll barrier allegedly beat up the driver, Raj Kumar, and the conductor, Prem Kumar. Meanwhile, more Haryana Roadways buses came on the scene and protested against the toll barrier authorities. On having got the report of the incident, a heavy police force led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police reached the spot to clear the traffic, but the situation worsened with the allegations and counter-allegations of both the parties. The police tried for a compromise but in vain. Finally, a case was registered on the complaint of the driver of the bus but no arrests were made. |
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Man, son killed over land dispute Israna (Panipat), July 26 Six youths
carrying country-made pistol entered Karamvir’s house and opened fire, killing him on the spot. Then they started searching for Parveen. Parveen’s wife Poonam blocked the way of the assailants but they shot dead Parveen also while he was having meal on the roof of the house. His brother, Arvind, who raised the alarm was
stabbed a number of times. |
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Retrenched
employees hold demonstration Ambala, July 26 The employees, from different departments including MITC and Confed Haryana, have formed a common platform
`Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti Chantani Barkhast Karamchari Haryana’in this regard. They demanded that they be taken back into service, retrenchment be stopped, privatisation not be pursued and employees be adjusted in other departments. They also went on hunger strike to press their demands. |
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Development loan notified Chandigarh, July 26 A spokesman of the Finance Department said the loan would have an interest rate of 6.35 per cent per annum to be paid half-yearly on January 30 and July 30 each year. He said the loan would be issued for a minimum amount of Rs.10,000 and in multiples thereof.
— TNS |
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Rohtak, July 26
