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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Thursday, December 30, 1999 |
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Will Chautala be able to
implement promises? |
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INLD urged to field ex-DGP HPCC meeting on Jan 5 Conference on uplift of women Families waiting for relatives Machinery geared up for panchayat
poll Plan to set up blood bank |
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Will Chautala be able to
implement promises? CHANDIGARH, Dec 29 — His political rivals have coined the nickname, "the announcement Chief Minister" for him. Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Haryana Chief Minister, however, seems to be on a roll as he keeps criss-crossing the state, meets people, sanctions grants for works, and gives assurance of doing much more. The Congress and the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP), the two major opposition parties, call the government’s policies "populist", and say that Mr Chautala has been doing all this with an eye to the Assembly elections. Mr Chautala’s supporters, on the other hand, say that the INLD-led government is simply committed to the welfare of people. The first major concessions announced by Mr Chautala, since he came to power in last July, were abolition of octroi and raising the old age pension from Rs 100 to Rs 200. These two steps were announced by the Chief Minister on the birthday of his father, Mr Devi Lal. There was a brief gap in the policy of concession and grants following the onset of the Lok Sabha polls. But since then, sops have become a weekly feature. Last week, for instance, Mr Chautala visited Hisar on December 23. The Chief Minister announced a grant of Rs 50 lakh for the development of the town and also told that a Government College for Women, with hostel facilities, would be set up there shortly at an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore. The Chief Minister, who was listening to the grievances of people as part of his ‘open darbar’ programmes, also announced that the auto market would be extended to make it Asia’s biggest one. He also assured the gathering that the timber and iron markets would be shifted from the densely populated areas of the town so that there was no more traffic congesion. At Pehowa the next day, the Chief Minister announced Rs 15 lakh for the upgradation of the town. He also announced upgradation of primary schools to the middle level, middle schools to high schools and high schools to senior secondary level, and construction of retaining walls of about 12 villages of that area. The Chief Minister also sanctioned construction of 19 link roads for the locality. The Opposition accuses the Chief Minister of making false promises, and says that the voters would be able to see through the government’s tactics. Even if the promises were executed, it would leave a big hole in the state’s coffers, said HPCC chief Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who also pointed out that the government could not pay salaries to the municipal committee employees after octroi was abolished. The Chief Minister has also failed to keep his poll promise of giving free power and water to the farmers", he added. Congress leaders added that the government was not able to provide old age pension to people at the new rate, and also alleged that the state would soon go bankrupt if Mr Chautala continued with his policy of concessions. Responding to these charges, Haryana Finance Minister Sampat Singh said that by levelling these allegations against the INLD-led government, the Congress and the HVP were only showing how nervous they were in anticipation of the result of the assembly poll. "Sales tax and excise collection in the state has actually gone up by 25 per cent", the Finance Minister said and added that the state was in no great financial crisis. While conceding that there were problems regarding giving salaries to the employees of municipal committees, Prof Sampat Singh said the employees were being absorbed in other state government departments. The minister said the work of listing people above the age of 60 had been completed and they would be given pensions at the new rate from January. "We will keep other promises made by us too", he said and added that the ‘open darbar’ programmes was a great success as the local officials were also waking up to their responsibilities. Asked if there would be
some tough financial measures, if INLD again formed the
government, he replied that government would involve the
people while taking any major decision. |
Lahore-bound bus rams into
truck PANIPAT, Dec 29 — The Lahore-bound bus of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) met with an accident today when it rammed into a truck in thick morning fog today. The driver of the bus, Sirajuddin Bhatt, sustained fracture on his left leg after the dashboard of the bus collapsed due to the impact of the collision. All eight passengers and crew members, however, escaped unhurt. The accident took place at about 8.30 a.m. on the national highway at Sewah, 9 km from here. The driver of the bus told TNS: "I was driving very slowly as the visibility was very poor due to foggy conditions. The truck was probably parked on the road or it applied brakes suddenly. I am not too sure, but when I saw it I applied the brakes and the bus skidded and rammed into the truck." The incident could have been averted had the bus been provided with a police pilot by the local police. Co-driver Syed Zahid Hussain Shah said, "Every district from Delhi to the Attari border provides the bus with a police pilot but the Panipat police has withdrawn this service since last month. It is the most congested town and we have to encounter traffic jams while passing through it. If anywhere there is a greater need of a police pilot to clear the way for the bus, it is here at Panipat. Had there been a police pilot vehicle ahead of us today the accident would not have taken place. Ludhiana, another congested city, provides us with two police escorts." The bus, which started off from New Delhi at 6 a.m. was carrying seven Indians and one Arab national, all of whom escaped unhurt. The front portion of the bus was, however, damaged. The passengers were housed at the Skylark tourist complex from where they will board a special bus of the Delhi Transport Corporation which will take them up to the Attari border. Another bus of the (PTDC) will then take these passengers to Lahore from the Attari border. The damaged bus will be towed away to the Attari border. Though both the driver
and the co-driver of the bus complained about withdrawal
of the police pilot, they had a word of praise for police
officials, particularly Additional Superintendent of
Police Haneef Qureshi, for their prompt assistance.
Though there was a long traffic jam after the accident,
the cops moved us out very swiftly, added the driver. |
CM making false promises:
Hooda ROHTAK, Dec 29 — The Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) President, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has ‘cautioned’ the people against the alleged false promises being made by the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, and his party leaders. He has asked the people to review the performance and ‘failures’ of the state government before succumbing to the ‘lollipops’ of assurances being offered by the Chief Minister and his colleagues. Addressing a series of public meetings in the Kiloi assembly constituency, from where Mr Hooda proposes to contest the coming assembly elections, the HPCC chief accused the Chautala government of failing on all important fronts, like providing adequate water and power, procurement rate of kharif crop, law and order and fulfilling the promises made by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) during the Lok Sabha elections. He claimed that the
farmers who had given a bumper paddy crop this year had
to ‘suffer’ on account of the failure of the
government to purchase it at proper market rates. He
alleged that while development work was at a
‘standstill’ in the past few months, Mr
Chautala had been busy in announcing grants and funds
with an eye on elections. |
INLD counters BJP's claim to
Sohna seat TIKRI (SOHNA), Dec 29 — Leaders of the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana today countered the claim of the BJP to the Sohna Assembly seat by organising a public meeting here to prove that the seat should be given to their party. The meeting, organised by Mr Sukhvir Singh,was attended by Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, INLD MP from Bhiwani and son of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. Incidentally, Mr Sukhvir Singh is angling for the INLD ticket from the constituency. Although the INLD leaders did not directly lay claim to the seat in their speeches, they made it known that villages of this assembly constituency had been traditionally associated with former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal's clan. For instance, District president of the party, Gopi Chand Gehlot said Mr Devi Lal considered Sohna to be his political headquarters. The people of this areas were indebted to Mr Devi Lal and Mr Om Prakash Chautala, he remarked. The BJP at a public meeting in Badshapur village a few days ago had laid claim to the seat. The meeting was attended by state president of the party Om Prakash Grover and leader of the party in the dissolved Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Ram Bilas Sharma. Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who was in Gurgaon yesterday in connection with an official function, reacted to the move of the BJP leaders by questioning their "popularity" and "authority". He had come down heavily on the BJP leaders saying that by making such claims they were misleading the public. The today’s meeting by a INLD leader came on the heels of the views of the Chief Minister, who is also the INLD chief. The attendance of Mr Ajay Singh Chautala gave a stamp of approval of the party to the meeting. According to observers, the party managed to put up a good show. Notwithstanding the ongoing national mourning that the country is witnessing on account of death of the former President Shankar Dayal Sharma and the pangs that countrymen are undergoing due to the crisis arising out of the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane, the audience and the INLD functionaries were regaled with Haryanvi folk songs and parody of Bollywood’s hit numbers. In a bid to add glamour to the occasion, a celebrity from the Bollywood, Aditya Pancholi, was also invited as one of the guests. The cine star was presented a "pugri" along with Mr Ajay Chautala, who was also presented with a silver "gadda". A lot of firecrackers were exploded by the organisers of the meeting to add "thunder" of the utterances of the INLD leaders against their opponents. Mr Ajay Chautala gave an
election-oriented speech. He highlighted a number of
pro-people measures that Mr Devi Lal and Mr Om Prakash
Chautala took while in power. |
INLD urged to field ex-DGP CHANDIGARH, Dec 29 — The Ambala unit of the Retired Police Officers' Welfare Association has sought one seat either from the quota of the Indian National Lok Dal or the BJP in the forthcoming Assembly elections. Mr Sagar Singh, president of the association, said this decision was taken at a meeting held on December 19 at Ambala Police Lines. The association adopted a resolution that a seat be reserved by Mr H.R. Swan, a former Director-General of Police of Haryana, who is also its president. Mr Sagar Singh said Mr
Swan is a permanent member of the BJP. The association
urged the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala,
to do justice to retired police officers in the state by
fielding Mr Swan in the forthcoming Assembly election
either against the seat meant for the Indian National Lok
Dal or the BJP. |
HPCC meeting on Jan 5 CHANDIGARH, Dec 29 — An important meeting of the general body of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (PHCC) will take place in Delhi on January 5. The meeting has been convened by HPCC chief Bhupinder Singh Hooda to discuss party strategy for the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state, a press note, said here. Mr Motilal Vohra, AICC
General Secretary, who is in charge of party affairs in
Haryana, will take part in the meeting. |
Conference on uplift of women FATEHABAD, Dec 29 — The panchayats which occupied a respectable position in the rural society during earlier days have lost that position today because elected representatives are not fair. Though the new Panchayati Raj system has ensured 33 per cent reservation for women in the system but they have not yet been able to be part of the decision making process due to the illiteracy and lack of cooperation from the administration. These were some of the points discussed at a ‘mahila sammelan’ organised at Rattia yesterday. The sammelan was organised by the Society for Participatory Research in Asia. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Indu Grover, Dean, Department of Home Science, CCS Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar, said after the implementation of the 73rd amendments in the Constitution over 10 lakh women had been elected to various elected bodies in the country. But still women in most of the cases had not yet become a part of the decision making process. Mrs Indira Bishnoi, chairperson, Panchayat Samiti, Fatehabad, urged the government to provide sufficient funds to these institutions so that it could function properly. Dr Rajesh Tandon, Executive Director of the society, Delhi, said if the Panchayati Raj system was to succeed, the elections should be held in time and women should get due representation in the gram sabhas. Prominent among those
who spoke on the occasion were the ADC, Mr M.L. Sarwan,
and the District Development and Panchayat Officer, Mr
Virender Singh Malik. |
Families waiting for relatives ROHTAK, Dec 29 — Three families here remain glued to the television the entire day — the reason to get information about their relations captive in the ill-fated Indian Airlines plane. Inquiries revealed that as many as seven members of these families were travelling on the IA flight. Mr Rajnish Vohra (32), development officer in the LIC, was coming back after spending holidays in Kathmandu with his wife, Shakti (26), and two-year-old son, Aditya, by the flight. Although Mrs Shakti arrived safely with her son her ordeal was still not over. Her busband was till captive. "Goyal Niwas", at DLF colony is also in the grip of tension. Mr Ram Bilas Goyal, lecturer in fine arts at the local Government College for Women, said his cousin, Mr Sanjay Gupta (32) and his wife, Anupama (30), were still captive. Members of the family of
Manju Gupta (35) at the local Mahajan Mohalla said they
had not slept since they heard the news of the hijack.
They said Manju had visited Kathmandu for spending
holidays with her husband, Ashok Gupta (37). But they
never thought that the holiday would turn into such a
nightmare, they said with tears in eyes. |
Plan to set up blood bank AMBALA, Dec 29 — A blood bank will be established shortly in the Civil Hospital, Ambala Cantonment. It was disclosed by a member of the Hospital Welfare Society, Dr Jai Dev, at a meeting held under the chairmanship of the Civil Surgeon, Ambala, here today. He said Rs 4.5 lakh had been received by the society for the construction of the building through the Sansad Nidhi fund: He said the society would provide all necessary equipments to bank. Meanwhile, some of the industrial houses of Ambala have donated fund to the society which included Rs 34,000 from C.Lal Electricals, Rs 75,000 from Pratap Extraction, Rs 70,000 from Metro Motors, Rs 40,000 from Mahavir Rice and Dal Mill, Rs 27,000 from N.K. Sadana and Rs 30,000 from Godawari Trading. On this occasion, the
Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, announced ultrasound
facility had been provided in the Civil Hospital. |
Machinery geared up for panchayat
poll CHANDIGARH, Dec 29 — The Haryana State Election Commissioner, Mr T.D. Jogpal, has geared up the administrative machinery to complete elections to panchayati raj institutions and municipalities before the deadline set by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The High Court had directed the state government on December 27 to complete these elections "positively by the end of February, 2000" in the light of the reply filed by the state election commission Secretary before the court on December 14. Mr Jogpal revealed that he had already written to all Deputy Commissioners in the state to apprise him of the progress on the printing of electoral rolls. The printing of electoral rolls was suspended when the High Court had permitted the state government to revise voters’ list by June, 2000. This order passed on September 30 was, however, recalled by the High Court following a review petition preferred by Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, a spokesman and whip of the Congress Legislature Party. The Election
Commissioner said he had also written to the Chief
Electoral Officer of the state, Mr Bhaskar Chatterji, to
make arrangements for 30,000 ballot boxes, ballot papers,
arrows and material needed for the conduct of the
election. |
Gang of robbers busted KAITHAL, Dec 29 — The district police busted a gang of inter-state criminals yesterday night, who were allegedly involved in a number of crimes, including murders, dacoities and looting incidents, in various parts of the state. They were reportedly planning to loot a petrol station on Jind road near here yesterday. The members of this gang were also allegedly involved in the kidnapping of a local businessman, Mr Naresh Batra, recently. The district police chief, Mr K.K. Sharma, said here today that the police received information that some miscreants were planning to loot a petrol station. A police party reached Chandana Canal and intercepted the gang. They fired at the police party. Three persons were arrested, while four others escaped. They have been identified as Satbir, Subhash and Ram Karan, all residents of Kithana village. Those who fled have been identified as Naveen (Narwana), Wazir and Rajesh ofKithana and Mukesh of Behrokhera village. Two .315-bore and one .12 bore pistols, a Maruit car and a mobile phone belonging to the kidnapped businessman was recovered from them. According to police sources, the kidnappers has confessed to receiving Rs 10 lakh as ransom from the family of the said businessman. They also reportedly confessed their involvement in the murder of three persons in Jind and the kidnapping and murder of Dr Ramesh Verma of Uchana. They were produced
before Mr C.L. Mohil Judicial Magistrate, and remanded in
police custody for five days. |
1 more held in abduction
case SIRSA, Dec 29 — The second accused in child abduction case has been arrested by the Ellenabad police. According to an information, Jagtar Singh was arrested on a charge of abducting Dheeraj of Ellenabad on December 20. On a tip-off the police raided Harini village and arrested him. Earlier the police has
arrested Dilbag Singh in this case. |
SUCI to launch agitation ROHTAK, Dec 29 — The Haryana unit of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) has decided to launch a political campaign against the alleged anti-people policies of the state and the Union Government. A demonstration would be organised on January 7 at Rohtak and on January 17 at Jhajjar in this connection. Mr Anoop Singh, Secretary of the district unit of SUCI, said both BJP and the Congress had joined hands on the issue of allowing foreign multinationals to expand their business in India. He said the recent introduction of a Bill regarding the opening of the insurance sector to outsiders was a glaring example. He said the Chautala
government had failed to come up to the expectations of
the people. |
Fog disrupts life in Sonepat SONEPAT, Dec 29 — Dense fog paralysed normal life and business activity for the second day today in the city and elsewhere in the district. The entire Sonepat was engulfed with a thick fog. This also badly hit the movement of trains ane traffic on the G.T. Road and other state highways. The foggy weather condition has forced many residents to keep themselves inside However, there has been no let up in the cold wave in the area. Meanwhile, the entire city remained without water for about six hours yesterday following a disruption in water supply system on account of power breakdown. Officials of the Public Health Department are worried about the frequent disruption in the power supply at Murthal water works as well as the boosting stations in the city. They complained that officials of the HVPN were indifferent to their complaints. On the other hand, the
authorities of the HVPN maintained that regular power
supply is being maintained for the water supply system. |
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