 |
H A R Y A N A |  |
 Saturday, January 9, 1999 |
|
BJP-HVP tieup "to
continue" GURGAON, Jan 8 — The BJP today made clear that the HVP-BJP tie-up would continue in Haryana. A BJP stalwart from Haryana and Chairman of the Haryana Bureau for Public Enterprises, Mr Sitaram Singla, asserted that the opposition moves to destabilise the government in the state would never succeed. Place of Gandhiji's first arrest in 1919 FARIDABAD, Jan 8 — Not many people in the country today know that Mahatma Gandhi for the first time was arrested at Palwal railway station near Faridabad on April 10, 1919. |
 |
|
|
Law and order has failed, says Hooda |
|||||||||
 |
|||
BJP-HVP tieup "to
continue" GURGAON, Jan 8 — The BJP today made clear that the HVP-BJP tie-up would continue in Haryana. A BJP stalwart from Haryana and Chairman of the Haryana Bureau for Public Enterprises, Mr Sitaram Singla, asserted that the opposition moves to destabilise the government in the state would never succeed. "Opponents of the HVP-BJP government were spreading canards that the administration was unstable. The HVP-BJP alliance would continue even after the government completed its full tenure," Mr Singla added. Mr Singla was speaking at a public function organised by HUDA in connection with the launch of Sector 44 and the inauguration of development works in Sector 56. The HVP- MP from Bhiwani and general secretary of the party, Mr Surender Singh, was the Chief guest. Mr Surender Singh trained his guns on HVP opponents on the power issue. Mr Bansi Lal had provided power to all by 1970. However, from 1970 and 1996, when Bansi Lal again became Chief Minister, the political parties in power did not add a bit to the augmentation of generation of power. The powers that be remained oblivious to the power infrastructure even though the demand increased by 600 times. Mr Surender Singh claimed that the Haryana would become power surplus by June. Mr Surender Singh urged HUDA not to demolish the existing houses in the areas acquired for residential and institutional sectors. Before HUDA initiated any action against the existing houses, its authorities should consult local BJP and HVP leaders, he added. Incidentally, this was the
first time after the government allegedly survived the
latest toppling move that senior HVP and BJP leaders made
a joint appearance at a public function. The Minister for
Cooperative, Rao Narbir Singh, whose name was bandied
about in the move to topple the government, was also
present. |
Law and order has failed, says
Hooda CHANDIGARH, Jan 8 — Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, President of the Haryana Congress, has expressed grave concern over the circumstances which forced the state Governor, Mr Mahabir Prasad, to cancel his journey to Kurukshetra yesterday owing to the blockade of G.T Road, near Shahabad, by the people of the area. In a statement issued here today, Mr Hooda said when the administration had the prior knowledge about the road blockade, it should have taken adequate steps for ensuring smooth and uninterrupted journey of the Governor through alternative routes. It was all the more shocking and deplorable that the Governor was virtually gheraoed by an angry mob for 10 minutes during which period anything could have happened, Mr Hooda observed and blamed the district administration for failing to apprise the Governor and his entourage about the grave situation. Mr Hooda said the incident had once again exposed the failure of law and order machinery in the state. He said yesterday's incident and the murderous assault on the former State Transport Minister, Mr Balbir Pal Shah, on January 6, who had been the President of the Haryana PCC from 1987 to 1989, as also the looting of post offices in Gurgaon district a couple of days ago proved that the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, had forfeited his moral right to govern and should quit. Mr Hooda also appealed to
the Governor to take immediate steps for the dismissal of
the HVP-BJP Government for its failures to maintain law
and order in the State. |
Place of Gandhiji's first arrest
in 1919 FARIDABAD, Jan 8 — Not many people in the country today know that Mahatma Gandhi for the first time was arrested at Palwal railway station near Faridabad on April 10, 1919. The Mahatma was on way from Bombay to Punjab to mobilise people against the Rowlatt Act. Earlier, his entry into Delhi and Punjab was banned by the then Lt-Governor of Punjab under rule three of the Defence of India (consolidation) Rules 1915. The order which was served on Gandhiji in Bombay said: "There are reasonable grounds for belief that Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi generally known as Mahatma Gandhi of Rajkot, Kathiawad is intending to visit Punjab and there to act in the manner prejudicial to the public safety. The Lt-Governor hereby orders that the said Mahatma Gandhi shall not enter Punjab and he is warned that should he knowingly disobey the order he will be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may be three years and will also be liable to fine". But Mahatma Gandhi refused to comply with the order and wrote back "I regret to have to say that I shall be unable to comply with the foregoing order". He started the journey from Bombay by a train but was arrested at Palwal and sent back to Bombay by a special train. The order of the Lt-Governor and the reply of Mahatma Gandhi are displayed at platform number one of Palwal railway station. The Haryana Government has decided to hold a state-level function at Palwal on January 30 to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Martyrdom Day of Mahatma Gandhi. Mr Bansi Lal, Chief Minister would also be present. It was after the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi that Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in Amritsar on April 13, 1919. Gandhi Ashram has been set up in Palwal on 22 bighas of land donated by Seth Badridas at the instance of Rooplal Mehta, who was the founder Chairman of the Gandhi Sewa Ashram Trust in 1932. But construction of the Ashram started on October 2, 1938 when Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose laid its foundation stone. Speaking on the occasion Netaji had urged the gathering to remain united and India would become a free nation soon he also personally distributed sweets to all persons present at the function. The Ashram building is in a poor state of maintenance. Supply of power was disconnected three years back for non payment of the bill when this correspondent visited the Ashram it was being white-washed and painted to give it a decent look for the January 30 function. Mr Parmanand Kalra, President of the Trust, said that a grant of Rs 10 lakh had been given by the Central Government for the construction of the National Museum on the grounds of the Ashram. More than Rs 4 lakh had already been spent on the works, which were likely to be completed in about two months. The Museum would display pictorial history of the Freedom Movement and photographs relating to the life of Mahatma Gandhi.
|
Bid to smuggle fake fertiliser
foiled SONEPAT, Jan 8 — The Rai police foiled an attempt to smuggle fake DAP fertiliser from UP to Haryana and seized a tractor-trolley (No UP 17/0329) carrying 200 bags of the fertiliser on the Bahalgarh (Sonepat)-Baghpat (UP) inter-state road, about 20 km from here, yesterday. According to an official report, the police also arrested three persons on a charge of cheating and violation of the Essential Commodities Act. Those arrested have been identified as Ramesh of Gohana town (Sonepat), Tejveer of Lodha village (UP) and Munne of Jalalapur village (UP). The SP, Mr K. Selvraj, told mediapersons here today that these arrests followed an FIR lodged at the Rai police station by a resident of Khewra village, alleging the smuggling of fake fertiliser and its sale in Gohana and Sonepat towns in the district. Acting on this information, the police along with officials of the Agriculture Department, organised a "nakabandi" on the inter-state road and seized the tractor-trolley loaded with the fertiliser. The SP also said the seized fake fertiliser bags were marked with SBIC/DAP. The fertiliser would be sent to a government laboratory for examination. Mr Selvraj further stated that the police would take necessary action to stop the manufacture and sale of fake fertiliser.
|
Sonia coming in March ROHTAK, Jan 8 — The All-India Congress Committee President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, is likely to visit Haryana in March and address a public meeting. According to reliable sources, Mrs Gandhi has given her consent to the invitation to visit Haryana by Mr Bhupender Singh Hooda, the HPCC President, when he met her on Wednesday last at her residence. Mr Hooda apprised Mrs Gandhi of the latest political situation of Haryana. Mrs Gandhi was briefed about the proposed "Kranti Padyatra" starting from Panchkula on February 1. Both the leaders also discussed the mode for strengthening the Congress in Haryana so that it could form government of its own in the state. Giving green signal to the "Kranti Padyatra", Mrs Gandhi said that it was time to consolidate the strength of the party, the sources said. During the meeting, which lasted for about 45 minutes, Mrs Gandhi expressed satisfaction over the working of the Pradesh Congress Committee. Meanwhile, Mr Natwar Singh, Mr P.A. Sangma, Chairman, task force of the AICC will attend the Congress rally to be held on February 13 at Jind as party observers. The Pradesh Congress Committee will meet to chalk out the "Kranti Padyatra" programme. The meeting will be attended by all the office bearers of the PCC, chairmen of various cells of party, district presidents, MLAs and MPs. Mr Hooda will start
"Kranti Padyatra" from Panchkula on February 1
and after covering about 325 km, he will reach at Kranti
Asthal at Jind on February 13. |
Panchnad seminar for presidential
govt HISAR, Jan 8 — Speakers at a panel discussion favoured amendment to the Constitution seeking the change of government to the presidential system from the parliamentary form. The discussion was organised by the Hisar chapter of the Panchnad Research Institute. The participants included professors, lawyers, media-persons and students. It was chaired by Prof B.K. Kuthiala, Dean Academic Affairs, Guru Jambeshwar University, Hisar. The participants blamed the current phase of political uncertainty on the parliamentary form of government. They said, it was because of this system that narrow and chauvinistic regional and partisan interests gain precedence over the national interests. They pointed out that the ongoing instability at the central level had been mainly caused due to the rise of small regional groups. Instead of looking through a broader spectrum, these groups seek focus on small issues. This will weaken the Centre which the country can ill afford. Without naming any political party or leader, the speakers noted with concern, that even a small party, having only a few members in the house could hold the entire nation to ransom. While making a fervent appeal to discourage these tendencies, they felt that it would be appropriate to adopt the presidential form of the government, with necessary checks and balances to ensure that it does not turn into a dictatorship. The speakers urged the mainstream national parties to evolve a consensus on the issue. They said, it was high time that a referendum was held on continuing or changing the present system of governance. They strongly argued that for strengthening the roots of democracy it was necessary that social and economic progress was not hampered. "And given the current circumstances the system has not been able to give a strong and stable government for the last some time", the participants observed unanimously, while cautioning that it may lead to slow down in social and economic development. Summing up the views of the speakers, Prof Kuthiala said, it was felt that for the past 50 years the country adopted the parliamentary form of government, now it was the time to experiment with the presidential form.
|
Stone laid for overbridge FARIDABAD, Jan 8 — Mr Karan Singh Dalal, Minister for Public Works Department, Haryana, today laid the foundation stone of the Rs 24 crore four-laned bridge over the railway lines at Bata Chowk here. The bridge, which is being constructed by a Jaipur-based company on the BOT (build operate and transfer) basis for the first time in Haryana, will be commissioned in two years’ time. Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone Mr Dalal said the bridge would meet the long- standing demand of the people of Faridabad and would ease traffic in the city, particularly in the NIT area. Mr Dalal said after the completion of the bridge heavy traffic on the nearby Neelam overbridge would not be allowed. Mr Dalal defended levying of toll tax on the passing vehicles as was the practice the world ever whenever a bridge was constructed by a private party. Toll tax would be levied for six years and nine months only. He, however, said talks were being held with the company to exempt two-wheelers from the tax. He said a Rs 12.50 crore project for construction of a bridge over the Yamuna on the Palwal-Aligarh road had also been approved by the Haryana Government. This too would be constructed on the BOT basis by a private company. Later talking to newsmen, Mr Dalal said all roads in Haryana would be repaired by the end of the current financial year. The government had decided to float a corporation for construction and maintenance of roads in the state. The construction of a mini secretariat where all offices of the district administration would be shifted and a district jail in Faridabad had also been sanctioned by the government. Mr Krishan Pal Gujar,
Transport Minister, Mr Chander Bhatia, MLA, NIT, Subedar
Suman, Mayor, Faridabad, and Mr B.K, Panigrahi, Deputy
Commissioner, also addressed the gathering. |
Summons issued in
"Kudrat" song case HISAR, Jan 8 — The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr S K Goel, today issued fresh summons to the makers of Hindi feature film, "Kudrat," and its actors and actresses in connection with a song said to be vulgar. The summons were issued to them in a case filed by the senior vice-president of Bharatiya Yuva Morcha, Mr Rakesh Sethi. The directors of the film, Mr Raj N Sippy, and Mr Romu N Sippy, musician Rajesh Roshan, lyricist Dev Kohli, actor Akshay Khanna and actress Urmila Matondkar failed to appear in the court personally. Nor were they represented by any lawyer. Although the wording of the song has been changed from 'Behan di takki' to 'Chirhi di duki', the petitioner claims that the hurt caused to the public sentiments should not be forgiven.
|
1 killed, 5 hurt in bus collision YAMUNANAGAR, Jan 8 — One person was killed and five others were seriously injured in a head-on-collision between two buses last evening here. According to the police a Haryana Roadways bus and a bus of the Police Department collided at Khera power house at Jagadhri. The police bus was carrying under-trial prisoners to Central Jail at Ambala. Nusrat, a resident of Todapur village in Saharanpur (UP), died on way to PGI, Chandigarh. On a complaint lodged by driver of the police bus Harbhajan Singh, a case has been registered against the driver of the roadways bus under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC.
|
Haryana postings CHANDIGARH, Jan 8 — The Haryana Government has posted Mr Yash Pal Singal, Superintendent of Police, Kurukshetra, as AIG/T&T in the office of the DGP, Haryana, against a vacant post. Mr Shri Kant Jadhav, ADC to Governor, has been posted as Superintendent of Police, Kurukshetra. Mr CS Rao, on return from training, has been posted as ADC to Governor vice Mr Shri Kant Jadhav. This minor police reshuffle was ordered by the Haryana Government soon after the Haryana Governor, Mr Mahabir Prasad, was forced by an angry crowd of protesters at Shahabad to come back to Chandigarh without inaugurating a sports meet at Kurukshetra. The Deputy Commissioner of
Kurukshetra has already been replaced. |
Jenny's milk similar to human's HISAR, Jan 8 (UNI) — Milk of jenny (female ass) can be used safely for infants as it was quite close to human milk in properties, according to National Research Centre on Equines Director M.P. Yadav here. Dr Yadav today said that "the components of human milk and that of female donkey's milk were almost similar", he claimed. Dr Yadav pointed out that in many countries the milk of jenny was used for human consumption, because it was easily digestible and full of protein. There was a time when royal family of Britain also used jenny's milk, Dr Yadav claimed. The day was not far when
scientists will be able to make a formula to produce
substitute of human milk, he added. |
Trains
that never run on time SONEPAT: Late running of long-distance and suburban trains on the Sonepat-Delhi section of the Northern Railway has caused widespread resentment among passengers, government servants, teachers and milk vendors. Almost all suburban trains starting from Panipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala and Delhi on this section run behind schedule. They have to cover a distance of at least 100 km or so, yet they usually run late by 30 minutes to an hour or more and on many occasion two hours or so, thereby leaving thousands of passengers, mostly commuters, stranded at the railway stations. Government servants and teachers who commute daily to Delhi face departmental action for reaching their offices or schools late. Commuters travelling by DPM trains are the worst hit. The extension of some DPM trains to Ambala and Kurukshetra has proved to be a curse for the passengers. These trains never run on time and the passengers are left stranded at the railway stations for hours together. The 4647 Up (Flying Mail) has already set a record in late running since it had been extended to Darbhanga. For the past many years it had been running late for five to 14 hours and had been cancelled on many occasions between Delhi and Amritsar. The non-stop Bathinda-bound Inter-City express at the Subjimandi railway station had added to the woes of the passengers who wanted to go beyond Ambala. Overcrowding in the trains is another problem for the commuters, particularly women who have a tough time boarding Delhi-bound trains in the morning and evening. The Daily Railway Passengers Welfare Association has demanded a high-level probe into the cause of frequent late running of the trains on this section and urged the authorities to ensure that the suburban and long-distance trains run on time. It also demanded the adding of more coaches in the DPM trains to meet the rush of passengers. * * * * Representatives of various political, social and other voluntary organisations have demanded the immediate intervention of the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal , and the state government on the issue of fee hikes by private schools in the city and elsewhere. They have emphasised the need to keep a check on the powers of private schools to arbitrarily increase fees. They described as vague the pleas on which private schools were justifying the increase in fees. The managements of the schools had said they had increased the fees to neutralise the burden of payment of an additional instalment of dearness allowance and the likely impact of the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission for teachers. But the increase effected in fees is disproportionate, it said. Some schools have increased the fees by 100 per cent. * * * * Most of the roads being maintained by various official agencies like the Sonepat Municipal Council, the PWD (B & R), the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and the Sonepat Market Committee have become death traps. The roads have been dug to allow the laying of the sewer system under the Yamuna Action Plan and underground telephone cables. According to official sources, the digging operations, which started about two years ago, are continuing in different parts of the city. The roads are now full of potholes. Even where the digging work is over, the authorities concerned have yet to begin the repair work. * * * * Complaints about the public distribution system in the city and elsewhere in the district are increasing day by day because a large quantity of rationed commodities, particularly levy sugar and kerosene oil supplied to the fair price shops both in urban and rural areas, finds its way into the black market instead of reaching the ration-card holders. The authorities concerned have utterly failed to check the malpractices of the owners of the fair price shops and all public complaints have borne no fruits so far. * * * * The District Dental Care Welfare Samiti had launched a programme for creating awareness among people about the importance of dental care. Disclosing this, Dr L.C. Jindal, secretary of the samiti and senior dentist in the local civil hospital, said the samiti had recently organised a procession which passed through the main bazars of the city to create awareness among the people about dental care. The district administration, he said also rendered all-out assistance to the samiti for organising such a procession. Moreover, the managements of various schools and the authorities of the Health Department too had extended full cooperation in the programme of the samiti. He also disclosed that members of the samiti had visited all educational institutions in the area for dental check-up of the students. The samiti, he said, was planning to set up a dental city, a dental temple and a dental chowk in the city. Dr Jindal advised parents not to encourage their wards to eat toffees, chocolates and sugar-coated eatables. He also advised them to check the habit of thumb-sucking among children, and recommended the brushing of teeth before going to sleep at night. He warned that excessive smoking could cause mouth cancer. * * * * The little-known "Apni Beti Apna Dhan" (ABAD) scheme has started paying dividends. The monetary incentives available under the scheme have not only improved the respectability of both the mother and the girl child, but also promoted the small family norm and anti-child marriage campaign among the ignorant and economically poor families. Not only this, the ABAD scheme has come as a help to the female literacy campaign, even in the tradition-ridden Muslim-dominated villages of the district. The scheme entitles the mother of a newly-born girl-child to a "confinement dole" of Rs 500 on the day of delivery and an Indira Vikas Patra worth Rs 2,500 in favour of the girl- child. The patra is encashable only after 18 years i.e., after the girl becomes an adult. On maturity, the patra amount becomes worth Rs 25,000. * * * * Few government officials in the city and elsewhere in the district seem to make it to office on time. Visiting a number of government offices in the city especially in Sector 14 last week, this correspondent found that almost all heads of department had not come to office till 10 a.m. Only Class IV employees were seen. Several offices looked deserted even after 11 a.m. Frequent holidays and the five-day week seem to have affected the working of most offices. Several employees leave office early on Friday and come late on Monday on the pretext of going on field duty. In the absence of effective checking, the situation seems to be going from bad to worse in rural area. In offices involving public dealing, people have to wait for hours to have a word with the right person. They are given a stock excuse, "This official is unwell and will be late". Officers seem to be helpless in checking the erring employees for fear of political action against them. Whenever, the monthly meeting of the District Public Relations and Grievances Committee or a weekly Janata Darbar is held, district officers remain away from their offices after the meeting or the darbar. Meanwhile, a large number of government employees, including many heads of departments, have not only been cheating people but also the state government by claiming the city compensatory allowance (CCA) as well as the House Rent Allowance (HRA) regularly despite the fact that they are commuters of neighbouring Delhi and some other places. The state government’s instructions to the heads of the departments not to leave their headquarters without the prior permission of competent authorities have been flouted with impunity. The arrival and departure time of such officers in their offices is fixed as per the railway time-table. Trains normally run late and many a time they reach their offices two to three hours behind schedule. Some of the officers reach here by buses and some others never turn up for duty. The state
government’s instructions to the heads of the
departments to conduct periodic checks in their offices
have also not been followed. Certain employees are
believed to be running business in the name of their sons
or relatives. They are often found away from their
offices during the duty hours. |
 |
||
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | Chandigarh | | Editorial | Business | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
