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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Friday, October 22, 1999 |
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Surjewala opens fourth front HISAR, Oct 21 — Senior Congress leader and former Haryana Pradesh Congress committee president Shamsher Singh Surjewala has opened the fourth front for the race for the PCC presidentship. At a time when the PCC has decided to launch a statewide agitation against the hike in the diesel price and the "deteriorating law and order situation Mr Surjewala has announced that his Krishak Samaj will launch a separate agitation on the same issues.
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Demand to set up minority
panel CHANDIGARH, Oct 21 — Mr Jagdeep Singh Cheema, chairman of the minority cell of the Haryana Congress Committee, has demanded setting up of a minority commission in the state under the 15-point programme for the minorities before the visit of the Pope to the country. Implementation of report sought Development
works affected by octroi abolition 3-week
toxicology training workshop Vehicles
forcibly taken away BSP
to protest against diesel price hike Fake
currency racket busted, five held Conference
on eye diseases in Rohtak 6
cops suspended, 3 held, released |
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PCC presidentship Surjewala
opens fourth front HISAR, Oct 21 — Senior Congress leader and former Haryana Pradesh Congress committee president Shamsher Singh Surjewala has opened the fourth front for the race for the PCC presidentship. At a time when the PCC has decided to launch a statewide agitation against the hike in the diesel price and the "deteriorating law and order situation Mr Surjewala has announced that his Krishak Samaj will launch a separate agitation on the same issues. Addressing a press conference here today along with other Congress leader Prof Chhaterpal, Mr Surjewala had no explanation as to why he felt the need to launch the agitation on the Krishak Samaj platform, particularly at a time when the PCC had already decided to launch a similar agitation on the same issues. At a time when other Congress heavyweights like Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Birender Singh have already made it clear that they are in the race for the PCC presidentship, Mr Surjewala jumped into the fray in a relatively subtle manner. However, he sought to reinforce the view that the Haryana Krishak Samaj was a "frontal organisation of the Congress" and pointed out that Mrs Sonia Gandhi had addressed a public meeting at Narwana last year on the same platform. He sought to dispel the charge that he was opening a parallel front to the PCC, saying that the Krishak Samaj was very much a part of the Congress. When asked whether he was in the race for the PCC presidentship, Mr Surjewala retorted, "There is no race". Nor did he want to comment on the current PCC leadership. However, he attributed the recent poll debacle to "collective leadership failure and said it was wrong to single out any particular leader for the failure. The Krishak Samaj leader while listing the demands stressed that the government should immediately withdraw the hike in diesel price since it affected the common man, pay compensation to the farmers at the rate of Rs 10,000 per acre, issue a moratorium on the recovery of debts for two years and Rs 5000 for the each family of landless labourers. He claimed that in the absence of the purchasing agencies the farmers were selling cotton and paddy at very low rates to private companies. He said the price paid to the farmers was much below the support prices fixed by the government. The Congress leader also expressed concern over the "deteriorating law and order situation in the state". He claimed that people were feeling quite insecure as criminals were not being punished and robberies and thefts were taking place quite frequently. Mr Chhaterpal accused
the Chief Minister of playing with the interests of the
farmers. He accused him of practising double standards.
He pointed out that when Mr Chautala was out of power he
used to demand settlement of the SYL issue. When he was
in power, he had forgotten it. |
Haryana to fill 12,000 vacancies of teacher SIRSA, Oct 21 (UNI) — The Haryana Government has decided to fill about 12,000 vacancies of teacher in schools so that students do not suffer for want of teachers. Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala said while addressing a public meeting at Odhan village, about 30 km from here, last evening as part of his three-day tour of the Rori Assembly constituency, which began yesterday. Mr Chautala said the government had also decided to brickline soon all watercourses in the state. Bridges over watercourses would be widened to avoid damage by vehicles passing over them. The government had also reversed the decision of the previous government under which farmers were made to bear expenses of repair of watercourses. He said canals and minors would be desilted after the sowing of rabi crops. He assured that the problem of waterlogging in the area would be solved before the next rainy season. Referring to the growing demand for electricity in the state, he said concerted efforts were being made to streamline the functioning of this vital sector to provide power round-the-clock. He said the road network was being improved on a priority basis. It had been decided to lay cemented roads in villages to minimise their damage due to stagnation of water. He said Rs 500 crore would be spent on improving the road network. Waterworks would be constructed keeping in view the population of villages to ensure adequate drinking water supply. Mr Chautala, who heard public grievances in all 35 villages which he had visited so far in the constituency, ordered the suspension of the patwari of Baragudha village for allegedly demanding Rs 20,000 as a bribe from Iqbal Singh for the execution of a mutation. He also ordered an inquiry against the headmaster of a school at Gadrana village on the complaint of Joginder Pal for his alleged misbehaviour with villagers. The Chief Minister generously accepted demands of the people of the Rori constituency, especially for upgradation of schools. He accepted the demand for upgrading Government High School, Odhan; Government Middle School, Anandgarh, and Government Middle School, Mattar. He also accepted the demand of villagers of Thiraj for setting up a purchase centre and repair of the school building. He also agreed to get the "chaupals" of Harijans and backward classes repaired. He thanked the people for their wholehearted support to Mr Sushil Indora during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. He urged the people to maintain peace and communal amity as these were essential for overall development of the state. Mr Chautala was
accompanied by Mr Indora, Mr Bhagi Ram, MLA, and senior
officers of the district administration. |
HVP laments policies of
Chautala BHIWANI, Oct 21 — Thousands of workers of the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) led by Mr Surendra Singh ex-MP and Secretary General of State unit of the HVP along with 5 MLAs of the party Mr Chattar Singh Chauhan, Mr Ram Bhajan Aggarwal, Mr Sat Pal Sangwan, Mr Som Vir and Mr Narpinder Singh staged a dharna against the anti-farmer policies of the Chautala government. They also submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Haryana through the Deputy Commissioner highlighting unprecedented hike in diesel and distress sale of paddy in the markets of the state. Mr Surendra Singh while addressing the rally said that due to inadequate rain and shortage of canal water and inadequate supply of electricity drought like conditions were prevailing in the southern districts of the state, like Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Jhajjar, Rewari, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rohtak and Sonepat. He said farmers are finding it difficult to sow the kharif crops. He demanded that the state government should declare the areas famine stricken and postpone recovery of bank loans and waive interest. There was a shortage of folder for the animals and the government should arrange it on cheap rates besides seeds, fertilisers and insecticides. Mr Surendra Singh said
the Governor had been requested to restore the
development projects started by the Bansi Lal government
such as the Rewari lift scheme. He also demanded that the
schemes sanctioned by the NABARD should be started
without any delay. The fee of the students of the
drought-hit areas should be remitted and free bus
facility should be provided to them. |
Demand to set up minority panel CHANDIGARH, Oct 21 — Mr Jagdeep Singh Cheema, chairman of the minority cell of the Haryana Congress Committee, has demanded setting up of a minority commission in the state under the 15-point programme for the minorities before the visit of the Pope to the country. In a statement here today he said that the decision of the Bajrang Dal an the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to oppose the Pope's visit could lead to communal tension and it was important to take appropriate steps to instil a sense of security among the minorities. Mr Cheema regretted that the Haryana Government had rejected the demand in the past for no justifiable reason. The minorities constituted over 10 per cent of the state's population and a proper authority to redress their grievances was urgently required. He said it was unfortunate that the minorities had not been able to get due representation in the administration. Out of the total 2,612 class-I officers only 105 belonged to minorities. Similarly their number in class-II officer category was just 426 in a total of 10,613. The minorities accounted for only 12,021 class III and class IV employees out of the total staff strength of 2,59,563. The National Minorities
Development and Finance Corporation had given loans to
only 1,410 persons which was far below the target. He
demanded the setting up of a state minorities development
corporation for speedy uplift of the minorities. |
Implementation of report sought CHANDIGARH, Oct 21 — Mr Birender Singh, a former Haryana Pradesh Congress (I) Committee chief, had demanded immediate implementation of the report of the Gurnam Singh Commission so that the benefit of reservation could be extended to the left-out backward classes of Jat, Bishnoi and Rod in Haryana. Addressing a Press conference here today the Congress leader said now that the Centre had conferred the status of other backward classes on the Jats of Rajasthan, the state government should have no hesitation in adopting the report which had been gathering dust since 1990. He also demanded that the overall limit for reservation in jobs should be raised beyond 50 per cent to ensure that existing backward classes were not affected due to inclusion of new ones. Referring to the move of Mr O.P. Chautala to hold a snap poll in the state, Mr Birender Singh said it went against the manifesto of the National Democratic Alliance which promised to bring a legislation to ensure that the terms of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha lasted for full five years. Either the INLD which was a constituent of the NDA did not see eye to eye with the BJP on the issue or Mr Chautala feared that the BJP might ask for seat-sharing on the Maharashtra pattern if the election was delayed. He said the government
was not concerned about the plight of the farmers who had
been forced to dispose of their paddy at throwaway
prices. |
Development works affected by octroi
abolition PANIPAT, Oct 21 — Though the abolition of octroi has been welcomed by both traders and supporters of the INLD and the BJP but it has started affecting the development works in the town. The road construction works at about a dozen sites in the town have reportedly been stopped by the contractors fearing delay in payments by the local municipal council. According to sources, due to abolition of octroi the council may suffer a revenue loss of about Rs 2 crore every month. The sources said that on an average, the council had been earning about Rs 3.30 crore every month from octroi. The sources said the road construction works at about a dozen sites, including Main Bazar, Model Town, Devi Mandir Road, Veterinary Hospital Road etc. had been stopped by the contractors. Two contractors, when contacted, were of the opinion that after abolition of octroi, the municipal council would not have enough funds for making payments. An atmosphere of uncertainty prevailed among the contractors over timely payments by the council in future, they said. Similarly, the council's
employees were also worried about their salaries because
so far the state government had not yet decided about
generating alternate sources of income in place of
octroi. |
3-week toxicology training
workshop HISAR, Oct 21 — A three-week advanced training on insecticide toxicology began at CCS Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU) here today. Thirty scientists from various research institutes in the country are participating in it. Dr N.D. Sharma, officer in charge, Centre of Advanced Studies, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), inaugurated the training programme. He said the training would help the participants update their knowledge. He disclosed that 35 advanced centres for imparting training to in-service scientists in various disciplines were in operation. Dr Sharma lauded the role of the Department of Entomology, CCSHAU. In his keynote address, Dr S.R. Poonia, Dean, College of Agriculture, CCSHAU, described the training as the backbone of the applied aspect of pest control through insecticides. He said it would enable the participants to understand the risk factors involved in insecticide application on crops and their management. Dr Poonia pointed out that there was greater need to develop safer and effective chemicals for pest control. Earlier, Dr P.R. Yadav, Professor and Head, Centre of Advanced Studies, Department of Entomology, welcomed the participants and apprised them of the work done by the department during 1996-98.
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Vehicles forcibly taken away SONEPAT, Oct 21 — Two unidentified armed youths reportedly took away a jeep from its driver Ranbir, alias Kala, on the Kharkhauda-Delhi road near Pipli village, about 25 km from here, last night. According to preliminary reports, the culprits boarded the jeep at Kharkhauda after saying that they have to go to Halalpur village. On the way, one of them pointed a pistol to the driver and pushed him outside and drove the jeep. The Kharkhauda police has registered a case in this connection. According to another report, two unidentified armed youths reportedly took away a van from Ram Dass near Jhinjhauli village along the Haryana-Delhi border, about 30 km from here, last night. On receipt of the
information, the police arrested both culprits following
a chase and identified them as Amarjit and Sehdev. A case
has also been registered against them. |
BSP to protest against
diesel price hike YAMUNANAGAR, Oct 21 — The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has decided to launch "Jan Jagran" movement in protest against the hike in the price of diesel. Mr Naresh Saran, President of the district unit of the party, said here today that on October 25, a state-level meeting would be convened at Jagadhri which would be attended by members of the Zila Parishad and the office-bearers of the party, in which the future course of action would be decided. He said the meeting
would also be attended by Mr Aman Kumar Nagra, state
President of the BSP. He criticised the Central
Government for increasing the price of diesel. He said it
would lead to an increase in the transportation charges,
which would directly affect the consumers. He demanded
that the government should withdraw the hike. |
Fake currency racket busted,
five held JIND, Oct 21 — The Jind police has busted an inter-state gang involved in printing and circulating fake currency notes in the market. Mr B.K.Sinha, Superintendent of Police, today said here the police had arrested five members of this gang and seized a machine which was used for printing fake notes. Apart from this, the police also seized fake currency notes worth about Rs 1.5 lakh, he added. Mr Sinha said that acting on an information , the police arrested Fatia, Karnail and Ishwar of Uchana Khurd village in the district. After their interrogation, Bhanchand of Duth village in Fatehabad district was also nabbed. Mr Sinha said during interrogation Bhanchand said the racket of printing fake notes was being run by a youth, Lucky of Ludhiana. Lucky was arrested at his residence in Ludhiana while he was printing fake currency notes, Mr Sinha added. The police also seized a machine and fake currency notes in large number in denominations of Rs 50 and 100. Lucky was using a photostat machine. The police has
registered a case against the five members of this gang
under Section 489-B of the IPC. |
Conference on eye diseases in
Rohtak ROHTAK, Oct 21 — The latest advances in cataract surgery will be discussed by eminent surgeons at a two-day North Zone conference of the Ophthalmological Society scheduled to be held at Pt B.D. Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) here on October 23. Dr C.S. Dhull, Organising Secretary of the conference, said nearly 300 delegates from Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir would attend the conference. Dr Madan Mohan, a Padma Shri recipient and surgeon to the President of India, and a former chief of Dr R.P. Centre, AIIMS, will inaugurate the conference and Dr S.B. Siwach, Director, PGIMS, will preside. The participants will be
given the latest information on glaucoma, corneal ulcer
and trauma at the conference. |
6 cops suspended, 3 held,
released ROHTAK, Oct 21 — The state jail authorities have reportedly placed under suspension atleast six jail officials here in connection with the escaping of four prisoners from the district jail here a few days ago. According to sources, the suspended employees include two assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) one head constable and three constables working as wardens. They are ASI Hemraj, ASI Mangeram, Head Constable Krishan and Gopal, Shyam Sunder and Vijay Pal (all constables). The three constables were also arrested but later released on bail by a local court. A case under Sections 223 and 224 had been registered against them. The authorities had also
ordered an inquiry to be conducted by Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP) there into the matter. The
police has not been able to rearrest the escaped culprits
so far. |
Haryana Day function KURUKSHETRA, Oct 21 (UNI) — Kurukshetra University will organise a three-day Haryana Day state-level function here from October 29, the varsity's Youth Cultural Affairs Director, Mr Anoop Lather, said here today. Mono-acting and mimicry events will be included in the programme for the first time, besides declamation contest, tit-bits, lok geet, bhajan, raagni, orchestra, group song, folk instrumental (solo) etc. Mr Lather said about
2,000 boys and girls from various colleges in the state
would participate in the festival. |
Chautala mourns Dahiya’s
death CHANDIGARH, Oct 21 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today condoled the death of Mr Aman Dahiya, Deputy Advocate-General, Haryana. While expressing his heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved family, Mr Chautala said Mr Dahiya was a noted advocate and a respected member of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana High Court. Mr Sanjay Kothari,
Secretary, Personnel and Coordination laid a wreath on
behalf of the Haryana Government. |
Villagers beat up cops ROHTAK, Oct 21 — Villagers beat up Delhi police personnel at Sampla, 25 km from here, last evening. According to police sources, a team of the crime branch reached here in search of a proclaimed offender yesterday but got the information that he had left for Sampla by train. The team rushed to Sampla and surrounded the railway station. The villagers mistook
the police personnel in civil uniform to be criminals and
beat them. Later, they complained to the SSP about the
incident. |
7 hurt in firing FARIDABAD, Oct 21 — Seven persons, including four women, were injured, two of them seriously, when the owners of an LPG agency allegedly opened fire on a mob at Palwal this morning. The people were protesting against out-of-turn distribution of LPG connections. The injured have been identified as Ram Singh, Dal Chand, Navin Sharma, Kusum, Shakuntla, Shimla and Pushpa. The last two have been rushed to a Delhi hospital. When contacted, Palwal
city police confirmed the firing. A case has been
registered but no arrest has yet been made. |
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