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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Thursday, September 23, 1999 |
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Will CM announce Assembly
poll? |
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Accept levy rice at old rates, FCI
officers told |
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L.D. Mehta appointed HPSC chairman Cycle
rally-cum-race on Sept 26 2-day
strike may cripple Haryana Priest
held on rape charge Unions’
dispute settled |
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Will CM announce Assembly
poll? HISAR, Sept 22 — Will the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, announce the holding of the elections to the state Assembly at the September 25 rally being organised here to celebrate the eightysixth birthday of Mr Devi Lal? This question is making rounds here as the preparations for the rally are in full swing. Party sources have been maintaining that Mr Chautala will ask Mr Vajpayee to attend the rally. With only three days remaining, the name of "some senior BJP leaders" attending the rally is being kept a closely guarded secret. The local administration also does not want to be taken unawares and has reportedly finalised the place for the possible "landing of some VIP helicopter". Speculations are rife that Mr Chautala may announce the holding of elections. He has not stopped touring various parts of the state even after the polling was over on September 5. Moreover the INLD cadres have been reportedly asked to stay active and maintain a contact with the grassroots. The results of the exit poll, which have been giving seven seats to the BJP-INLD alliance are said to be one of the main reasons for Mr Chautala's inclination to seek a fresh mandate. Mr Chautala has himself been claiming that the alliance will sweep all 10 seats in the state. The Chief Minister reportedly declined to go for campaigning in other states particularly Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. He reportedly decided to cancel his tour plan at the last month, telling that BJP leadership that he was busy in the state itself. The INLD leadership is understood to be of the view that the alliance can reap the benefits of the Vajpayee wave if the elections are held within two or three months. There will also be no anti-incumbency factor which always works against the incumbent governments in Haryana. Besides, the entire top INLD leadership, Mr Chautala's two sons, Ajay and Abhay Chautala, are also touring various places. The party does not want the momentum generated during the Lok Sabha elections to recede. The entire leadership of
the INLD is busy in making arrangements for the rally.
The party claims that it will be the "biggest ever
rally" in Hisar. The Finance Minister, Prof Sampat
Singh, is supervising the preparations and has been
camping here for the past several days. |
Interest of common man ‘at
stake’ CHANDIGARH, Sept 22 — A senior Haryana Congress leader, Mr Khurshid Ahmed, has criticised the Chautala Government for repealing the Lokayukta Act. Mr Ahmed, MLA from Nuh, in a statement here today said the action of the government "shows its propensity towards patronising unbridled corruption in the state at the highest level — both political and bureaucratic. It serves the ends both of the political and administrative wings, but it runs counter to the interest of the common man". Asserting that the "so-called infirmities and lacunae sought to have been discovered by this government had not been pointed out by any official spokesman so far, Mr Ahmed said the only objection specifically pointed out was that the Act covered only the actions for 10 years prior to the commencement of the Act. The Congress leader said it appeared that Mr Chautala was keen on extending the application of this Act right from the inception of the state itself. This, he said, did not require the repeal of the Act but could have been incorporated through an amendment of the Act. It was intriguing that the BJP and the Prime Minister, who were propagating from the housetops against corruption, were totally silent on such a "free lease for acts of corruption in the state. He said the equally intriguing was the appointment of the so-called committee to review the Act, headed by Justice G.S. Chahal, who was a close relative of Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, political mentor of Mr Om Parkash Chautala. Mr Ahmed alleged that the whole episode was highly condemnable and smacked of authoritarian and undemocratic attitude of the present Haryana Government and its patronage of the corrupt. Meanwhile, the general secretary of the Haryana Congress, Dr Ram Prakash, has joined issue with Mr Chautala over the latter's claimed that the people of Haryana have rejected the Congress in the recent Lok Sabha elections and it would disintegrate after the announcement of the poll results. He termed Mr Chautala's
claim as wishful thinking. |
Accept levy rice at old rates,
FCI officers told CHANDIGARH, Sept 22 — The Senior Regional Manager, Food Corporation of India, Haryana region, Mr Dhanpat Singh, said here today that orders had been issued to the field offices of the corporation to accept levy rice at old rates pending announcement of new rates by the Central Government. Mr Dhanpat Singh said these orders had been issued to mitigate the difficulties being faced by the millers in the marketing of rice. The farmers too would be helped by this step because the millers would now be able to buy paddy at good rates as they would not be starved of cash. The millers, he said, would have to give a minimum levy of 75 per cent of Grade A and common varieties. But they would be free to give the entire stock of rice to the FCI. The levy rice would be accepted only if it conformed to the specifications laid down by the food ministry. Raw rice should not contain more than 25 per cent broken grains, while in par-boiled rice only 16 per cent broken grains were permitted. The permissible maximum percentage of damaged and slightly damaged grains in raw and par-boiled categories is two and four, respectively. The other specifications of the levy rice are discoloured grains 3 per cent for raw rice and 5 per cent for parboiled rice; red grains 3 per cent; chalky grains 5 per cent; dehusked grains 12 per cent and moisture content 14 per cent. Mr Dhanpat Singh said the specifications for paddy to be procured by the government agencies would be followed strictly to maintain the quality of rice stocks. The specifications for paddy are foreign matter 2 per cent; damaged, sprouted, discoloured and weevilled grains 3 per cent; immature, shrunken and shrivelled grains 3 per cent; admixture 10 per cent and moisture 18 per cent. He said so far 49,261
metric tonnes of Grade A and common varieties of paddy
had arrived in the mandis of Haryana of which 720 M.T.
had been purchased by government agencies and the rest by
traders. |
The
ticketless have field day Sonepat : Marriage time is celebration time and display of wealth. Many businessmen, with intention of making quick money, have constructed marriage palaces. Sonepat also boasts of many marriage palaces which are tastefully decorated on marriage occasions. For lack of open spaces in Sonepat, "shamianas" put up on roads cause a lot of inconvenience to people. Now the problem has been solved with the construction of marriage palaces. The services supplied depend upon the need of a customer and the size of his pocket. One can find palaces of capacity varying from 500 to 1,500 or 2,000. Though marriage palaces are generally run by owners themselves, in some cases, these have been rented out to tent-owners and caterers. Most of the owners are either businessmen, politicians or farm house owners. There is another aspect also. The trend has come to provided employment avenues to skilled workers who put up structures. As the job has become very specialised, tents, labour and cooks are brought at times from Delhi and other places. The use of palaces is not restricted, to just marriages. They are also used for holding conferences. * * * The railway station here is fast turning into a haven for ticketless passengers. Although the Railways have appointed three ticket collectors at this station, none of them turns up when the trains arrive. As a result, ticketless passengers have a field day. A few passengers are even able to carry huge consignments of goods in the absence of any ticket collectors at the main gate. However, such passengers are hauled up by the railway police or the railway protection force which allegedly collects small sums for them. Unlicensed hawkers sell their goods in the premises of the railway station in connivance with the railway officials and the police. This has been causing loss to licensed hawkers who are helpless. Items are also sold in running trains by unlicensed hawkers. Representatives of the Daily Railway Passengers Welfare Association have demanded immediate transfer of railway and police officials found indulging in such malpractices. * * * Encroachments by shop owners and haphazard parking on the Sonepat-Gohana, Sonepat-Rohtak railway road, telephone exchange road, Mamoon-Bhanja road and the Sonepat-Bahalgarh and Sonepat-Murthal roads, have created serious traffic problems in this city. Throughout the day, hundreds of vehicles can be parked along the main roads. Unauthorised cycle and taxi stands have also come up in the absence of any checking by the authorities concerned. This has further worsened the situation. * * * Administrative snags in the Department of Posts have almost crippled postal services between Sonepat and Chandigarh. Although the RMS authorities here have introduced a separate and direct mail bag from Sonepat to Chandigarh (Sector 29), but the letters do not reach their destination even the next day after being mailed at the RMS here before 5 p.m. The Chief Postmaster General, Punjab circle, who is the controlling authority of all post offices in the Union Territory of Delhi has been approached a number of times but no action has been taken. * * * Inefficient and unsatisfactory working of counters set up at the head post office and other post offices by the telecom department for the collection of telephone bills have created great difficulties for telephone subscribers. Late despatch of telephone bills always led to bitter exchanges between counter clerks and subscribers. Thus long queues are always seen outside the counters. The Telephone
Subscribers Association has urged the authorities to set
up additional counters to end inconvenience to the
telephone subscribers. It also demanded immediate
acceptance of cash at the counter set up at the
Department Telegraph Office (DTO) from the subscribers. |
L.D. Mehta appointed HPSC chairman CHANDIGARH, Sept 22 — Mr L.D. Mehta, an advocate of Sirsa, was today sworn in as Chairman of the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) by the Governor, Mr Mahabir Prasad. After graduating from Dayanand College, Hisar, Mr Mehta did his L.LB. from Jalandhar Law College, of Panjab University in 1961. Mr Mehta, who was enrolled as an advocate in 1962, worked as Police Prosecutor both in Punjab and Haryana from 1962 to 1969 before joining the Bar. He remained the secretary, the Vice-President and the President of the Bar Association. Born in Multan (West Pakistan) on August 1, 1938, Mr Mehta will have a term of less than one year as chairman of the commission. The statutory retirement age of the chairman is 62. Mr Mehta has been appointed chairman of the commission following the retirement of Mr G.L. Batra on September 17. Later talking to newsmen the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, said his government wanted to set up a new tradition in the state. This was the reason why a person whose term would virtually coincide with the term of his government had been appointed as the chairman of the commission, though the previous Chief Ministers always appointed persons to this post who would last longer than their own tenure. The Assembly elections in Haryana are due in early 2001. Reiterating that the National Democratic Alliance candidates would win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, Mr Chautala said the exit poll which gave only six seats to the NDA in Haryana was not correct in its assessment about the state. He said there was no timeframe for the expansion of his Cabinet. It would be done depending upon the quantum of his ministry. Mr Chautala would visit Aligarh, Mathura and Agra on September 27 to campaign for the NDA candidates there. Among those who attended
the swearing-in ceremony were some ministerial colleagues
of Mr Chautala, the Advocate-General, Mr Mohan Jain, and
senior officers. |
Cycle rally-cum-race on Sept
26 CHANDIGARH, Sept 22 — Haryana Tourism will organise a cycle rally-cum-race as part of its silver jubilee celebrations. Haryana Tourism has completed 25 years of its service to the people on September 1. Stating this today, the chairman of the Haryana Tourism Corporation, Dr Harbakhsh Singh, said a cycle rally-cum-race would be organised on September 26 on the eve of World Tourism Day. The cycle rally-cum-race would be flagged off by the Minister of State for Tourism, Mr Om Parkash Jain, on that day at 7 a.m. from Puffin Guest House. He said over 1000 children were expected to take part in this event which would be open to children aged between 10 and 15. The rally would terminate at Red Bishop Resort of Haryana Tourism in Sector 6 of Panchkula after covering a distance of 14.5 km. The race will begin from Red Bishop Tourist Resort in Panchkula at 8 a.m. and end at Cricket Stadium in Sector 6, Panchkula. The race of the girls section will be flagged off by the Deputy Chairman, Haryana State Planning Board, Mr R.S. Chaudhary, and that of the boys section will be flagged off by Dr Harbakhsh Singh. The cyclists will race for a distance of 9 km. There will be cash prizes of Rs 2000, Rs 1000 and Rs 750 for the winners in both sections of boys and girls separately. The special attraction of the event will be an aero-modelling display presented by the Modellers Educational Society, New Delhi. The demonstration will be held at Cricket Stadium, Panchkula, between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. The display would include demonstration of dog fighting, aero-dynamics flying, static model display, helicopter flying display and helicopter flying display and death defying rolls and dives. The event will be open to the public as it forms part of the prize distribution function. Later in the evening, a
cultural programme will be held at Yadvindra Garden,
Pinjore. |
2-day strike may cripple
Haryana ROHTAK, Sept 22 — The two-day strike by the National Public Sector Executive Associations on September 23 and 24 May affect the power supply situation in Haryana which depends on sources like the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for power supply. The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam authorities have alerted its staff to counter the problem of short supply and the possibility of load shedding. According to sources, the NTPC, which contributes more than 20 per cent of the total available power in has state, already written to the HVPN about the problem. The nigam employees have been asked to tackle the situation appropriately, including resorting to load shedding in various sectors. Instructions have been given to officials concerned to take all necessary measures so as the system could be saved from collapsing. The state is already
facing the power shortage problem in many districts due
to less rainfall this year. Farmers in districts like
Rohtak, Jhajjar, Rewari, Mahendergarh and Narnaul and
parts of Bhiwani and Jind have been facing shortage of
irrigation water and power. The demand for more
electricity has increased in paddy growing areas. The
power supply in the domestic sector (both rural and urban
areas) have not been proportionate with demand and cuts
and trippings have become a common feature. |
Priest held on rape charge HISAR, Sept 22 — The local police has arrested a priest, Kanshi Ram, from a temple near the local bus stand on a charge of raping a woman. The district police chief, Mr O.P. Singh, said here today that the woman, who is married, approached the priest along with her cousin, Ramesh and his wife, Rajbala, to seek his blessings and help for solving her financial problems. The priest reportedly told the woman to perform puja either in the temple or in her house. The woman preferred to do puja in the house of her cousin. The SP disclosed that
the priest started the puja. On the sixth day, the priest
allegedly raped the woman with the help of her cousin's
wife. After the crime, her cousin and his wife came to
the room and threatened her with dire consequences, if
she informed anyone about it. However, the woman informed
her husband about the rape and on her complaint, the
police also arrested Ramesh and his wife. They were
produced in the court which remanded all of them to
judicial custody, the SP added. |
Unions’ dispute settled PANIPAT, Sept 22 — The dispute between the local truck union and the Goods Transport Association, in which 20 trucks of the Goods Transport Association were hijacked allegedly by the people of the truck union, was settled at a joint meeting of the unions here today. According to the agreement, the truck union has agreed to release the detained trucks and both unions agreed to work jointly in future. The Goods Transport Association has withdrawn its agitation. About 20 persons allegedly belonging to the truck union armed with firearms, iron rods and lathis forcibly took away 20 trucks of the Goods Transport Association and parked them on the truck union’s premises after deflating their tyres. When the representatives of Goods Transport Association demanded the return of the trucks, they were told to pay penalty by the truck union. The association lodged a
complaint with the Superintendent of Police, Mr Manoj
Yadav, who handed over the case to the Station House
Officer of Chandni Bagh police station for inquiry and
necessary action. |
INLD leader’s house
attacked AMBALA, Sept 22 — The residence of a senior leader of the INLD, Ambala unit, was attacked by some persons midnight at last night. Tension prevailed in the area. The police has registered a case against nine persons on the complaint of Jasbir Malour, president, INLD (Youth Wing), Ambala unit. According to the police, Mr Malour has alleged in the FIR that some persons came on motor cycles to his residence in Sector 7, HUDA Colony, last night. They threatened him and dared him to come out. Since he did not open the door, the persons damaged his car parked outside his residence. As soon as the police was informed they fled. Some senior police officers, including DSP (HQ), reached the spot. Later, Mr Malour said that it was a planned attack on his life. Leaders of the INLD have condemned the incident and demanded a high level enquiry of the incident.
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Martyrdom Day today CHANDIGARH, Sept 22 — The Haryana Government has decided to organise a programme at all district headquarters on the occasion of Haryana War Heroes and Martyrdom Day, which falls on September 23, in honour of 75 brave men of Haryana who laid down their lives during the Kargil war. A state-level function will be held at Rewari over which the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will preside. Rallies will be organised at the district headquarters which will pass through the main roads of the district. The participants of the rally will include members of youth clubs, students, sportspersons and staff of the District Sports and Youth Welfare department. Officials of the
District Sainik Board, dependents of the martyrs and
freedom fighters and key citizens will also be invited to
join the rally. |
Appointment of Pro VC hailed HISAR, Sept 22 — The Guru Jambeshwar University Teachers' Association has hailed the appointment of Dr Krishen Chander Bangar as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the varsity. Dr Rajesh Malhotra, vice-president of the association, said here yesterday that with the appointment of Dr Bangar, the atmosphere of uncertainty would be over. He said that there was a general sense of relief at the appointment. At a time when the government banned recruitments to the university, the teaching and non-teaching staff felt so insecure that they apprehended the university might be closed down and reduced to the status of the Regional Centre of Kurukshetra University. The Non-Teaching Staff
Union of the university has also welcomed the appointment
of Dr Bangar. |
MBA admission procedure
‘violated’ ROHTAK, Sept 22 — The president of the Kedarnath Agarwal Institute of Management, Charkhi Dadri, Mr Ram Kishan Gupta, has alleged gross violation in the MBA admission procedure by various private institutes. He has demanded the withdrawal of affiliation of such institutes. In a statement issued
here yesterday, Mr Gupta alleged that at least two
institutes in Faridabad and Rohtak districts and
affiliated to Maharshi Dayanand University had been
fraudulently conducting counselling on their own. |
Case against lawyers ROHTAK, Sept 22 — The police has registered a case under Sections 447 and 297 of the IPC against certain lawyers of the town in connection with erected sheds in the graveyard of a church. In a complaint to the police, Ms Asha Vaid, in charge of the church, located in front of the district courts, said although a local court had stayed the construction on this graveyard, some lawyers elected tin shades on the land. Ms Vaid apprehended that this unlawful act of the lawyers might hurt the religious sentiments of the minority community. She demanded adequate security and strict action against the offenders. No arrest has been made
in this connection so far. |
Illicit liquor seized ROHTAK, Sept 22 — Illicit liquor worth several lakhs of rupees was seized from the Industrial Area of Bahadurgarh town in Jhajjar district yesterday. The liquor was dumped in a factory in the MIE Industrial township. Two persons were arrested in this connection. According to police
sources, this liquor consisting of 20,200 pouches, 746
and 23 crates of quarters and halves, was kept illegally
on the factory premises. One car and two number plates
were also reportedly recovered by the police. A case
under the Excise Act and the IPC was registered against
some persons. |
Bail plea rejected KAITHAL, Sept 22 — The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr R.K. Khanagwal, has rejected the bail application of all four accused in a murderous attack on a local journalist, Mr Parma Nand Goel, on September 13. The Magistrate held that
the case registered under Section 307 of the IPC was
triable by the Sessions Court and the victim was still
under treatment in the PGI at Chandigarh. Hence, bail
could not be granted. |
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