Current Events :
Charar-e-Shareef: A senior army officer on Wednesday said the force is open to help Kashmiri youths who want to pursue conventional careers in life.
“We are pained when some youth shout slogans and then pick up stones and later some of them also pick up guns. We are pained when 17 or 18-year-old boys are killed in encounters,” General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, Lt Gen Satish Dua told reporters in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
Citing examples of young achievers from the Valley, he said the youth have a choice to excel in their life or follow those who drive them off the track.
“Three girls from the state went to participate in the Republic Day parade, out of whom one from Anantnag was awarded the second best cadet in the whole country.
“We started ‘Super 30’ programme and a student was selected in IIT with a good rank. There are others as well. Another youth has been selected as a commissioned officer in army and is going for training.
“We want to tell the youth that you have a choice. You will find many who will drive you off the track and it is up to you whether you want to become like those I gave the examples of or not,” Dua said.
Earlier, the GOC had inaugurated a Youth Fare dedicated to the aspirations of today’s youth at the sports ground. The fare was aimed at providing a focused guidance on various career opportunities available for different age groups and qualifications.
TV personalities Jai Bhanshali and Kunwar Amarjeet Singh and Indian Hockey team member Yuvraj Valmiki were also present at the event
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 7
After struggling to get benefits of pay revision for the past 36 years, the resurfacing of a “lost” order has given a ray of hope to a 85-year-old former Captain who retired as the Zila Sainik Welfare Officer of Chandigarh in 1988.Capt Dhan Singh Rathore, an emergency commission officer, who fought in the 1965 Indo-Pak War, was released from the Army in 1968 and thereafter appointed as the Zila Sainik Welfare Officer. At the time of his appointment, it was a Class-II post given the population of ex-servicemen in Chandigarh.A fresh census of ex-servicemen consequently revealed higher population and accordingly, the central government issued a letter in 1977, upgrading the appointment to a Class-I post. Captain Rathore was entitled to the difference due to an increase in salary with effect from 1978, which was to be re-fixed in accordance to the pattern followed by Punjab.Captain Rathore said that the then Chief Commissioner of Chandigarh issued orders in 1980, sanctioning revised pay scale for him, but no action was taken by the dealing staff. The revision of pay also means revision of pension.“Ï made numerous rounds of the offices concerned, but nothing moved. I was told that either the orders were not available or have not been received,” he said. “In 1984, the Deputy Commissioner again wrote to the Home Secretary on the matter, but to no avail,” he added.Later, he met with a serious accident, which required hip replacement and was bed-ridden for a long time. After he recovered, his son took him to Canada with him so that he could be taken care of properly. Consequently he could not pursue his case.“I have now again taken up my case and sought details under the Right to information Act. Copies of the relevant orders and letters on pay revision that were earlier said to be missing, were attached to the reply, which now strengthens my case and gives me hope”, Rathore said. “I have now been asked to meet senior UT Administration officers later this month with regard to my claims,” he added.
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, March 6
Two Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel from the Pathankot airbase drowned while three airmen were hospitalised after the water level in the Ravi river rose near Chamba town on Saturday evening.The sudden rise in the level was caused due to release of water from the Chamera-II dam, sources said.Those who drowned have been identified as Corporal Shakti Singh (30) of Jaipur and Corporal Nitesh Mishra (26) from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. Airmen Naval Pandey, Naveen Sharma and Gajender Singh are recuperating at the Chamba Civil Hospital.Deputy Commissioner Sudesh Mokhta said, “The five IAF personnel were clicking photos on the river bank near Chamba when the strong currents swept them away. While Nitesh and Shakti drowned, the three others managed to swim to a safer place.”The district authorities were informed about the accident following which search was launched. The bodies of the two airmen were recovered today.The sources said the water level in the river rose when surplus water was discharged from the Chamera-II dam of the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) located upstream. It was being suspected that the airmen did not hear the alert sounded through a siren by the NHPC authorities. Deputy Commissioner Sudesh Mokhta has ordered a magisterial probe into the incident. Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Shubhkaran Singh will head the investigation and will submit the report within 15 days regarding the circumstances that led to the accident. Last year, when students drowned in the Beas river in Mandi, the state government had issued directions regarding the release of water from dams. It had ordered closure of all paths into the riverbeds. However, it seems that the directions were not complied with at Chamba where the personnel had entered the Ravi riverbed for clicking photographs.
DHARAMSHALA: Two Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel from the Pathankot airbase were drowned and three airmen were hospitalised after the water level in the Ravi river suddenly rose near Chamba town on Saturday evening.
HT PHOTOPolice at the spot where the bodies of the two Indian Air Force personnel were recovered near Chamba on Sunday.
The dead were identified as corporal Shakti Singh, 30, of Jaipur in Rajasthan and corporal Nitesh Mishra, 26 from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. Airmen Naval Pandey, Naveen Sharma and Gajender Singh were admitted to the Chamba Civil Hospital.
Deputy commissioner Sudesh Mokhta said, “The five were clicking photos on the river bank near Chamba town when the water level in the Ravi suddenly rose and swept them away. Nitesh and Shakti were drowned, while the three others managed to swim to safety.”
The district authorities were informed about the accident following which a search was launched.See page 9
he bodies of the two IAF personnel were recovered on Sunday morning.
ALERT WENT UNHEARD?
Sources said that the water level in the river rose when surplus water was discharged from the Chamera-2 dam of the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) located upstream.The sources said that it is suspected that the airmen did not hear the alert sounded through a siren by the NHPC authorities.
MAGISTERIAL PROBE
The government has ordered a magisterial probe into the incident. “Additional district magistrate (ADM) Shubhkaran Singh will hold the investigation and submit a report in 15 days,” the deputy commissioner said.
RIVER TRAGEDIES
Twenty-four engineering students of a private college from Hyderabad were washed away when they were clicking photos on the bank of the Beas river on June 8, 2014. The water level suddenly rose when the Larji dam authorities released surplus water into the river, causing one of the worst tragedies of its kind in the state.
In December last year, eight people were swept away in the Chandrabhaga in the tribal Pangi valley of Chamba district when their vehicle veered off the road and fell into the river. The bodies were found after a week-long search.
रेस्ट हाउस में सोमवार को एक्स सर्विस मेन वेलफेयर कमेटी की ओर से वन रैंक वन पैंशन की मांग को लेकर बैठक का आयोजन किया गया। जिसकी अध्यक्षता करते हुए प्रधान अतर सिंह मुल्तानी ने आज से लागू होने वाली आधी अधूरी वन रैंक वन पेंशन का विरोध किया।
उन्होंने कहा कि लोकसभा और राज्यसभा में जो पेंशन लागू की गई थी उसे पूरी तरह लागू नहीं किया गया। जबकि पूर्व सैनिकों की पूरी मांग को लगातार अनदेखा किया जा रहा है। उन्होंने कहा कि अगर सरकार की ओर से जल्द ही जंतर मंतर पर 260 दिनों से बैठे भूतपूर्व सैनिकों के नुमाइंदों को बुलाकर उनकी मांगों को पूरा नहीं किया गया तो सैनिकों द्वारा कड़ा आंदोलन किया जाएगा। जिसके चलने से प्रधानमंत्री के निवास स्थान पर धरना दिया जाएगा और साथ ही अन्य मंत्रियों के घरों का घेराव किए जाएंगे। इसके जो परिणाम होंगे सरकार खुद ही जिम्मेवार होगी। दूसरी ओर, भूतपूर्व सैनिकों ने मांगो को लेकर किए जा रहे पिछले आंदोलनों पर भी विचार विमर्श किया और साथ ही आगामी आंदोलन को ओर तेज करने को लेकर रूप रेखा तैयार की गई। वहीं बैठक में
IF TH E H IKE IN TH E DEFENCE OUTLAY IS CALCULATED AG AINS T TH E BUDG ET ES TIMATES OF 2015-16, IT WORKS OUT TO ONLY 1.16%
NEW DELHI: India will spend ` 2.58 lakh crore on defence in 2016-17, a marginal hike of 9.7% over last year’s revised estimates of ` 2.33 lakh crore.
VIPIN KUMAR/H TThe government failed to spend ` 11,595 crore of its capital budget set aside for buying new weapons and systems last year.The military spending does not include defence pensions that would take up the budget to nearly ` 3.41 lakh crore compared to last year’s ` 2.93 lakh crore.
The pension component of the budget is huge at ` 82,332.66 crore, with the outgo towards implementing the one-rank-one-pension (OROP) scheme contributing to the financial burden. The allocation of military modernisation in the budget stands at ` 87,209.63 crore.
If the hike in the defence outlay is calculated against the budget estimates of 201516, it works out to only 1.16%. Finance minister Arun Jaitley made no mention of India’s defence allocation in his Budget speech on Monday.
The defence ministry failed to spend ` 11,595 crore of its capital budget earmarked for buying new weapons and systems last year, besides over
` 6,700 crore of the expenditure budget remained unspent.
The defence budget for 2016-17, excluding pensions, accounts for 1.7% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Experts believe India’ s military spending should be around 3% of the GDP to counter China’s rapidly growing military might, but the figure has been hovering below 2% in recent years.
If the pensions are counted, the allocations account for 2.2% of the GDP.
Experts feel that the funds made available to the armed forces may not be sufficient to power critical modernisation programmes.
India’s military modernisation effort centres around buying new fighter planes, building next-generation submarines, helicopters, missiles and artillery guns.
Strate gic af fairs exper t Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal ( retd) said, “I don’t think there’s been a hike at all in real terms. The rupee has fallen against the dollar from 62 to 69. Also, inflation in prices of weapon systems can be around 15%.”
This year’s defence spending includes a revenue expenditure of more than ` 1.68 lakh cr ore meeting day-to-day expenses of the armed forces.
India’s defence spending averaged 1.59% of the GDP from 1947 to 1962, the year India fought a war with China. The country sustained a defence spending of 3.1% of the GDP between 1963 and 1988, but it has remained under the 2%-mark for several years now.
The budget also talks of changes in customs and excise duty rates on certain inputs to reduce costs and improve competitiveness of domestic industry and promote the Make in India plan in sectors including defence production, maintenance, repair and overhauling of aircraft and ship repair.
Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 27
The Jammu and Kashmir Ex-Services League and Dogra Sadar Sabha today paid tributes to the martyrs of armed forces of J&K, who laid down their lives in the state and outside.A large number of people from all walks of life, including ex-Army officers, soldiers, civilians and children, assembled at Balidan Stambh this evening and lit candles to pay homage to the martyrs.Patriotic songs were also played at the venue. Children carried placards. They were informed by ex-servicemen about the supreme sacrifices of soldiers.Gulchan Singh Charak, president, Dogra Sadar Sabha, said “Organising such events is a wonderful way to pay homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives to save us from enemies. We have decided to organise the event every year.”“The venue can be a source of inspiration for youth of our state, but unfortunately there is very little awareness about this place which holds so much significance,” said a retired Army officer.
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 27
More witnesses have mustered the courage to speak about the horror on NH-1 near Murthal in the wee hours of February 22 with four of them telling the media that they had seen women, their clothes torn, being dragged out of their vehicles and taken to nearby fields by armed goons.Police personnel have now been deployed at the Ghannaur-Murthal stretch where the women were allegedly raped. Chief Minister ML Khattar told mediapersons today that he was considering setting up a special team comprising women officer to look into the allegations.Meanwhile, the three-member team headed by DIG Rajshree today visited the “crime site”. One of the members said they had been receiving obnoxious calls after their phone numbers were made public yesterday.An eyewitness said not had he seen women being molested, but infants being roughed up too. They said the goons, some riding motorcycles, chased and attacked the terrified women as they cried out for help. But there was no policeman to rescue them. “Calls on 100 went unattended,” he alleged. Truck driver Yadvendra, a resident of Fatehgarh Sahib, said,“I was stranded near Apollo School on NH-1 on February 22. I saw youths smashing windowpanes and setting vehicles ablaze.” He said he was robbed of his bag containing Rs 6,500. “As I ran towards the fields to save myself, I saw several goons molesting women,” he said.Trick driver Niranjan of Pathankot, who was also stranded near Apollo School, said: “I saw hooligans torching vehicles. Some youths asked stranded women to escape to nearby villages. This was a trap. I did not see women being raped, but their shrieks said it all.”Sukhwinder Singh, whose vehicle was torched, said: “It was near Pipli Khera village (near Ghannaur) that women were molested and their children dragged away.”Satbir Satti of Adampur, who was on his way to Delhi on February 22, said he saw two women (he later learnt they were NRIs) running helter and skelter without slippers and dupattas as a mob chased them. Satti, whose Ertiga car was set ablaze, said: “While one woman was from Calgary, the other was from Edmonton. I heard people saying they had seen hooligans dragging women to nearby fields.”Satti’s neighbours said he had narrated the horrific incident to them on his return from Delhi on February 25. “My aunt, whom I was to drop at the airport, is yet to come to terms with what she saw that day. She too had to hide herself in a dhaba,” he said.(Inputs by Parveen Arora, BS Malik and Deepkamal Kaur)
दिनेश भारद्वाज/ ट्रिन्यू
डाहर (पानीपत), 27 फरवरी
जाट आंदोलन खत्म हो चुका है। सड़क व रेलवे मार्ग फिर से चल पड़े हैं। जिंदगी धीरे-धीरे पटरी पर लौटने की कोशिश में है। लेकिन आंदोलन के दौरान हुई हिंसा और प्रदेश में उपद्रवियों द्वारा किये तांडव के निशान जहां-तहां दर्ज हैं। दहशत आम आदमी ही नहीं सड़कों के चेहरों पर भी पढ़ी जा सकती है। सड़कें तो फिर से गुलजार हो जाएंगी लेकिन लोगों के दिलों में घर कर चुका खौफ जाने कब निकलेगा?
पानीपत के बाईपास से होते हुये गाड़ी जैसे ही गोहाना के रास्ते पर डाली तो सड़कों पर पसरा सन्नाटा इसकी गवाही देता नज़र आया कि जाट आंदोलन की हिंसा ने इस राजमार्ग पर भी गहरे जख्म दिये हैं। उपद्रव का मूक गवाह रहा यह हाईवे बोल सकता तो बताता दंगइयों ने कैसे-कैसे जख्म आंदोलन के नाम पर उसे दिए हैं।
पानीपत से निकलते ही डागर गांव में बना टोल प्लाजा भी जख्मी है। आंदोलन की शुरुआत से पहले रोजाना हजारों वाहनों को अपनी छाती के ऊपर से उतारने वाला यह टोल प्लाजा फिर से उठने की कोशिश में है। गाड़ियों की भाग-दौड़ शुरू तो हुई है लेकिन उनकी स्पीड इतनी है कि उनका अहसास भी इसे नहीं होता होगा। दूर-दराज से रोजमर्रा का सामान आने और ले जाने वाले ट्रक जरूर सड़कों पर आ गए हैं लेकिन परिवार को साथ लेकर अपने निजी वाहन से सफर करने वाले लोगों की संख्या नगण्य ही रही।
डाहर से निकलते ही चिड़ाना गांव पहुंचे तो यहां के बस अड्डे की मार्केट आधी खुली हुई थी और आधी दुकानें बंद थीं। एक चाय की दुकान पर पांच-सात आदमी बैठे चाय की चुस्कियां ले रहे थे। उनकी जुबां पर एक ही चर्चा थी कि जो हुआ गलत हुआ। चंद कदम की दूरी पर एक दुकान की दीवार के नीचे बैठकर ताश की बाजी लगा रहे बुजुर्गों से जब जाट आंदोलन के बारे में चर्चा की गई तो वे बोले- क्यों जख्मों को कुरेद रहे हो। कोई भी नाम बताने को तैयार नहीं होगा, बोले-इब म्हारा नाम पूछ कै के करैगा। रिश्ते तार-तार हो ग्यै सैं, आपस में आंख मिलाण लायक भी नहीं रहै।
हाईवे पर इसराना में भी आंदोलन का असर साफ दिखा। इस कस्बे को क्रॉस करते हुये गाड़ी के ब्रेक न लगें, ऐसा संभव ही नहीं था लेकिन अब गाड़ी पूरी स्पीड में दौड़ रही थी। न तो यहां सवारियों को लेकर चलने वाली जीप व दूसरी गाड़ियों की पों-पों सुनने को मिली और ही सवारियों के लिए आवाज लगाने वाले कंडक्टर ही दिखे। पानीपत से लेकर गोहाना तक के हाईवे पर सन्नाटा पसरा था। इस सन्नाटे ने गोहाना से लेकर रोहतक तक पूरा साथ निभाया। करीब 80 किलोमीटर के सफर में तीन-चार गाड़ियों ने ही ओवरटेक किया होगा। पीछे से आने वाली गाड़ी के हॉरन सन्नाटे में दूर तक और देर तक गूंजते थे। रोहतक से लेकर झज्जर तक के हाईवे पर भी गाड़ियां तो चलनी शुरू हो गई हैं लेकिन आंदोलन से पहले इस हाईवे पर दिखने वाली चहल-पहल वापस लौटने में अभी संभव है लम्बा वक्त लगेगा। बीच में पड़ने वाले गांवों, ब्राह्मणवास, रुखी, जसिया, मायना, करौंथा, डीघल, दुजाना व गुढ़ा में भी उपद्रवियों के तांडव का असर दिख रहा था। पशुओं को लेकर जाने वाली महिलाओं की चहल-पहल, सिर पर पानी का मटका लेकर दिखने वाली महिलाओं की टोली, ताशों की टोलियों पर बैठे बुजुर्ग और सड़कों से चहल-पहल करीब-करीब गायब सी ही थी।
सड़क खाली थी और ट्रकों की स्पीड तेज
पानीपत-रोहतक हाईवे पर रात को ट्रकों की रौनक नज़र आई। छोटी गाड़ियां और मोटरसाइकिल पर चलने वाले बेशक नहीं दिखे लेकिन बड़े और छोटे ट्रक सन्नाटे को चीरते हुये अपने गंतव्य तक पहुंच रहे थे। पानीपत से झज्जर तक आने और जाने वाले इस सफर में बाइक पर सवार होकर चल रहे कुछ लोगों से बात भी हुई। पानीपत से अपनी पत्नी व बेटे के साथ गोहाना के लिए निकले राजेंद्र ने कहा ‘कई दिनों से अपने परिवार सहित गोहाना में रिश्तेदारों से मिलने जाना चाहता था। रास्ते बंद थे, आंदोलन चल रहा था। आज हिम्मत करके गोहाना जा रहा हूं’। गोहाना से झज्जर के बीच भी तीन-चार लोगों से बात की गई तो उन्होंने कहा अब तो दिन में ही सफर करना पड़ेगा। रात को चलने में डर लगता है।
ROHTAK/JALANDHAR: Mystery and confusion over the alleged gangrape on National Highway-1 near Murthal in Sonepat district during the Jat quota stir deepened on Saturday as three persons claiming to be “eyewitnesses” surfaced.
The three “eyewitnesses” gave statements to news channels, claiming to have seen hoodlums assaulting women on the national highway during the agitation. However, they have neither approached the special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the Haryana government, nor could they be contacted by them.
SIT head, deputy inspector general of police Rajshree Singh, told HT that her team is trying to get in touch with the “witnesses” who have spoken to television channels about the alleged incidents. “We are trying to contact some of them, but they are not responding,” she said. “We will now try to trace their locations to seek their help in investigation,” Rajshree Singh said.
Niranjan Singh, a truck driver, told a news channel that he saw a group of women being dragged to the fields and their clothes torn by a section of infuriated mob at around 2am on February 22. “I was in my truck and saw this from some distance. I could not see what happened further,” he claimed. Another witness, Yadwinder, said he saw three women with children and some men who were trying to save themselves from some people. “We were at some distance but I clearly saw three women with torn clothes trying to escape from the area,” he said.
Satbir Satti of Adampur town near Jalandhar told TV channels on Saturday morning that he had witnessed women being “raped” but changed his statement by the evening. “I don’t want to conclude if women were raped. I only said I saw around 200 people at around 3am and some women running for cover at that time,” he told HT.
Rajshree Singh said that they are still to get any leads, complaints or witnesses with regard to the alleged incidents of molestation and gangrape. The SIT, comprising three woman police officers, also visited the “suspected area of crime” and recorded the statements of some local residents, besides making appeals to the people for cooperation.
She said that clothes recovered from the spot had already been sent to the lab at Madhuban. “We are waiting for the report,” she added.
Inspector general of police (IGP), Rohtak range, Sanjay Kumar said that the police team has spoken to the owners of all burnt cars but has found no confirmation of any incident of rape and molestation so far.
The police have been denying any incident of sexual assault on NH-1 during the quota agitation.
Owners of 13 vehicles vandalised and torched on NH-1, according to a status report sent by Sonepat superintendent of police Abhishek Garg to the state police chief, have confirmed to the police that “no incident of molestation and rape took place on February 21 night”.
The controversy erupted following a newspaper report regarding alleged incidents of gangrape and molestation in Sonepat during the Jat quota stir. (With agency inputs)
Jupinderjit Singh,Tribune News Service,Chandigarh, February 26
Despite reports that enemy spies are entering defence installations in the garb of labourers to carry out terror attacks, such stations continue to hire them.Among others, even the Pathankot Air Force station, which was attacked recently, has floated tenders today for clearing wild growth and clean drains on the airbase for the next financial year. Air Force station, Halwara, and Mullanpur too have outsourced the work.On February 2, an alleged spy, Irshad, was nabbed from Mamoon cantonment in Pathankot where he was working as a labourer. The police later caught his two alleged associates from Moga in Punjab and Poonch in Jammu.Some incriminating photos of the cantonment were allegedly recovered from him. On January 2, a group of four or six terrorists from Pakistan entered Pathankot Airbase allegedly knowing its map well and hid conveniently in the vegetation.Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had told media persons in Pathankot at the completion of the flushing out operation that a better way of clearing vegetation from all defence installations would be found. Intelligence agencies have always suspected the role of labourers in spying.A defence official said there does not seem any other way but to outsource the massive work. “It is a big task. We have to outsource it.” He added that in the wake of recent spying incidents, special care would be taken, “Mandatory verification of the labourers would be done with the help of the local police,” he added.Clearance of the vegetation and drains is an annual feature. As per the existing practice, labourers employed for the purpose are given day passes for the work.
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, February 24
The trail of damage left behind by the Jat stir has left the industry reeling under losses. The Haryana Automobile Dealers’ Association has demanded the imposition of President’s rule in the state in view of the “complete collapse of the government machinery”.Addressing a press conference here today, Jagmohan Mittal, association’s president, alleged the government had failed to fulfil its constitutional responsibility and, thus, had no right to stay in office.“Losses to the tune of approximately Rs100 crore have been suffered by the automobile dealers due to the arson. Nearly 200 cars, showrooms and stockyards of Hyundai, Chevrolet, Nexa, Honda and Toyota were gutted by agitating youths between February 17 and 20,” said Mittal.Alleging the agitating youths targeted the commercial establishments of a specific group of communities, he demanded compensation for the loss incurred within 15 days. He warned, “If the authorities fail to take concrete action, Haryana-based industrialists and businessmen would be forced to move out of the state.”SK Khatod, president of the Rohtak IDC Industries Association, sought a high-level inquiry into the entire incident. He said the state government should provide relief while accepting the applications for compensation as relevant records and details had been destroyed in fire.Ritesh Singhpuria, president of Jhajjar Road Traders’ Association, demanded CBI inquiry into the entire episode.Railway runs into Rs 300-cr lossHisar: The Northern and North Western divisions of the Railways have suffered about Rs 300 crore losses during the Jat stir with 16 stations being burnt down and 1,400 train cancelled. The railway authorities on Wednesday started assessing damage to its property, which includes torching of stations, damage to tracks, gates and removal of clips. Neeraj Sharma, chief PRO, Northern Railway, said the services of around 1,000 trains were affected on the Delhi-Ambala and Delhi-Ferozepur sections from February 17 to February 22 while another 400 were hit in the North Western division’s Hisar-Bikaner section. He pegged the losses around Rs 250- Rs 300 crore. Another official said all trains were back on track on the Delhi-Ambala section while 90 per cent services had been resumed in the North-Western division. The previous Jat agitation in 2011 had caused a loss of about Rs 74 crore ( Rs 40 crore in UP and Rs 34 crore in Haryana) after which the SC had directed Haryana to compensate the Railways. TNS
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 24
The state government today announced to give an interim assistance immediately to those who would submit their details on a prescribed pro forma on the basis of self-assessment of the damage caused to their properties in the Jat agitation.While stating this here today, an official spokesman said an applicant could claim upto 25 per cent as an interim relief.He said a pro forma for claiming compensation was available on the Urban Local Bodies Department’s website www.ulbharyana.gov.in. “It is also available in the offices of the Deputy Commissioner, SDM, tehsildar and municipality,” he said.He said claimants were required to provide details such as name, Aadhaar number, bank account number along with RTGS/NEFT code, address, electricity account number, if meter is installed, date of natural disaster, fire or law and order disturbance, and whether the damage was covered by an insurance policy.Other details include category of property damaged and extent of damage. “They have also been asked to fill up estimated loss of the items suffered by them,” he said.He said the affected persons should submit the completed pro forma at the earliest to any of the office of the Sub-DivisionalMagistrate (SDM), tehsildar and municipality.The claimants could also contact the office of the Deputy Commissioner in case of any difficulty, he added.Bus service towards Hisar yet to resume Ambala: Most of the blockades on the Ambala-Hisar highway have been lifted, but the Ambala depot has not resumed its service to Hisar and Kaithal. The buses did not ply between Ambala-Kaithal and Ambala-Sirsa routes on Wednesday. Officials said that due to safety reasons, the buses did not ply. Kuldhir Singh, GM, Ambala roadways, said the bus service to Kaithal, Hisar and Sirsa would be started by Thursday after getting clearance from the department. OC
KAITHAL, FEBRUARY 23 .
Close on the heels of ex-Hooda aide audio clip egging on Jats to incite violence, the CCTV footage of cops allegedly facilitating loot by miscreants in Padma Mall here has gone viral.Already under scanner for remaining a mute spectator to the anarchy witnessed in the state, the video allegedly shows an ASI patting the back of looters in the mall on February 22 and letting them escape, instead of making any attempt to apprehend them. It is learnt the Army was deployed at some distance from the mall.Yet another video shows, Mandeep Kaur, SDM, allegedly supporting Jat reservation in a bid to pacify protesters at Titram Mod on February 23. She could be heard saying, “We fought a long battle for reservation and now you promise not to let it go vain with other castes benefitting from it. Hamare bachhe padhein , mera koi chhota bhai aaye aur iss arakshan ka labh uthae.”
