'Make blood donation a mass movement'
SHIMLA, Oct 25 — Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, today made a strong plea for making voluntary blood donation a mass movement.

Rotary Foundation grant for India
SOLAN, Oct 25 — Dr Gulshan Thukral, Governor, Rotary district, 3080, yesterday said that the International Rotary Foundation had sanctioned a grant of $ 20 million for setting up special projects for children by different Rotary Clubs in India.

Work begins on Chamera power project (II)
DALHOUSIE, Oct 25 — The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation has started construction work on the 300 mw Chamera hydroelectric project (stage-II) on the Ravi in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.

Himachal BDOs threaten direct action
SHIMLA, Oct 25 — The Himachal Block Development Officers Association has threatened to start direct action if its demands are not accepted forthwith by the government.

New HP power policy on cards

SHIMLA, Oct 25 (UNI) — The Himachal Pradesh Government is planning to bring about a radical change in its power policy to speed up the process of development of micropower projects in the state, particularly in far-flung and tribal areas.

"Himurja", a government agency for development of non-conventional energy sources, has already advertised the execution of small hydroelectric projects at 319 sites spread over the entire state, according to an official spokesman here. A steering committee has been constituted to obtain requisite clearance of the projects so that investors do not have to face any problem.

At present 85 projects with a total 104 MW capacity, involving an investment of Rs 600 crore, are already under various stages of execution by private investors.

A plan for identification of more sites for untapped 350 MW potential was under preparation with the alternative hydroelectric centre, Roorkee, and the remote-sensing cell of the state Council of Science, Technology and Environment.

The spokesman said the state government had decided to participate in the UNDP-GEF (United Nations Development Project-Global Environment Facility) hilly hydro electric projects to develop demonstration sites at different topographic locations.

The Union Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources has been implementing a UNDP-GEF technical assistance project on optimising the development of small hydro electric resources in the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions in the country.

Under this project 20 demonstration projects based on commercially viable and environmentally sound technologies will be set up in various states. Of these, six demonstration projects will be set up in Himachal Pradesh. Three projects viz Lingti (400 KW), Kothi (200KW) and Juthed (100 KW) will be executed by Himurja, whereas the remaining three projects namely Solang (1000KW), Rasbal (800 KW) and Titang (900 KW) will be executed by private parties.

The spokesman said with the execution of these projects the quality of electricity supply in these inaccessible areas would be improved and employment opportunities also generated.

The spokesman said for the tribal areas, as many as 10 sites for projects of 50 to 100 KW capacity had been identified in the remote areas and the projects had been proposed to the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy sources for funding.

Lashkar men 'behind Chamba massacres'
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Oct 25 — The Himachal police, with the help of the Jammu and Kashmir police has been able to establish the involvement of five militants belonging to the Lashker-e-Toiba outfit in the Chamba massacre, that took place on August 2. Top militant, Karin, led a group of seven terrorists, accompanied by a Gujjar guide, which gunned down 35 innocent labourers. A majority of these militants are suspected to be Afghans or Pakistanis, reportedly hiding in the Doda area of Jammu and Kashmir.

The three militants, who shot down four gaddies at Sappa Cholu in Chamba, on August 12, are believed to be from the Hizbul Mujahideen militant organisation, which is very active in Doda district.

According to the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Northern Range), Mr I.D. Bhandari, the police has succeeded in identifying the Gujjar belonging to the Doda area, who acted as the local guide and help for these militants. This person without whose help, it would have been difficult for the militants to strike in Himachal, belongs to Upper Balesh village in the Narangwadi area of Jammu and Kashmir. "The police is on the lookout for this Gujjar, who provided vital information about the Chamba area to the militants, and is probably in the Kathua area", the DIG revealed.

Witnesses to the killing are learnt to have identified the militants, from 15 photographs supplied to the Himachal police by the Jammu and Kashmir police. The militants had taken away with them nine hostages, out of which three had returned home. They too had identified the militants and confirmed their involvement in the killings at Satrundi and Kalaban. The Himachal police now has the photographs of five of the seven militants, who are responsible for the killing of labourers at Kalaban and Satrundi. The police is, however, not aware of the names of these militants.

"It is the result of constant interaction with the Jammu and Kashmir police that we have been able to identify the militant outfit and the five militants, who were behind the killings," said Mr Bhandari. A hunt had been launched in Jammu and Kashmir to nab these militants, he added.

Eversince the killings, it was being apprehended that this was the handiwork of some foreign mercenaries, either from Afghanistan or the border provinces of Pakistan. Lately the Lashker-e-Toiba outfit has been very active and is mainly dominated by foreign mercenaries. This outfit was floated in 1994, and is responsible for a number of killings in Jammu and Kashmir. It has been active in the Doda, Poonch, Rajouri and Kupwara areas.

Eversince the police found out that the local Gujjars had acted as guides to these militants, they have been directed to come down to the lower areas. The 'kothas' of these Gujjars at Khumdi Mural, Sappa Chalo, Sipolo, Oolu ki Mand and Udak, are used by the militants as safe havens, during winter, when they have moved down to the lower areas. The police is now keeping an eye on these Gujjars, so that the militants cannot establish local links.

New light on Partition
From Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 25 — Throwing new light on Partition Prof V.N. Datta, an eminent historian and President of the Indian History Congress, yesterday said that Winston Churchill's "insane"and negative attitude played a decisive role in subverting the cause of India's freedom and creating a situation which made splitting of the country inevitable.

Delivering a lecture on "Partition of India" at Himachal Pradesh University, here, Professor Datta, who studied the Churchill archives at Cambridge recently, said much work had been done on the history of Partition over the past four decades but the material available in the archives, which reveal that Jinnah kept himself in constant touch with Churchill during 1940-45, the crucial period when the Indian problem could have been solved.

Churchill had an "idea fix" about India and his hostility to India was pathological. His theory was that the policy pursued by him led to a political vacuum for five years and this "politically sterile" period led to the dangerous consequences of splitting the country into two with blood, toil and tears. Mr L.S. Amery, then Secretary of State, admitted in his diaries that Churchill proved the greatest obstacle to the solution of the Indian problem. He pointed out that during his tenure he had not succeeded in holding a single serious discussion about India in the Cabinet with him but had only dealt with emergencies.

Churchill hated Gandhi, ridiculed his fasts as a fraud and blackmail. He even declared that any approach to Gandhi would be made over his dead body. Whenever any issue relating to India came up before the Cabinet, he exploded in rage.

The secret link between Jinnah and Churchill also proved vital as the former kept the latter informed of the latest political moves. Churchill met Jinnah in London on December 12, 1946, and told him that in his correspondence he would adopt "Gilliat" as a secret name to avoid detection. Churchill turned down Jinnah's invitation for lunch at a hotel as he thought it unpolitic to expose their intimacy in public. India House had little effective power in Churchill's time.

Jinnah was not satisfied with Mountbatten's Partition plan because of the impending division of Punjab and Bengal. But Churchill knew well that Jinnah could not do without British soldiers, so he asked Mountbatten to threaten withdrawal of troops in case the Muslim League leader did not agree to the Partition plan.

The last chance to solve the Indian problem was lost when the Cripps proposals were scuttled by Churchill. The British Cabinet under strong pressure from US President Roosevelt and Chiang Kai Shaik, dispatched Sir Stafford Cripps to India to enlist its support for fighting the Japanese by resolving the constitutional problem. He was ready to go to the farthest to accommodate Congress demands but Churchill came in the way of a settlement. Viceroy Linlith Gow maintained secret communications with Churchill behind's Cripps back, informing him of his (Cripp's) overtures to the Congress. Cripps felt indignant and threatened to return to England without carrying any further negotiations.

Even Nehru did not show practical sagacity to negotiate a settlement and the Congress lost a golden opportunity of being entrusted with power to undertake responsibility. This failure on the part of the Congress coupled with the launching of Quit India Movement led to the strengthening of the Muslim League, which had so far not caught the imagination of Muslims, and emergence of Jinnah as the spokesman of the community.

Prof S.S. Settar, Chairman of the Indian Council for Historical Research, who presided over the lecture, said writing the history of Partition from a huge quantity of conflicting source material was a problematic task and to present a true and complete picture was near impossible.

Prof S.K. Gupta, Chairman, Department of History, said though truckloads of books were available on the history of freedom movement and Partition, there were still big gaps which were required to be bridged.

'Make blood donation a mass movement'
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 25 — Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, today made a strong plea for making voluntary blood donation a mass movement.

Speaking at a blood donation camp organised by the local Press Club and the Himachal Patrakar Sansad to mark the death anniversary of Mr Kapil Sharma, a journalist, he said encouraging people to donate blood was the best way to remember the departed soul.

Blood was precious commodity and its increasing demand could be met only through donation. There had been in general a shortage of blood and in the absence of voluntary donation, most of the hospitals were dependent on professional donors which was not desirable. The only way to keep professional donors out was by encouraging common masses to donate blood.

As many as 41 persons donated blood at the camp. Mr Om Prakash Sood and Mr Rohitash donated blood for the 75th and 55th time, respectively.

Earlier, Mr Dhumal laid the foundation stones of a Vivekananda kendra at Nabha and a Rs 30 lakh shopping complex.

Rotary Foundation grant for India
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, Oct 25 — Dr Gulshan Thukral, Governor, Rotary district, 3080, yesterday said that the International Rotary Foundation had sanctioned a grant of $ 20 million for setting up special projects for children by different Rotary Clubs in India.

He said that the grant would be disbursed on a first-come, first-serve basis subject to a ceiling of Rs 10.5 lakh for each club.

The projects to be set up under the scheme would include the provision of science laboratories and libraries in schools, computer education centres and institutions aimed at providing children opportunities to equip themselves with better learning processes.

He called upon local Rotarians to come up with an appropriate project for the benefit of the children of the area. He clarified that the new scheme did not stipulate matching contribution from the Indian clubs and the accepted projects would be funded fully by the Rotary Foundation.

Mr Thukral said the pulse polio days, earlier fixed for December 7 and January 18, would now be held on December 6 and January 17.

He exhorted fellow Rotarians to work for the realisation of a hunger and disease-free world.

"We must ensure that each family had a roof over its head and nobody goes hungry", he said, adding that programmes like the eradication of polio could help improve the quality of life.

The Rotary Club, Solan, president Dr Upendra Kaul, said that his unit planned to construct a multipurpose hall in the town this year for which the district administration had promised help.

Dr J P Chatrath, senior vice-president, said the club had adopted three destitute children and was meeting the entire expenses on their education.

The club presented mementoes to three prominent citizens — Mr Kamaljit Chauhan, correspondent, Daily Ajit Samachar, Mr Amar Singh, Municipal Councillor, and Mr Girdhari Lal Gautam, a social worker for their selfless service to society. The Vocational Award went to Mr Kanahiya Lal, a telecom employee. The past president, Mr Hem Raj Goyal read the vote of thanks.

Primary schools in cowsheds
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA,Oct 25 — Many primary schools in the state are functioning from cowsheds and shabby rented accommodation.

At least six such schools were detected by the Minister of State for Primary Education, Mr Karan Singh, in Kulu district recently.

Mr Karan Singh told reporters here yesterday that most of the 772 primary schools opened last year by the previous Congress Government were without buildings and staff. There were 4400 vacancies.

He said a primary school in Palash village of Kulu was being run by a daily wager.

During the education ministers' conference in Delhi, he had demanded Rs 45 crore from the Centre for the construction of school buildings and other infrastructure.

Mr Karan Singh said the state government had also demanded a grant of Rs 200 crore for extending the DPEP programme to the districts of Shimla, Mandi, Kinnaur and Solan where the percentage of literacy among women was low. This was over and above Rs 129 crore being provided for implementing the programme in other parts of the state.

He also demanded an extension of the programme as it had not been successful because of the shortage of trained teachers.

The government was also planning to open mobile schools for the Gujjar community.

The minister said that National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) as a special case had relaxed for a one year the qualification of 10 plus two for JBT training.

Candidates having passed the matriculation examination would be allowed to undergo the training.

The demand was also taken up with the Centre by the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal.

Mr Karan Singh said the government had decided to fill 60 per cent posts of teacher with "vidya upasaks" and the remaining 40 per cent on a contract basis with trained teachers. The "vidya upasaks" would be appointed from the rural areas with a view to meeting the shortage of teachers in the far-flung areas.

Work begins on Chamera power project (II)
From Our Correspondent

DALHOUSIE, Oct 25 — The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation has started construction work on the 300 mw Chamera hydroelectric project (stage-II) on the Ravi in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.

Giving this information here yesterday, an official spokesman of the NHPC said the project was being executed with an outlay of about Rs 1800 crore.

The project was expected to generate 1500 million units of power annually on its completion, thereby augmenting the northern grid capacity to meet the power shortage in the region.

He said that with the starting of the project, a lot of development had started taking place and local residents would get direct and indirect employment and other opportunities.

He said Chamba district had a lot of hydroelectric potential and the NHPC had initiated steps for small hydro schemes on the rivulets of this region. He said that a ground survey had been started by the NHPC on seven such schemes in the vicinity of Baira-Siul and Chamera hydroelectric projects.

Efforts were afoot to complete work on the draft project report and the sanctioning of projects within this fiscal year so that construction work could be undertaken.

Himachal BDOs threaten direct action
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 25 — The Himachal Block Development Officers Association has threatened to start direct action if its demands are not accepted forthwith by the government.

The association, which met here today, expressed resentment over the "indifferent" attitude of the government towards its demands. It strongly opposed the decision to appoint HAS officers as Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development)-cum-Project Officer, District Rural Development Agency. This, it pointed out, would further squeeze the limited promotional avenues available to BDOs.

It demanded review of the decision and urged the government to fill the post through promotion from the BDO' cadre. The association sought the pay scale of Rs 7,880 — 11,660 as recommended initially by the pay commission, with time bound promotions after four, nine and 15 years of service.

The association also demanded an increase in quota for promotion to the HAS and delinking of BDOs, a class I, from Tehsildars, Excise and Taxation Officers and other class II posts of allied services in the matter of promotion.