BJP MLAs 'keen on' joining Congress
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 30 — Mr Kaul Singh Thakur, a former Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha and General Secretary of the Himachal PCC, told newsmen here today that a number of BJP MLAs who were keen on joining the Congress were in contact with him.

Mr Thakur said their number was sufficient to escape the punitive provisions of the defection law. However, he said, the Congress did not want to pull down the BJP-HVC government but wanted it to come down under its own weight of "failures".

He said the State Government had failed on all fronts. No measures had been taken to bring down the spiralling prices and nothing was being done to check blackmarketing and hoarding of essential items by traders. He appreciated the efforts of the press in the city for conducting surveys of rising prices.

It was strange that only six months ago, the government at the Centre was encouraging export of onions and now it was importing the same commodity. No wonder, the prices had risen 12 times of what these should have been during these days in the domestic market. Also, he said, the State Government did not feel the need for curbing the profit margins of traders. Price lists display was now a thing of the past. He said the nexus between the BJP and the traders was playing havoc in the country.

Also, he said, there was steep rise in the incidence of crime in Himachal Pradesh. He even blamed the killing of 42 persons by militants on the State Government for its carelessness.

In Himachal Pradesh, he said, while development works were at a standstill, there was almost a "race for inaugurations" among the BJP and HVC leaders who were working without any proper direction by the state leadership.

In view of the slow or "nil" pace of development, he said he wanted to know where the central assistance of Rs 300 crore had been spent. While health institutions were without paramedical staff, a large number of primary health centre were without doctors.

If things did not improve, his party would start an agitation within the next few weeks to actively highlight the failures of coalition in the state.

His party's panel, he said, for the Baijnath byelection included the name of Mrs Nirmala Devi, wife of Mr Sant Ram, and her son, Mr Sudhir Kumar.

In reply to a question, he said if Mr Sukh Ram rejoined the Congress it might provoke reaction in the party.

Dr D.K. Chadha, General Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress, also accompanied the former Speaker.

Dhumal follows in Cong footsteps
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 30 — Having criticised the previous Congress government of Mr Virbhadra Singh of the 'luxury' of leasing a helicopter, the BJP-HVC combine government in Himachal Pradesh, is following in his footsteps by inviting offers for a flying machine.

The state government has sought applications from helicopter operators for leasing a helicopter to Himachal Pradesh, initially for period of one year. The lease can be extended.

The move of the BJP-HVC combine comes within six months of an orchestrated campaign by booth parties against Mr Virbhadra Singh for spending a huge amount on the helicopter. The helicopter was made an election issue.

The first thing the alliance government did after coming power was to decide not to renew the lease of Messrs Mescos Airlines, from which the previous government had hired a helicopter.

The financial position of the state has not improved in any way following the change of government.

The government has specified that it will hire a twin-engine helicopter with a capacity to carry 15 to 25 passengers and capable of operating from helipads at high-altitudes.

Although an impression was created by the opposition parties during the Congress regime that the helicopter was being misused there are reports that it was in fact underutilised.

It was laid down in the agreement in 1996 that the helicopter would be utilised for atleast 600 flying hours annually. However, the actual flying hours came to about 500 hours.

Efforts of the government to utilise the helicopter for tourism-related activities did not materialise because of the exorbitant fare structure worked out for the tribal areas. Not a single seat was sold during the much publicised one thousand year celebrations of Tabo monastery as the one way fare was fixed at Rs 10,000 per passenger.

'No saffronisation of research council'
From Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 30 — The Indian Council of Historical Research has been of late attracting much attention of the media not entirely for its functioning but for the fact that it was connected with the sensitive issue of history which has been politicised more by those out of power than those in power, feels Prof S. Settar, an art historian and chairman of the council.

The media has seen too much of "saffronisation" in the reconstitution of the council by the BJP-led government which was nothing more than a routine exercise, he observed during an exclusive interview with TNS.

"I feel that the new council was no different from the earlier one in terms of merit, scholarship and ideological commitment and the 18 members represented different viewpoints", he said.

No doubt the choice of an individual was the privilege of the government but the process was such that it could not act in an arbitrary manner. Besides accommodating various pressure groups and persons, minorities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were also to be represented in the council, he said.

That all members did not agree on any ideological point became obvious during the very first meeting of the reconstituted council, Professor Settar pointed out.

The issue, he said, had been blown out of proportion mainly because the media was looking at it in the backdrop of the Ramjanmabhoomi dispute which had divided historians. However, the important point was that while a historian could hold his convictions, he could not impose these upon the council which functioned on the basis of consensus.

Similarly, all apprehensions regarding the "towards freedom" project to document the final phase of the freedom movement (1937 to 1947) were misplaced. There had been no overt or covert attempts to sabotage the project to which he was committed. In fact, members of the council had expressed concern over the slow pace of work on the project, started more than two decades ago, and pointed out drawbacks in the two published volumes. Some members felt that the format should have been different and the coverage more comprehensive. The role of various political parties and groups in the struggle should also be given place. After discussing these issues threadbare, the council resolved to set up a committee to speed up work on the project and improve the standards of publication.

A double Ph.D. and author of about a dozen books on the history of Indian art, archaeology and philosophy, Professor Settar had paid special attention to the publication of the Indian Historical Review, the research journal of the council, during his tenure. The biennial publication was in arrears when he took over two years ago. However, by bringing out six reviews in 18 months, the council had wiped out the arrears.

Another major achievement, he said, was the creation of a new series of special monographs on various themes of history. Two important projects under this were the "Pangs of Partition" and "Indian archaeology in retrospect".

The interesting aspect of the "Pangs of Partition" was that it not only documented the history but also covered the human aspect of the Partition.

Regarding the charge of plagiarisation of a manuscript to secure a Ph.D. against a director of the council, Professor Settar said the inquiry committee set up by him had indicated the possibility of plagiarism and action was being taken bearing the technical and legal implications in mind.

He said the council had already taken corrective measures and manuscripts dumped in godowns were being salvaged and forwarded for publication.

Tanda college: talks with MCI on
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 30 — The Health Minister, Mr J.P. Nadda, is hopeful that the Tanda Medical College tangle will be resolved soon as the state government had initiated a dialogue with the Medical Council of India (MCI).

Two meetings have already been held with the MCI to hammer out an out-of-court solution. The future of students of the college is at stake. The previous Congress government had approached the Supreme Court over the issue.

Mr Nadda told TNS yesterday that he had met the MCI authorities and appraised them of the problems the students would face if permission was not granted for running the college.

Only one batch of 50 students was admitted to the college last year and no admissions were undertaken this year.

The parents of the students have organised themselves to persuade the government to get the institution recognised. The students too had started a strike at Dharamsala which was suspended later.

Mr Nadda said the government was taking steps to remove all shortcomings in the college as pointed out by the MCI.

Make saving a habit: Dhumal
From Our Correspondent

NAHAN, Oct 30 — The Himachal Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, presiding over the state-level function on World Thrift Day here today made a fervent plea to people to come forward in a big way to deposit liberally in the small savings as it would help the nation overcome the present financial crisis.

The Chief Minister asked the people of Himachal Pradesh not to be carried away by the lucrative terms of interest offered by the bogus finance companies which had mushroomed in the state. He said that the National Savings Organisation was a government organisation and investments made in it also helped Himachal Pradesh in getting more funds from the Centre.

The Chief Minister said he had requested the Prime Minister and the Union Finance Minister to consider the proposal for giving concessions in income tax to those who deposit with the National Savings Organisation.

Mr Dhumal said with the reconstitution of new National Saving Advisory Board the organisational setup would be galvanised and more attractive and lucrative schemes would be launched in the state soon.

He said there had been an increase of 43 per cent in the budget allocations and it was a record in itself and savings by the people of the pradesh was also one of the contributory factors in this record increase in the plan allocation.

The Chief Minister came down heavily on hoarders and black marketeers. Quoting examples of Japan and other countries, he asked people not to purchase any commodity from these anti-social elements.

Mr Birbal Sharma, Hamirpur, Mr Shyam Sunder, Una and Mr R. Chaudhary got the first, second and third prizes, for depositing Rs 4.29 crore, Rs 3.28, crore and Rs 1.56 crore respectively.

Mr Randhir Sharma, vice-chairman, State Small Savings Advisory Board, said World Thrift Day gave a message to save something for future and said the money collected through small savings was utilised for the development of the nation.

Two dead, 23 injured in bus mishap
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 30 — Two persons were killed and 23 injured, four of them seriously, when a bus of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation fell into a khad near Ghanhatti, 20 km from here, this morning.

The bus was on its way from Jammu to Rampur. While 20 injured persons were admitted to Indira Gandhi Medical College here, three more were taken to Ripon Hospital.

Those killed were identified as Poonam Sood of Jubbal and Manohar Lal of Ropar. The driver and conductor were among the injured.

Mr H.N. Kashyap, Additional District Magistrate, and Mr A.N. Sharma, Superintendent of Police, supervised the relief and rescue operations. The dependants of each of the deceased were given Rs 10,000 as immediate relief and the injured Rs 500 to Rs 5000 each depending on the nature of injury.

The state committee of the CPM has blamed the government for the increasing number of accidents. The government was encouraging privatisation and neglecting the State Road Transport Corporation. As a result, its functioning was deteriorating, the party said in a statement.

The State Governor V.S. Rama Devi, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Transport Minister Kishen Kapoor have expressed shock at the accident and conveyed sympathies to the bereaved families.

In another mishap, a woman was killed and the driver injured when their jeep fell into a ditch on the Shoghi-Shimla bypass road late last night.

Bridge over Khurd khud inaugurated
From Our Correspondent

UNA, Oct 30 — Chief Minister P.D Dhumal yesterday inaugurated a bridge over the Khurd khud on the Una-Takka road constructed at a cost of Rs 54 lakh. He also inaugurated a PWD Circle in Una, a PWD division at Bangana and a sub-division at Jol.

He laid the foundation stone of the Indian Reserve Battalion complex in Bangarh village.

The Chief Minister, addressing a thin gathering at Government Senior Secondary School here, said his government had taken up the case of extension of the Nangal-Una rail line. For the financial year 1998, the Railway Ministry has agreed to spend Rs 7 crore on the rail track from Una to Chururu.

He said the state government would provide the necessary infrastructure for making Una district the food bowl of Himachal.

Mr Dhumal said due to unseasonal heavy rains in the state, 18 bridges had been washed away. The total loss due to the rains was estimated at Rs 319 crore. He said the prices of potato and onion had gone up due to loss of crop and bad weather. He called upon the people not to use onion at all till the prices came down. Spending foreign exchange for purchasing onion was waste of foreign exchange, he explained.

He issued directions to the district officials to launch raids on shopkeepers hoarding essential commodities and to check the price lists displayed in shops.

He said the government would reward officials who completed construction of various projects on time and saved the government money.

Thakur Mahinder Singh, PWD Minister, said the BJP-HVC government had succeeded in getting three national highways sanctioned for Himachal. These would be completed at a cost of not more than Rs 500 crore.

He expressed surprise that Una residents and party workers of the BJP and the HVC had failed to turn up for the meeting of the Chief Minister.

Mr Parveen Sharma, Sports Minister, Mr Jai Kishan and Mr Ram Das Malanger, MLAs, Mr O.P Rattan, HVC spokesman, Mr Vijay Kumar Joshi, state HVC acting president , and Mr Suresh Chandel, state BJP president and member of Parliament from Hamirpur, also spoke.

High-risk area for AIDS
From Subhash Sharma

KULU: Kulu district has become a high-risk area for the spread of Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and might reach the danger point as none of the government hospitals and civil dispensaries are equipped with the Elisa kits to test Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV) except the district hospital at Kulu.

Though the number of detected full-blown cases in this valley are still very few, these will keep multiplying as the medical authorities are not allowed to disclose the "dangerous truth" even to the affected person. It is learnt that the Human Rights Commission has banned the disclosures to safeguard the personal feelings of the HIV positive person, keeping aside the apprehended danger to the society as a whole.

The risk in the area is due to the already high tendency towards sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in Manali, inner Seraj areas, Manikaran and the Lug valley. Tourists, drug-traffickers, foreigners and also persons working in other parts of the country are the potential carriers of the virus. There are many cases of foreigners getting married to locals. The friendship of young foreign women with taxi drivers, hotel waiters and local youth is also a common feature.

The basic responsibility of fighting the danger is that of the government. The public has to be made aware of the need for adopting preventive measures regarding AIDS. Though the Health Department has placed free condom-ejecting machines at taxi stands, these do not have the stocks in them and require frequent refilling. The empty boxes are mere ugly show pieces at the taxi booking offices.

A blood bank has been functioning here for the past one year with pooled staff of the district hospital. The shortage of staff, particularly the trained, may lead to make compromises with the tests and cross matching of the blood before the transfusion. The blood transfusion is being done without AIDS tests in other government medical establishments, except the district hospital.

In India 80 per cent of the transmission of AIDS is due to heterosexual intimacy. Condoms play an important role in preventing AIDS. Care has to be taken that it is used only once, afresh, unexpired and preferably lubricated. After use, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that it be knotted and disposed of in a polythene bag.

A survey should be conducted and emphasis laid on detecting HIV positive cases. The facilities for testing HIV at all the government medical establishments should be provided. People should be made aware of the facilities available and have faith in government agencies. The aim of the advertisements and information should not only make people aware of AIDS, but also to make them realise the implications. The revision of instructions by the Human Rights Commission about the preventive measures to the affected persons should be taken up to stop multiplication of the affected persons.

Confederation seeks CBI probe
into transfer scam
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 30 — Mr Subhash Sharma, president, Himachal Employees Confederation, has urged the government to invite the confederation, the single largest employees' organisation in the state, to discuss the outstanding demands.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said when the government could hold talks with INTUC, AITUC and the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh, it should not have any reservation in inviting the confederation.

Regarding the allegation of Mr Gopal Das Verma that the confederation had the backing of Mr Shanta Kumar and its only objective was to destabilise the Dhumal government, Mr Sharma said Mr Verma had been making political statements at the behest of Mr Virbhadra Singh over the past four years. It was now for the Dhumal government to take notice of it and decide whether employee leaders should be allowed to indulge in politics.

We urged the state government to form rules for the transfer of employees to end their exploitation and order a CBI probe into the transfer scam.

The other demands of the confederation included danger allowance to technical employees of the state power board, uniform pension policy for employees of various boards and corporations, bonus and allowances on the Punjab pattern and ration money to policemen.