H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

BJP, Yuva Morcha  workers suspended
UNA, FEB 12 — Mr Jai Kishan Sharma, state BJP chief, has denied the expulsion of any worker from the party, maintaining that only few workers who allegedly disobeyed the party norms had been suspended till an inquiry against them concluded.

JD (S) seeks removal of 3 HP ministers
SHIMLA, FEB 12 — The Janata Dal (Secular) has demanded removal of all three ministers who were allegedly involved in the abduction of two women members of the zila parishad of Kangra district.

Development top on agenda: Dhumal
DHARAMSALA, FEB 12 — The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today said the BJP government had succeeded in burying the “bogey of regionalism” raised during the Congress regime, and it was because of this that people had given mandate to the party during the panchayat and zila parishad elections, held recently.

Relief for drought-hit farmers sought
SOLAN, FEB 12 — The President of the Lok Jan Shakti Party, Himachal Pradesh, Mr Ramel Singh Badial, today demanded that the government and banks should waive interests due on loans taken by the farmers and also defer loan instalments in view of the setbacks suffered due to the drought.

Skiing course concludes
MANALI, FEB 12 — The 77th 14-day basic skiing course organised by the Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, concluded at Solang, 13 km from here.

Dhumal visits shrine
JWALAMUKHI, FEB 12 — The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today visited the famous Jwalamukhi shrine in Dehra sub-division Kangra district.

• 2 killed in road accident

BJP, Yuva Morcha  workers suspended
From Our Correspondent

UNA, FEB 12 — Mr Jai Kishan Sharma, state BJP chief, has denied the expulsion of any worker from the party, maintaining that only few workers who allegedly disobeyed the party norms had been suspended till an inquiry against them concluded.

He was taking to mediapersons yesterday. Mr Sharma confirmed that Mr Tilak Raj Chadda, Chairman of the Gagret block samiti in this district, had been suspended from the primary membership of the party for allegedly raising anti-party slogans during the election of the chairman of the Gagret block samiti.

He also informed that Dinesh Sen, district president of the BJP’s Kulu unit, was suspended from the party following a complaint from a Minister of State who had alleged that Mr Sen manhandled him (state minister).

Mr Sharma said the state organising secretary, Mr Ram Swaroop Sharma, has been asked to conduct an inquiry in the Kulu incident.

On a complaint from Mr Suresh Chander, MP, some members of the Bilaspur Bharatiya Yuva Morcha were also removed from their posts for alleged anti-party activities. Mr Kamal Padha, Mr Puran Chand and Mr Ajay Pankaj of Kangra district too had been suspended.

JD (S) seeks removal of 3 HP ministers
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, FEB 12 — The Janata Dal (Secular) has demanded removal of all three ministers who were allegedly involved in the abduction of two women members of the zila parishad of Kangra district.

The state executive of the Janata Dal (Secular), which met here today under the chairmanship of Mr Ishwar Chand Gupta, condemned the abduction of the two elected OBC women members of the zila parishad and demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. The party accused the ruling BJP of having made the panchayat elections a mockery.

Expressing concern over the long drawn dry spell, the party executive urged the state government to declare the entire state as drought-hit. The drought has adversely hit the economic condition of the masses.

It criticised the government for not making cash payment to the apple and other fruit growers whose produce was procured by the HPMC.

It was decided to hold a meeting of the third force here on February 20 to chalk out a minimum programme to highlight the grievances of the people.

It expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation, failure of the government on all fronts and misuse of government machinery during the recent panchayat elections.

The executive committee condemned the idea of creating three new districts and demanded that a delimitation commission should be set up to enlarge the small districts of Hamirpur, Kulu and Una.

It was decided to collect funds for victims of the earthquake in Gujarat.

Development top on agenda: Dhumal
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, FEB 12 — The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today said the BJP government had succeeded in burying the “bogey of regionalism” raised during the Congress regime, and it was because of this that people had given mandate to the party during the panchayat and zila parishad elections, held recently.

The Chief Minister, while addressing a public meeting at Balla village in the Sulah Assembly segment said it was the Congress which was responsible for denying the basic facilities to people residing in the far-flung areas of the state. “It will be our endeavour to not only bring about overall development of the state but to provide people in the remote areas with all basic facilities of life”, he stated.

Priority was being accorded to providing irrigation facilities to improve the economic condition of the farmers. He said 393 irrigation schemes at a cost of Rs 95 crore had been sanctioned under Nabard. On completion, these schemes would irrigate over 22,000 hectares of land, he said.

Earlier the Chief Minister inaugurated 12 km Dagain Gaggal-Balla road in the Sulah area. He also inaugurated a bridge over Tehal Khud and laid the foundation stone of a bridge over Bathu Khud and another over the Ghama Nullah.

The Irrigation Minister, Mr Ramesh Chaudhary, Agriculture Minister, Mr Vidyasagar, and the local MLA, Mr Vipan Parmar, addressed the gathering.

Relief for drought-hit farmers sought
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, FEB 12 — The President of the Lok Jan Shakti Party, Himachal Pradesh, Mr Ramel Singh Badial, today demanded that the government and banks should waive interests due on loans taken by the farmers and also defer loan instalments in view of the setbacks suffered due to the drought.

Mr Badial, who addressed a press conference here today, disputed the Himachal Agriculture Minister’s recent statement that 30 to 32 per cent crops had been damaged by the drought. He said the losses were in the range of 80 to 85 per cent.

He also criticised the government for not paying heed to the plight of 10,000 youths who had taken to sericulture.

Seriousness in the matter could be gauged by the fact that a sericulture expert sent by it to China for receiving advanced training recently, had not been posted at the state sericulture training establishment at Palampur.

Skiing course concludes
From Our Correspondent

MANALI, FEB 12 — The 77th 14-day basic skiing course organised by the Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, concluded at Solang, 13 km from here.

As many as 59 trainees from Himachal Pradesh, Maharastra, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Punjab, including eight trainees from the Coastguard and three from the BSF participated in the course.

In an official statement issued here by Mr Mahavir Thakur, senior SKI Instructor, Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, disclosed that due to the lack of snow on the main ski slopes the trainees had to climb up the Pathru slopes at a height of about 3,000 metres to learn their lessons. About 54 trainees successfully completed the course.

At the concluding ceremony Mr Rajneesh Garg, SDM, pinned course badges on successful trainees. Meanwhile, as per the communication received from the Winter Games Federation of India, New Delhi, two boys from Himachal Pradesh have been selected to participate in the 11th Asian Junior Skiing Championship to be held at Yougpyong in Korea from February 28 to March 4. 

Dhumal visits shrine
From Our Correspondent

JWALAMUKHI, FEB 12 — The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today visited the famous Jwalamukhi shrine in Dehra sub-division Kangra district.

Mr Dhumal arrived at the local electricity rest house this morning and drove to Jwalamukhi temple. During his 35-minute stay the Chief Minister offered prayers to the deity. He was received at the temple by the State Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Ramesh Choudhary, and the nagar panachayat president, Mr Rajan Sharma.

2 killed in road accident
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, FEB 12 — Two persons were killed and one injured when a Maruti car fell into the khad near Chharabra, about 12 km from here today.

The deceased have been identified as Surat Singh of Bakhel village in Kotkhai and his wife Saroj. Their daughter who was injured in accident was admitted to the local Indira Gandhi Medical College hospital.