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Sunday,
May 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Quota on
economic criterion sought Tibetans vote
to elect PM 8 killed as
jeep
falls into gorge Rebuilding Norah’s
house to ‘preserve’ it |
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Rampur lacks
basic amenities Visually disabled
end 68-day strike HP operates
upon leprosy patients Villages provided
with water, fodder Staff leader moves court over poll Lahaul-Spiti,
Pangi poll on June 5, 7 Youth
charred to death New varsity
Registrar
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Quota on economic criterion
sought Dharamsala, May 12 Interacting with mediapersons here, he said his party was in favour of creating a casteless India and had no objection to reservation being given to upper caste poor. “The question of fixing a ‘creamy layer’ among the reserved categories simply does not arise as the Dalits are still not being given 22.5 per cent reservation, along with 27 per cent for the OBCs”, he said. The Dalits were being prevented from getting jobs reserved for them as after advertisements these posts were declared open for the general category, he alleged. He demanded action against such officials under Section 9 of the SCs and STs Act. He said the effort of the government should be to make people educationally and financially sound. Mr Gautam said parties indulged in the politics of caste and religion, treating the Dalits nothing more than a vote bank. He said the main highlight of his party’s election manifesto was “uniform education and opportunity” and “work for every hand”. “The money meant for schemes meant for the welfare of the Dalits and other deprived sections of society has never reached them”, he claimed. The treatment being meted out to the Dalits in Himachal was far better than in most parts of the country, he said. He claimed the party had got a good response in Himachal and out of the 12 districts, it had formed its units in 52 blocks of nine districts. Mr Gautam said that former PWD minister and sitting MLA, Mr Mohinder Singh, had been made the president of the Dalit Sena, a social organisation of the party. |
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Tibetans
vote to elect PM Dharamsala, May 12 They voted in the preliminary round to shortlist the candidates aspiring for prime ministership. After the second round of voting, the “chief kalon” of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile will be declared by the end of this month. It was on the suggestion of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, that electoral reforms were brought about by the Tibetan Election Commission. He has been stressing the need for “democratisation” so that people can be acquainted with the new set-up. After today’s voting, the Election Commission will shortlist six candidates. After the election results are out, the “chief kalon” will choose his cabinet colleagues. Elections to the 13th Tibetan Parliament were held last month and a total of 46 members were elected. Though the tenure of parliament is five years, till now the term of the “chief kalon” was only a year. |
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8 killed as
jeep
falls into gorge
Shimla, May 12 The ill-fated Jeep was on its way from Sangla to Kothi when the accident took place. The deceased had been identified as Sanjay Kumar, Kabir Sukh and Sohan all from the Kamroo village, Mukesh Kumar, Babina, Archana, Kiran and Sonu Kumar, all from Kothi village. Deputy Commissioner of Kinnaur, Onkar Sharma and Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar Yadav along with the ITBP and Home Guards rushed to the spot and supervised the relief and rescue operation. Mr Sharma said the ITBP and home guards jawans had a done a commendable job in extracting all eight dead bodies at their risk. He said Rs 5000 each had been given as immediate relief to the next of kin of each victim. The state Governor, Dr Suraj Bhan and the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, expressed their shock and grief over the accident and paid their condolences to the bereaved families. Minister of State for Horticulture, Narinder Bragta, Parliamentary Secretary, Chet Ram Negi also visited the spot and expressed their deep shock over the tragedy.
PTI |
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Rebuilding
Norah’s house to ‘preserve’ it Palampur The university, which had been maintaining the house built around 60 years ago as a heritage building till now, has decided to rebuild a part of the structure which has been weakened with the passage of time by using mud bricks with a small percentage of lime and cement. At present one wall and the roof of the building have been removed. The wall is being rebuilt using mud bricks. The university plans to replace other parts of the structure also to give it stability. A visit to the site revealed that work was proceeding on the heritage home under a local supervisor. The supervisor said the work was being regulated by university officials, who made regular visits to the site. Sources said one-fourth of the building had been demolished and as the rest of the structure had also been endangered, most of it would have to be built afresh. It would be impossible to repair it in bits and parts. Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia said the university felt this was the only way to preserve the house, which was literally falling apart. He said experts had been called from Delhi to do the job. University Executive Engineer Amarjit Singh Sandhu said a committee had been formed to decide how best the house could be restored to its former glory. He said one view was that the house should be preserved as it was while another was that it should be demolished and the bricks used in its reconstruction which could be covered with a mud coat. At the final meeting, the Principal, Fine Arts College, Chandigarh, had emphasised that its form should not be changed and that only mud bricks should be used to replace the damaged portions. He said the university was at present repairing one wall, which had been partially demolished, by using mud bricks in which a little lime and cement had been mixed. Termites had damaged the roof. The wooden beams and bamboo used had been weakened due to this and would have to be replaced, he added. The extensive repair work being done on the house of Norah Richards has, however, shocked those in favour of preserving the heritage house connected with the theatre personality. Mr Hem Raj, a resident of Panchrukhi, near Andretta, felt the university had not done enough to preserve the house in its original form. He said university could have gone ahead with the present arrangement of replacing the walls. Former university Syndicate member Birdevinder Singh was more blunt: “They have betrayed the legacy of Norah Richards, an Irishwoman who made Andretta her home and gifted the priceless building and adjacent property so that it could be maintained after her death”. Other people, including Mr Vijayindra Singla, an art lover, said repairing the heritage building PWD style through a local contractor would only result in the creation of a cheap imitation of the house of Norah Richards. |
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Rampur lacks basic amenities Shimla, May 12 Dansa, Lalsa, Jaguni, Racholi and Sengda panchayats are devoid of basic amenities like health and educational institutions. People of these areas allege that most of the school buildings are in a bad condition. The classes are being taken in the open as there is no proper classroom for the students. During the rainy season these students are sent back. There is a shortage of teachers in these schools. Even dispensaries lack facilities and are running without doctors. People allege that they have to go to Rampur even for minor check-ups. The economic condition of the local people is very bad due to the non-availability of the cash crop. Even today, in many areas villagers cultivate the land with old agricultural implements. There is no modern mode of transportation and people are forced to carry goods on their backs or on mules. The villagers allege that due to haphazard transfers and postings of employees to tribal and backward areas, no government officials are interested in remaining in these areas as no benefits are given to them. Mr Vijay Singh Bisht,
member, Zila Parishad, said there was an acute shortage of drinking water throughout the year in these panchayats. He said these panchayats had been declared backward areas but due to the lack of infrastructure these remained underdeveloped. Mr Bisht said a 5-km-long road from Sunde to Jaguni had not been completed even after a decade. The government scheme like Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and the Public Distribution System (PDS) are not to the satisfaction of the people. |
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Visually disabled end 68-day strike Shimla, May 12 The Chief Minister assured them that the government would consider the demands seriously. He said that the Welfare Department would pursue departments concerned regarding the demands. Referring to the request of the association regarding adjustment of those visually challenged persons, who did not have the required qualifications for class iv posts, the Chief Minister said the government would consider them against the posts of water carriers. Mr Dhumal also directed the departments to indicate clearly the reservation for the visually challenged while sending requisitions to the employment exchanges. Welfare Commissioner-cum-Secretary Harinder Hira said that an exercise to identify backlog in class 111 posts for the visually challenged will also be undertaken. UNI |
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HP operates upon leprosy patients Shimla, May 12 A spokesman of the Health Department said that under the programme, three screening camps to select the cases for reconstructive surgery were held at Solan, Mandi and Kandbari (Kangra) covering four districts each. As many as 109 cases were examined and 47 selected for surgery. The first camp for reconstructive surgery was held at Palampur, in which five cases were operated early this week. Seven patients are under going physiotherapy. Teams of field staff alongwith district leprosy officers have been pressed into services to bring the maximum number of patients to the camps. This process will take three months. Besides, the state government had trained seven leprosy workers as physiotherapy technicians. A team of seven doctors from different
specialties would be sent for reconstructive surgery soon, so that the prevention of disability and rehabilitation of leprosy cases in the state become a routine process. The leprosy programme has been integrated with General Health Care System and now the treatment to the leprosy patients is available in all health institutions free of cost. The fact that new cases were coming for treatment voluntarily is an achievement. |
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Villages
provided with water, fodder Nahan, May 12 He said Rs 18 lakh had been provided to the SDMs of Nahan, Paonta Sahib and Rajgarh, out of Rs 35 lakh allocated for freight subsidy on water and fodder. Water was being supplied through trucks in Nainidhar, Sharli Manpur, Shillai, Naina Tikker and Banah-ki-Ser whereas mules were being used to carry water to Baila Ganog and Dadol Peedog villages. He added that Rs 2.58 lakh had been spent for the purpose. Fodder was being distributed through trucks. He informed that Rs 70,000 had been spent as freight subsidy on fodder. |
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Staff leader moves court over poll Bilaspur, May 12 He urged the court to restrain the election of the association scheduled on May 29 till his papers were restored. He added that the cancellation of his papers was not in accordance with the constitution of the association. Meanwhile, returning officer Mangal Singh Chandel yesterday submitted a rejoinder, saying that his papers were rejected on the grounds that he was a member and office-bearer of a parallel organisation and hence had been debarred from contesting the election by a decision of the federal committee. The Judge has fixed the date of hearing on May 21. |
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Lahaul-Spiti, Pangi poll on June 5, 7 Shimla, May 12 Announcing the election schedule of these areas, the State Election Commission has said that nomination papers will be filed on May 21, 22 and 23 and scrutiny will be held on May 24. Withdrawal of nominations can be done on May 26. |
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Youth charred
to death Dharamsala, May 12 According to the police, Jeevan Singh was sleeping when the fire broke out in his house due to a short circuit. There has been an estimated loss of Rs 1 lakh. The SDM gave a relief of Rs 5,000 to the family on the spot. |
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New varsity Registrar Palampur, May 12 Mr Chaudhary was also a senior research fellow of the CSIR. |
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Cong Backward Cell Shimla, May 12 |
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Holiday
on May 14 Shimla, May 12 |
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