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Thursday,
June 14, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Rift widens between Cong
camps Virbhadra flayed over financial
crunch Origin of fake
resignation traced Haven for weekend
tourists Digging damages telecom
cables |
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Varsity colony residents get ‘impure’
water Dharamsala forest cover depleting Threat to birds in Dharamsala:
environmentalist HP gram sabha meetings on July 1 Mahant opens fire at wife
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Rift widens between Cong
camps Shimla, June 13 It is learnt that an explanation from two vice-presidents and a general secretary has been sought for not attending the meetings of the PCC. Sources said letters seeking explanation had been sent to three Virbhadra loyalists Mr B.B. Butail, Ms Anita Verma (both vice-presidents) and Mr Gangu Ram Musafir (general secretary). Sore over the nomination of a “lopsided” PCC, the Virbhadra loyalists have been abstaining from its meetings convened by Ms Stokes. They have already asked the party high command to set a balance in the PCC by nominating Virbhadra loyalists on it. Stokes loyalists had in the last meeting of the PCC demanded that disciplinary action should be taken against those office-bearers who were intentionally abstaining from the meetings. Article 27 of the Congress constitution says any office-bearer not attending three consecutive meetings could be removed from the post. Virbhadra supporters pointed out that Stokes loyalists had boycotted the meetings of the PCC when Mr Virbhadra Singh was elected PCC chief in 1992. Ms Stokes was now only a nominated chief of the party in the state. The Virbhadra camp has been sharing platform with Ms Stokes only during visits of senior AICC functionaries. They attended a rally against the state government during the Budget session and thereafter participated in a public meeting which was addressed by Ms Mohsina Kidwai, AICC general secretary, and the recent delegates’ session in which the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, was the AICC observer. There is no sign of a rapprochement between the two factions as Mr Virbhadra Singh has reportedly made it clear that those preaching unity in the party were themselves responsible for the divide. |
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Virbhadra flayed over financial
crunch Shimla, June 13 In a statement here today, Mr Kishori Lal, Industries Minister, Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister, and Mr Vidya Sagar, Agriculture Minister, said the present government had brought out a White Paper on the state finances, which showed that when the Congress was in power the financial health of the state was worse. Over Rs 3,318 crore were raised as loans by the Congress government, most of them at exorbitant rates of interest, which raised question about the transparency of the transaction. The ministers said the former Chief Minister paid arranging charges of 1 per cent of the loan, whereas the prevailing rate was 0.35 per cent. The rate of interest on some of these loans was as high as 18.26 per cent and an amount of Rs 31.48 crore was paid for a loan of Rs 258 crore, which was repaid in a few months in 1994-95. In this period, the total debt of the state increased by 166 per cent from Rs 1,870 crore at the end of 1993-94 to Rs 4,966 crore at the end of 1997-98. The ministers said nepotism and favouritism was at its peak during the last regime, glaring example of which was that the former Chief Minister had himself ordered strict action against a senior officer but was later absolved of the charges. The ministers also criticised the former Chief Minister for describing the “suicide” as starvation death and asked him not to mislead the people of the state. As evident from the report, no starvation death from any part of the state had been reported. |
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Origin of fake
resignation traced Shimla, June 13 The fake resignation of Mr Rattan Singh, which was faxed to the Vidhan Sabha by some miscreants last month, had created a sensation in the political circles as this was the first incident of its kind in Himachal Pradesh. It is learnt that CID officials have traced the fax origin to Vikas Nagar where some political rivals of Mr Rattan Singh are understood to have gone specially to do the mischief. The Speaker, Thakur Gulab Singh, had asked the DGP to inquire into the incident. The case was then transferred to the Crime Branch of the CID. During investigation, the owner of the PCO is learnt to have told the police that two persons, whom he could identity on seeing, had faxed the document. The Speaker had rejected the resignation after a personal hearing of Mr Rattan Singh. Meanwhile, Mr Rattan Singh is learnt to have met the AICC President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi in Delhi and appraised her about the “mischief}. It is learnt that he gave a complaint in writing to her in which he has accused certain Congress activists of hatching conspiracies against him. He has alleged that a woman leader of the Congress from Sirmaur was interfering in his Poanta Sahib Assembly constituency and could have possibly masterminded the fake resignation. He is also understood to have complained to Mrs Gandhi against a top PCC leader who, he claimed, refused to listen to his version of the fake resignation. |
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Haven for weekend
tourists Kasauli A high influx of 400-500 vehicles enters the town on week-ends when parking becomes a major problem. Regarded by many as a second home the town has earned the reputation of being the post-retirement abode of high ranking defence and civil officials. Charming and quiet Kasauli is an ideal place for those in search of peace and relaxation where one never suffers from the hemmed in feeling of city life. Vast vistas of greenery and cool fresh air adds to the feeling of release to the city dwellers coming here. Dominating the entire land-scape are pine trees and deep gorges where the visitors breath a whiff of fresh air. The greenery and the unblemished aura are soothing to the mind, says Shikha, a frequent visitor to the town. The cool placid environs provide a soothing respite from the hustle and bustle of busy city life, says Rajiv Agnihotri, another visitor from Patiala. The weekends leave the town littered with eatable wrappers beer cans and mineral water bottles strewn over by callous visitors. Besides, youngters driving recklessly in swanky cars with blaring music systems have become a cause of concern for evening walkers, especially the elderly. The market bazar area which comprises the main shopping complex is the of-visited spot of the tourists. The shopkeepers in order to attract the visitors’ attention have displayed their wares on the roads thereby reducing the width considerably. There seems to be a peculiar competition here where each shopkeeper tries to occupy more and more space on this busy road. A chained barrier checks the entry of vehicles here but vehicular movement has become a regular feature. Tourists are often seen shopping here to take back something as a memory of the town. The tastefully done and artistically decorated pieces of wood have become favourite purchase items. The age-old Tibetan Market is another hot spot of shopping where one can purchase things ranging from T-shirts, shoe, bags ornaments and gift items. Lack of eating places has been a constant complaint from the tourists. The Executive Officer of the Cantonment Board, Mr G.N. Mathur, feels there is a need to identify places in the town which can be auctioned for commercial purpose to set up cafeterias and coffee houses. This will besides providing eating joints also check haphazard parking in the town. The board also plans to conduct surprise checks to challan the offenders who park vehicles in “no parking areas”. There is also a proposal to set up a shopping arcade and a modern parking complex in the bus stand in order to beautify the place. This will also fetch job avenues for the locals and will go a long way in promoting tourism here. The visitors feel refreshed and ready to beat the days heat again after returning back from the ambience of this hill resort. |
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Digging damages telecom
cables Kumarhatti, June 13 According to the residents, the contractor has allegedly laid the telephone cables by digging deeper than required under the prescribed norms. “Had the wires been laid according to the norms, the present situation would have not arisen”, lamented a resident of Aanji village. “Though we were assured by the telecom department that we would not be charged rent for the affected period, there should be some temporary arrangements to restore the telephone infrastructure until the metal work on bypass could be completed”, said another resident of Shalech village. Meanwhile Mr S.K. Bose, the General Manager Telecom, Solan district, accused the PWD (NH) for the current situation. “We should have been intimated about two or three months ago by the PWD about the proposed metal work so that we could take precautionary measures for the alternative routes, but we were not informed by the PWD initially, as a result, the underground cables got damaged. We have lodged our protest to the Chief Engineer, PWD (NH) in this regard and are trying our best to restore the infrastructure again”. On the allegation of the residents and the PWD that the cables were not laid according to the norms, he asserted that the cables were laid according to norms of 90 centimeters to 1 meter but the repeated digging of bypass by the PWD has resulted in exposing of cables along the bypass. The lack of coordination on the part of the PWD has cost us around Rs two lakh as the high priced underground cables have been cut into pieces at several places, he said. Initially around 350 subscribers were affected due to the cutting of underground cables but today this list has been reduced to less than 50, he claimed. |
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Varsity colony residents get ‘impure’
water Solan, June 13 Mr Bhardwaj stated that all statutory officers and the Vice-Chancellor himself were being supplied clean water from a separate natural fresh water spring. The senator also alleged that the fresh water spring was originally meant to meet the requirements of the whole colony. However, a portion of this water had been diverted for irrigating the research farms while the colony residents were being provided water from a nearby Khud into which the sewage and sullage of the colony and the campus flowed. He urged upon the university authorities to improve the situation regarding the supply of water to campus residents who, he alleged, were becoming prone to various water-borne diseases. |
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Dharamsala forest cover depleting Dharamsala, June 13 Urbanisation and development together is also causing environmental hazards because of disposal of garbage and plastic. Due to imbalance between nature and the earth, landslides have become prominent. Natural water resources are also drying leading to scarce snowfall. Mr Gupta says that they have taken adequate steps to combat the problem. People knowingly or unknowingly disturb the ecological cycle to keep pace with the urbanisation. Increasing population and construction of buildings coupled with increase in
vehicular traffic is posing a threat to the depleting forest cover in the town.
ANI |
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Threat to birds in Dharamsala:
environmentalist Dharamsala, June 13 Mr Besten has been studying and photographing birds of the area for the past five years. He has recorded 380 species within an area of 15 kilometres. He said that the various bird species faced a threat due to the fact that Dharamsala, was a fast growing town. He observed that chir pheasant, a threatened species, survives here in small numbers in a very limited range between 200m and 2500m. Pheasants are of particularly sensitive to habitat destruction and hunting, he added. Mr Besten, is holding an exhibition of photographs of “Birds of Dharamsala”, showcasing the rich but increasingly threatened bird life of the town. |
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HP gram sabha meetings on July 1 Shimla, June 13 Beneficiaries of various schemes would be selected and discussions on burning issues and problems of the area held. He said that devolution of powers which have been made by the present government to panchayats such as drinking water supply schemes, hand pumps and primary education would also be discussed at the meetings. |
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Mahant opens fire at wife Kangra, June 13 Kangra district Additional Police Chief, Mr N.D. Sareen, said here that Mahant Dev Giri under the influence of liquor opened fire through a window at his wife Raj Kumari, who had confined herself to a room to save herself from the fury of her husband. She was rushed to Sub-Divisional Hospital, Dehra, and later referred to Dr R.P. Medical College Hospital, Dharamsala. |
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Heart on the right side Kumarhatti, June 13 |
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Vendor falls off bus, dies Kangra, June 13 |
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