H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Cong ‘gave’ subsidy to fake industries
Kangra, June 16
The Transport Minister, Mr Krishen Kapoor, has charged the previous Congress government for duping the state by providing Rs 75 crore as subsidy to the “fake” industries in the state being allegedly run by non-Himachali industrialists.

Land settlement opens Pandora’s box
Dehlan (Una)
Vikram Singh, a retired Himachal Government employee and resident of Dehlan village, biggest village of Himachal on the Punjab border, had been staying in his ancestral house since his birth. However, now revenue officials have told him that the house in which he had being staying belongs to another person, Gian Singh.

Congress on environment begins
Palampur, June 16
Stressing the need for harmonising economic growth and resource availability to check environmental degradation, the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, today said Himachal Pradesh would soon have a State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which will lay the map for conservation and sustainable use of varied bio-resources of the state.

12 die of enteritis, says Cong
Dharamsala, June 16
The Kangra District Congress Committee President, Dr M.R. Goma, today claimed that 12 persons of the Chaddiar area in the Rajgir constituency had died due to the outbreak of gastroenteritis in the area.

Kaundal is DPC Chairman
Nahan, June 16
Elections of the District Planning Committee, Sirmaur, were held in the meeting hall of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here yesterday in the presence of Mr Rakesh Kaushal, Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur.

Literary feminism traced to icons
Shimla, June 16
A three-day seminar on “Feminism, Tradition and Modernity” commenced here at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies. In the second academic session, chaired by Prof. B.N. Goswami, Prof. Malashri Lal (University of Delhi), Prof Sukrita Paul Kumar (University of Delhi) Dr Rajul Bhargava (University of Rajasthan) and Dr N.K. Ghosh (Agra College, Agra) presented their papers.

Dhumal opens bridge to public
Hamirpur, June 16
The Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, opened a bridge to public at Badehar village of the district last evening. At least Rs 90 lakh have been spent on its construction. The bridge will provide an all-weather facility to the people of Mewa area of the district.

HP power development plan launched
Palampur, June 16
The Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, today formally launched the Accelerated Power Development Programme. It has the objective of reducing transmission and distribution losses, improving power generation and driving power distribution Sector Reforms. The APDP is being launched by the Central government with a grant of Rs 1500 crore during the current financial year, to usher in reforms in the power sector.

R. R. Kaundal is DPC Chairman
Nahan, June 16
Elections of the District Planning Committee, Sirmaur, were held in the meeting hall of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here yesterday in the presence of Mr Rakesh Kaushal, Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur.

Jawan cremated
Hamirpur, June 16
Mortal remains of Lakhbeer Singh of 10 Dogra were consigned to flames at his native village Kotlangsa this evening. He was killed in an operation with Pakistani and Afghani mercenaries in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir early this week. He had won Sena Medal while fighting against Pakistan in Kargil war for his bravery.

Notices issued to 2 doctors
Kangra, June 16
The Himachal Pradesh Government has issued notices to two women doctors — Dr Kalpana Negi and Dr Anjali Soni — for cancellation of their appointments as they failed to join the Kangra subdivision hospital despite orders issued by the government.

ROUNDUP
Resin factory resumes work
Nahan
Resin and Turpentine Factory, Nahan, a unit owned by the HP State Forest Corporation, has resumed production. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest state-owned industrial units in HP and the production was suspended here on March 3 due to the non-availability of raw resin. Factory workers were engaged in other field projects of the forest corporation and have now been called back to the factory.

Three die in tractor-Sumo collision
Dharamsala, June 16
Three persons were killed and five seriously injured when their Tata Sumo collided with a stationary tractor at Channi Toki near Indora in Nurpur subdivision yesterday.

Remove caste barriers: Bhan
Nurpur, June 16
The Himachal Pradesh Governor, Dr Suraj Bhan, has emphasised the need for ending discrimination against Dalits in society. Addressing a public meeting at Bhadroa in the subdivision on the occasion of the inauguration of Guru Ravi Dass Seminar Hall, Dr Bhan said without removing caste barriers, the country could not make any headway. The hall has been built by the local Guru Ravi Dass Trust at a cost of Rs 35 lakh.

Students, VIPs clean up Naldehra
Shimla, June 16
While the civic authorities are asleep over the stinking garbage that is littered around the famous tourist spot of Naldehra, near here, a group of prominent personalities has started cleaning the area with the help of students of a local and BSF personnel who are camping near Mashobra.

‘Define role’ of project engineers
Shimla, June 16
The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Engineers Association has urged the state government not to enter into an agreement with any private or public undertaking for the execution of hydel projects without clearly defining the role and service conditions of project engineers.

• Adopt families of martyrs, clubs told

Cong ‘gave’ subsidy to fake industries
Our Correspondent

Kangra, June 16
The Transport Minister, Mr Krishen Kapoor, has charged the previous Congress government for duping the state by providing Rs 75 crore as subsidy to the “fake” industries in the state being allegedly run by non-Himachali industrialists.

The allegation was levelled by the Transport Minister during meet the Press organised by the Trigath Press Club here yesterday. He said the current financial crunch in the state was due to the non-productive schemes adopted by the previous Congress government.

Regarding the allegation of corruption levelled against the BJP-HVC government by the Congress, Mr Kapoor said the Congress had no right to raise corruption issues.

He said the Himachal Government-led introduced electronic breath analysers to check accidents due to drunken driving. Those found drunk would be placed under suspension and following an enquiry would face termination.

He said the accident rate by the HRTC drivers had been reduced from 0.16 per lakh km to 0.12 per lakh km.

He said the government was planning to set up a transport nagar in the valley along the Pathankot-Mandi highway to provide better facilities to the transporters. He said the government was in search of the land for this purpose.

Mr Kapoor said work on Rs 10 crore inter-state bus terminal at Shimla and another bus stand at McLeodganj, would start soon following a nod from the Central Government.

He said due to social obligations the HRTC was suffering a loss of Rs 72.12 crore annually and the state government was sharing this by contributing Rs 27 crore annually to reduce the deficit. The traffic revenue was Rs 48 crore in 1999-2001 and during the current financial year it had gone up by Rs 16.24 crore.

He said Rs 2 crore was spent on providing latest technology in the HRTC workshop at Jassure and an oven painting machine worth Rs 50 lakh, would also be installed there.

He said three years ago the fleet utilisation was 45 per cent which had now gone up to 97.4 per cent. He said the expenditure were reduced by 11 crore.

He said the government contemplating amendments in the new transport policy. He said following the reduction in the charges of the passenger taxes from 50 per cent of the occupancy to 30 per cent on the National Highway from 50 per cent to 25 per cent on the state highways and from 40 per cent to 20 per cent in rural area had given a flip to the income from Rs 5 crore to Rs 22 crore annually.

He denied charges that the fleet of HRTC buses were being reduced and said that 1,734 buses continued to be in fleet as earlier. He said the entire HRTC would be computerised shortly.

Land settlement opens Pandora’s box
Lalit Mohan

Dehlan (Una)
Vikram Singh, a retired Himachal Government employee and resident of Dehlan village, biggest village of Himachal on the Punjab border, had been staying in his ancestral house since his birth. However, now revenue officials have told him that the house in which he had being staying belongs to another person, Gian Singh.

These are the type of “perils” being faced by residents of this village after the new land settlement was affected by the revenue officials. The land settlement started in 1982-83 to convert the old Karu Kan measurement system into the metric system. However, the outcome of the new land settlement system has opened a Pandora’s box for the residents of Dehlan.

Besides losing the house in the revenue records, Vikram Singh has also lost his land. His 11-marla field has been transferred in the name of Harbans Singh, another 15-marla field reduced to 8.5 marlas and 13 marla-land shifted to another place. In the disputes that arose after the land settlement, Bichiter Singh, younger brother of Vikram Singh was murdered. His applications for the correction of “mistakes” committed in the land settlement are yet to evoke any response from the Settlement Officer, Dharamsala.

Sansar Chand, an ex-serviceman, alleged that he and his brothers owned five houses in the village. However, after the new land settlement, their names as owners of the houses have been deleted from the revenue records. They are now busy petitioning the revenue authorities to get the records straight.

Similarly, house of Tirath Singh has been transferred in the name of Jeet Ram and Tara Chand. Hari Krishan Menon, former Sarpanch of the village, alleges that he owned a piece of land which he used for his animals. However, after the settlement his name has been deleted as the owner of the land.

Subhash Chand, another resident of the village, alleged that his father bought an 8-marla plot in the Red Line area of the village in 1961. However, after the new settlement the plot has been converted into “shamlat” land and put in the name of Harvinder Singh.

Darshan Singh alleges that his 21-marla plot has been reduced to 17 marlas, another 2.13 kanals to 2.08 kanals and the area of the built house has also been reduced in the records. Ram Asra, another resident, alleges that three families, including his family, have been residing since long in the houses constructed on a plot measuring 6 kanals and 13 marlas in the Red Line area of the village. However, after the new settlement, their land has been shifted elsewhere and the hosues put in the name of other persons.

Besides, land owned by Ram Asra, including a 1.15-kanal plot has been reduced to 6 marlas, 1.14 kanals to 12 marlas and 4.6 kanals into 12 marlas. Even the reduced area has been shown in the river bed in contrast to the original location of the land in irrigated fields.

The villagers allege that their repeated requests for “corrections in errors” committed in the land settlement have not revoked any response from the authorities concerned. The present Settlement Officer, Dharamsala, who is responsible for correcting the errors committed in the land settlement, has not taken up the applications of the villagers. He was the then Assistant Settlement Officer (ASO) who supervised the land settlement in the village. The villagers allege that now he does not want to admit that so many errors occurred in his supervision.

They have alleged that if special attention is not paid to the complaints of the villagers, it will lead to mere land-related disputes in the area. The villagers have been made to suffer and forced into prolonged and expensive litigations due to the new land settlement, they say.

Congress on environment begins
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Palampur, June 16
Stressing the need for harmonising economic growth and resource availability to check environmental degradation, the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, today said Himachal Pradesh would soon have a State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which will lay the map for conservation and sustainable use of varied bio-resources of the state.

Speaking on the occasion of the Third World Congress on Environment Management here today, he said that despite politicians and scientists preaching “environmentalism” for over two decades, the situation was worsening day by day. “Today we see attempts to introduce barriers in the world economic and trading system in the name of environment. This makes sustainable development in the developing countries difficult”, he stated.

He said that the state government was alive to the environmental challenges and had recently finalised the “Environmental Policy Guidelines”, after an exhaustive consultative process”. These guidelines call upon various departments and agencies of the state government to re-orient their development policies and actions to bring them in unison with the environmental perspective”, he revealed.

He further said that the state government had decided to give preference to environment friendly people and industries, which also contribute to the resource base and economic growth of the state. The focus would be on the promotion of information technology and bio-technology, eco-tourism and hydel power development.

Mr Dhumal said the hydro-power sector was another field where renewable, non-polluting and environmentally benign source of energy is used. He added that this helps in conserving the scarce fossil fuels and opening up economic opportunities in the remote and backward areas of the state. “The state had already submitted schemes worth Rs 500 crore under the Accelerated Power Development Programme (APDP) and the Ministry of Power had already sanctioned Phase-I of the Meeting and Energy Audit Programme worth Rs 25.32 crore”, he disclosed.

The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Mr Shanta Kumar, said to save the earth, we have to strike a balance between the needs of our industrial development and essentiality of a healthy environment. “Trade is necessary but not sufficient for environmentally sustainable development and for this we need to shift focus from quality management to eco-management, where we not only look at the product from the point of view of it satisfying the customer needs but also look at the impact it has on environment”, he said.

“We are today paying a heavy price for trespassing the divine and natural laws, resulting in global warming, excess rainfall, drought and desertification and if this trend continues for a few more years, mother earth will look like a graveyard, for which our next generation will never forgive us”, he opined.

He hoped that the World Environment Congress would aim to stimulate a dialogue towards achieving a commitment on the part of business to change products and processes to make them environmentally sustainable.

Mr Madhav Mehra, president of the World Environment Foundation and organiser of the congress, said that though there existed no dichotomy between development and environment, yet a lot of damage had been caused to the environment. He added that there was an urgent need for minimising the impact of industry on environment and reduce the pressure that humanity has put on the earth.

Dr Mehra observed that there was a tremendous scope for investment and industry in Himachal, but what needed to be done was to harness it and learn to live from the dividends of the earth.

The address of Mr Paul Henri Ravier, Deputy-Director-General of the WTO, was read out on the occasion. A total of 330 delegates from a number of countries are attending the Congress. They will deliberate on the strategies for “Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Trade and Development in the globalised world”.

12 die of enteritis, says Cong
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 16
The Kangra District Congress Committee (DCC) President, Dr M.R. Goma, today claimed that 12 persons of the Chaddiar area in the Rajgir constituency had died due to the outbreak of gastroenteritis in the area.

Addressing a press conference here today, he accused the government of failing to provide clean drinking water to the people, which had resulted in the outbreak of the epidemic. “In the absence of proper health facilities and supply of contaminated drinking water to the people it is being feared that the epidemic could claim many more lives,” he said.

Dr Goma said even now no medical team had been rushed to the area to take control of the situation. He said in case effective steps are not taken immediately the epidemic could claim many more lives.

He further accused the state government of giving a step-motherly treatment to Kangra. He said some major projects like a stadium had been shifted from Dharamsala to Bilaspur.

Kaundal is DPC Chairman
Our Correspondent

Nahan, June 16
Elections of the District Planning Committee (DPC), Sirmaur, were held in the meeting hall of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here yesterday in the presence of Mr Rakesh Kaushal, Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur.

There are 17 members, including the Chairman of the Zila Parishad, Sirmaur, who by virtue of his post is the member of the committee. Mrs Bimla Devi, member, Zila Parishad did not attend the election meeting.

Literary feminism traced to icons
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 16
A three-day seminar on “Feminism, Tradition and Modernity” commenced here at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies.

In the second academic session, chaired by Prof. B.N. Goswami, Prof. Malashri Lal (University of Delhi), Prof Sukrita Paul Kumar (University of Delhi) Dr Rajul Bhargava (University of Rajasthan) and Dr N.K. Ghosh (Agra College, Agra) presented their papers.

Speaking on “Literary feminism in India, In Search of Theory,” Prof Malashri Lal dwelt on why Indian women writers have consistently refused to be named in the category of “feminist writers”.

Prof Sukrita Paul Kumar spoke on “In search of Androgyny” and highlighted the significance of the mythopoeic imagination of the Indian society that made the powerful icons of Shiva and Parvati, representing the male and female principles and fused them into the concept of ardhnarishwara or androgyny. She argued that feminism is an aspect of humanism to sensitise both men and women to come out of the orientations resting on exploitative forms of existence.

Prof B.N. Goswami in his presidential remarks enlightened the audience about the process of inscribing “feminism” in the space of visual art.

Prof Rajul Bhargava in her presentation, “Infidel Heteroglossia? feminist/postmodernist configurations in Githa Hariharan’s short stories”, charted out the different and differing discourses of feminism and questioned the universalist presumptions of these western discourses. She analysed Githa Hariharan’s stories to support her thesis.

Dr N.K. Ghosh in his paper death, with the politics of stereotyping women in Erica Jong’s “Fear of Flying” and Rajinder Singh Bedi’s “Lajawanti.”

The third academic session, chaired by Prof Malashri Lal, commended Kavita Sharma’s thought-provoking paper on “Exploring the icons: Radha and Sita” in which she analysed lyengar’s epic poem “Sitayana” to bring out the salient features of textualising the mythical icons of women in a distinctly feminist way which is grounded in the Indian realities. She also spoke on the chromosomal construction of human beings, whereby a man receives a deviant y-chromosome and is, therefore, “weak and wimp”.

Dr Ranjana Shrivastava explained the concept of ardhanarishwara as an enabling principle, combining the two-in-one in the Indian tradition. She also discussed how various images of ardhanarishwara showed the complementary nature of the male and the female principles.

Dr Sudhir Kumar (Panjab University, Chandigarh), in his provoking paper,” “Re-situating site: Reading Quraitul-ain Hyder’s ‘Ek Ladaki Ki Jindagi’ ”, showed how a literary text registers the prevailing discourses of tradition and modernity in its space. He said that the site of interface between the forces of tradition and modernity in Hyder’s “Novel in Sita”, a Sindhi refugee young woman who is uprooted from herdes, that is Karachi, and is transplanted in a pardes, that is Delhi. He said that the novelist makes repeated references to the exile of the mythical Sita in order to foreground the condition of a young woman caught between the pulls of tradition and modernity.

In her presentation, Prof Chandrakala Padia of the BHU highlighted how “Manusmiriti”, has been mishandled in the hands of not only western scholars but also Indian scholars. She added that Edward Saiyeed is right when he says that orientalism has been mutilated and fabricated by the western scholars. But this orientalism, she added, has also been mutilated and fabricated by the scholars of the orient also. “Manusmriti”, one of the oldest smritis has always been labeled as anti-feminist text by those scholars who have either read “Manusmriti” through secondary sources or through its wrong translations.

Professor Padia based her paper on the reading of the text itself. She first pointed out several critiques of “Manusmriti” and pointed out those verses on the basis of which criticism has been made.

She further submitted those verses before the audience and declared that the criticism was not fair as it does not accrue out of the quoted verses.

Dhumal opens bridge to public
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, June 16
The Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, opened a bridge to public at Badehar village of the district last evening. At least Rs 90 lakh have been spent on its construction. The bridge will provide an all-weather facility to the people of Mewa area of the district.

While addressing a public meeting at Badehar, the Chief Minister said the main endeavour of his government was development of the people. He said as many as 126 bridges had been constructed and 173 villages linked with roads in the state during the past three years’ tenure of the BJP government.

The Chief Minister denied charges of development on regional lines. He alleged that some persons were raising a canard against his government.

The Education Minister, Mr Ishwar Dass Dhiman, thanked the Chief Minister for providing facilities to his Mewa Assembly segment which had helped it to compete with other areas of the state.

Mr Ramesh Dhwala, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Ravinder Ravi, Minister of State for Technical Education, and Mrs Urmila Thakur, Parliamentary Secretary, were also present on the occasion. 

HP power development plan launched
Tribune News Service

Palampur, June 16
The Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, today formally launched the Accelerated Power Development Programme (APDP). It has the objective of reducing transmission and distribution losses, improving power generation and driving power distribution Sector Reforms. The APDP is being launched by the Central government with a grant of Rs 1500 crore during the current financial year, to usher in reforms in the power sector.

Under this scheme, the states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern states falling in the special category will be assisted.

The Chief Minister said Himachal Pradesh had prepared an accelerated hydro development plan for exploiting the unharnessed hydel potential in the state. Himachal Pradesh was committed to reforming its power sector with a view to achieving commercial viability and providing reliable power at competitive prices to all consumers in the state.

R. R. Kaundal is DPC Chairman
Our Correspondent

Nahan, June 16
Elections of the District Planning Committee (DPC), Sirmaur, were held in the meeting hall of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here yesterday in the presence of Mr Rakesh Kaushal, Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur.

Mr Rikhi Ram Kaundal, Minister for Cooperation, Himachal Pradesh has been appointed Chairman of the DPC by the state government while Mr M.S. Negi, district panchayat officer, Sirmaur, has been nominated member secretary. Dr Dhani Ram Shandil MP from Shimla constituency is also member of the DPC.

Jawan cremated
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, June 16
Mortal remains of Lakhbeer Singh of 10 Dogra were consigned to flames at his native village Kotlangsa this evening. He was killed in an operation with Pakistani and Afghani mercenaries in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir early this week. He had won Sena Medal while fighting against Pakistan in Kargil war for his bravery.

As Rakesh and Papu, two brothers of Lakhbeer lit the pyre, nearly 2000 persons rent the air with slogans of “Shaheed Lakhbeer Singh amar rahe, amar rahe.” He has left behind his wife, his parents and two brothers. He was recruited in the Army only four years ago and moreover married only last year.

A team of Army and police personnel also laid wreaths on the body on behalf of their respective forces. Police personnels reversed their arms on this occasion and fired four shots in the air. Earlier, the body of the martyr was brought from Srinagar to his native village Kotlangsa. Thousands of persons from nearby villages visited the house of the martyr and offered their condolences to the bereaved family. The Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, on the occasion, represented the state government. He visited the house of the martyr after the cremation as he got the news at Palampur, where he had gone to take part in an official function. Among others who represented the state government on this occasion were Mr B.R. Thakur, SDM and Mr Jagdish Chand Sharma, ASP, both from Hamirpur.

The Chief Minister, Prof Dhumal condoled the death and assured all possible help to the family. He Praised the role of the martyr. Shops and other commercial activities in the Awahdevi and Kotlangsa area of the district remained closed today. Mrs Vidyadevi, the mother of Lakhbeer Singh described her son as a martyr who laid down his life for the cause of nation. She said that she was proud to have given birth to such a son.

Notices issued to 2 doctors
Our Correspondent

Kangra, June 16
The Himachal Pradesh Government has issued notices to two women doctors — Dr Kalpana Negi and Dr Anjali Soni — for cancellation of their appointments as they failed to join the Kangra subdivision hospital despite orders issued by the government.

This was disclosed by the Agriculture Minister, Mr Vidya Sagar, at a press conference here yesterday. He was replying to questions of mediapersons regarding the “deteriotating” condition of the hospital and the non-availability of woman doctor for the past few years. He said six women doctors were transferred to the hospital but none joined.

Meanwhile Mr Ramesh Saini, who was scheduled to sit on an indefinite fast in front of the hospital here, postponed his fast in view of the assurance given by the authorities that woman doctor would be posted here soon.

ROUNDUP
Resin factory resumes work
S.R. Pundir

Nahan
Resin and Turpentine Factory, Nahan, a unit owned by the HP State Forest Corporation, has resumed production.

Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest state-owned industrial units in HP and the production was suspended here on March 3 due to the non-availability of raw resin. Factory workers were engaged in other field projects of the forest corporation and have now been called back to the factory.

Mr Sushil Kumar, General Manager, said fresh resin had started reaching the factory and work was on in full swing.

***

The district police has launched a campaign to check the smuggling of country-made liquor “santra” from Haryana to the border areas of the district.

So far, the police has seized 64.8 litres of “santra” packed in pouches and has registered cases in this regard.

Mr S.P. Singh, SP, Sirmaur, said night patrolling had been intensified in the border areas with Haryana and nakas had been set up to arrest the smuggling.

***

Mr V.K. Chopra, CMO, Sirmaur, said on the request of the residents he had sent vaccine to the Rajpura hospital and had asked the DMO, Rajpura, to get the mad dogs killed with the help of local panchayats.

Three die in tractor-Sumo collision
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 16
Three persons were killed and five seriously injured when their Tata Sumo collided with a stationary tractor at Channi Toki near Indora in Nurpur subdivision yesterday.

According to the Additional Superintendent of Police, Mr N.D. Sareen, the accident is reported to have taken place at about 11.30 p.m. when the Tata Sumo collided with the tractor, killing three persons.

The deceased includes Rajesh Kumar and two unidentified persons, all residents of Jammu. 

Remove caste barriers: Bhan
Our Correspondent

Nurpur, June 16
The Himachal Pradesh Governor, Dr Suraj Bhan, has emphasised the need for ending discrimination against Dalits in society.

Addressing a public meeting at Bhadroa in the subdivision on the occasion of the inauguration of Guru Ravi Dass Seminar Hall, Dr Bhan said without removing caste barriers, the country could not make any headway. The hall has been built by the local Guru Ravi Dass Trust at a cost of Rs 35 lakh.

The Governor said Dalits had played a great role in nation-building . “Even the Constitution was drafted by a Dalit, Dr B.R. Ambedkar”, he added.

Dr Bhan said the general impression that the Dalits had been enjoying an “unnecessary” privilege of reservation in government jobs was a wrong perception. He asserted that the privilege could not be withdrawn unless the caste barriers were completely wiped out in society.

The Governor announced a grant of Rs 1.25 lakh for the development of the local Dera Swami Jagat Giri in which the seminar hall was built. 

Students, VIPs clean up Naldehra
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 16
While the civic authorities are asleep over the stinking garbage that is littered around the famous tourist spot of Naldehra, near here, a group of prominent personalities has started cleaning the area with the help of students of a local and BSF personnel who are camping near Mashobra.

Prominent among those who are engaged in the cleaning drive are Mr R.K. Anand, a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court and sitting member of the Rajya Sabha, Mr S.K. Sarin, Air Chief Marshal (retd) and Gen Ranjit Singh Dayal (retd).

According to Mr Anand, more than 500 bags thrown by people in the forest have so far been collected. The cleaning exercise will continue till June 20. The participants of a camp of international players of the BSF at Mashobra and the staff and students of Government Senior Secondary School, Baldiyan, are involved in the cleaning operations between Mashobra to Naldehra. 

‘Define role’ of project engineers
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 16
The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Engineers Association has urged the state government not to enter into an agreement with any private or public undertaking for the execution of hydel projects without clearly defining the role and service conditions of project engineers.

The association said it was not averse to the state’s participation in joint ventures for exploiting hydel power potential. However, while doing so issues like equivalence, status and other terms and conditions of deputation must be decided beforehand in consultation with the association.

Adopt families of martyrs, clubs told
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 16
Dr Suraj Bhan, Governor, has stressed the need of welfare of and place of pride for the families of martyrs. He urged social organisations and Rotary clubs to adopt these families. He said their well-being should be the paramount duty of society.

The Governor was speaking on the occasion of district assembly on “Service to Mankind” of Rotary International at Barog in Solan district today.