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Tuesday,
September 4, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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CM under pressure on
quota Move on repatriation
invites flak DCC: sack
Primary Education Minister Crop
insurance scheme a fiasco: Sat Mahajan Snag in
BSNL online service |
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BADDI DIARY PARWANOO DIARY Farmers assail govt
attitude Time-bound
clearance for projects soon Himachal to raise mango
production HP Governor visits temple
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CM under pressure on
quota Shimla, September 3 Although the BJP has been telling that the OBCs will be given their due, but it was only during the Congress regime that the reservation for the category was increased from 10 per cent to 18 per cent. The Mandal Commission had
recommended 27 per cent reservation in government jobs for those belonging to the category. Himachal Pradesh has about 18 lakh population belonging to the OBC category in the districts of Kangra, Hamirpur and Una, besides Poanta Sahib in Sirmour and Jogindernagar in Mandi district also have a sizable number of persons belonging to the category. It is learnt that the two BJP ministers, Mr Vidya Sagar and Mrs Sarveen Chaudhary and the Irrigation Minister, Mr Ramesh Dhawala, who is an independent, were building pressure on Mr Dhumal to make some increase in the reservation. However, Mr Dhumal was apparently considering the issue cautiously as it was a double-edged sword. Some senior functionaries within the BJP were not in favour of increasing the quota as they point out that already a lot of reservation has been made in the state and at times there were hardly any seats left for the general categories. It is learnt that some of the OBC leaders have also pointed out that the then Chief Minister, Mr Shanta Kumar and the BJP suffered immensely on the political front as his government went in appeal against the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. |
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Move on repatriation
invites flak Shimla, September 3 Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, asserted that the state government would neither lower its equity in the corporation nor agree to the repatriation of the deputationists. The NJPC would not be wounded up as it would execute more projects in the future and these employees could be accommodated there. He said it was an issue between the Centre and the state government and Mr Yogindra Prasad, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, NHPC, and the NJPC was not the only one to take a decision on such a vital issue. Mr Dhumal also had a telephonic talk with Mr Prasad and expressed displeasure over his statement concerning the repatriation of employees of the board. The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Employees Union has also expressed shock over the utterances of Mr Prasad and demanded a CBI probe into the entire expenditure incurred on the project. It squarely blamed the management for the huge time and cost over runs. It alleged that the management of the corporation had been spending lavishly and executing the project while sitting in Delhi. Seminars and meetings were normally organised in five-star hotels, employees and engineers recruited in the NJPC cadre were sent abroad on one pretext or the other and after foreign jaunts causing huge loss to the corporation. Mr Chander Singh Mandyal, general secretary of the union contested the claim of Mr Yogendra Prasad that 96 per cent of the total expenditure at present was being made on establishment of the project while only 4 per cent was left for other works whereas the position was vice-versa. Mr Mandyal expressed surprise over the unilateral declaration of Mr Prasad regarding the execution of the Rampur project by the NJPC. He threatened that in case en-masse repatriation was ordered unilaterally the union would resort to direct action and the responsibility of consequences would lie on the management. |
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DCC: sack Primary
Education Minister Kulu, September 3 Mr Thakur said the DCC condoled the deaths of G.K. Moopanar and Sher Singh Rana, a former Chairman of the Panchayat Samiti. He further said the District Congress Committee would organise a rally on October 5 and submit a memorandum to the Governor of Himachal Pradesh against the Primary Education Minister. The office-bearers of the party demanded that those who had levelled allegations against Mr Virbhadra Singh should now resign from their posts as the CBI had given clean chit to him. The District unit of the Congress has nominated Mr Devi Singh Paul, Senior Vice-President, to took after the programme implementation in the Kulu Assembly constituency, Mr Daulat Ram Thakur, General Secretary and Mr Naresh Sud, Vice-President, to look after the affairs of Banjar and Ani constituencies, respectively. |
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Crop insurance scheme a fiasco: Sat
Mahajan Nurpur, September 3 He said the CIS had a complicated process which was not attracting farmers. He said the government had been spending crores of rupees as premium to an insurance company under the CIS. But owing to its failure to render insurance claim to any farmer, there was an impression that the Dhumal government had only been obliging the insurance company by paying hefty amounts of premium, he said. Mr Mahajan said Govt was following anti-employee policies as it was considering to abolish the state administrative tribunal and to withdraw the harness policy under which there was a provision to give government job to next of kin of any employee who died in harness. He accused the government of violating norms while ordering transfers of employees. He pointed out that the BJP government under the regime of Mr Shanta Kumar had constituted a committee headed by Mr Narayan Swami which gave its recommendations for the government’s transfer policy. The then government had accepted these recommendations but the present government had ignored them. He alleged that the Dhumal government had been forcing daily wage earners to take foodgrain against the work done by them. It should only offer foodgrain to IRDP workers or those living below the poverty line by initiating fresh department works, he said. On the recent clean chit given by the CBI to the CLP Leader and former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, against whom a chargesheet had been submitted by the BJP-HVC government, Mr Sat Mahajan said the CBI had revealed the truth and now the ball was in the court of the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal. |
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Snag in BSNL online service Nurpur, September 3 Mr N.S. Gill, the Chief General Manager (Himachal Telecom circle), Shimla, had inaugurated the centre and announced to provide online services relating to the inquiry of telephone bills and issuance of duplicate bills. He had said this single window centre would solve all telephone related problems of the subscribers. Inquiries reveal that the computer terminal has failed to render any service relating to telephone bills. The centre was devoid of a fax and a teleprinter. As many as 17 offices along with dozens of branches have been attached with this centre for transmitting telegrams. But, the telegrams are either being received by post or telephone and further transmitted by post causing a lot of delay in their delivery. Even telegrams from Jassur to Nurpur, the subdivisional headquarter where all government and semi-government offices are located are being delivered by post. The delay in the delivery of telegrams has irked the subscribers. The local branch of the State Bank of Patiala has submitted a complaint to the General Manager, BSNL, Dharamshala against the poor service provided by BSNL as it had received a telegram from Shimla on August 27 which was booked at 4.30 p.m. on August 22. |
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BADDI DIARY Ambika Sharma Baddi This is attributed to the fact that the area shares a border with Punjab. It has also been observed that the same people are found indulging in crime again and again. Another reason for this high crime rate is understood to be the large number of industrial workers working in various factories. The area has a high consumption of poppy husk and opium, according to police officers. *** The office of the Assistant District Attorney at Nalagarh is marred by problems. The office, housed in two small rooms, has the bare minimum furniture, which is shared by the ADA and the Additional Sessions Judge who visits the place for a week every month. A safe accommodation has not been provided to the law officers who face threats from criminals whom they have to deal with every day. Therefore, a safe and well-equipped library as per their entitlement is their basic need, said Mr N.L. Sein, Additional Sessions Judge. *** A massive campaign has been launched by the Himachal Pradesh Health Department to eradicate tuberculosis, according to the state Health Minister, Mr J.P. Nadda. Speaking at the annual award giving ceremony of the department at Nalagarh last week, he said that Himachal was the only state of north India where a tuberculosis eradication programme was underway. He, however, emphasised that coordination of the Education and Health Departments was needed to educate the people about the importance of family development programmes.  |
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PARWANOO DIARY M.M. Bhandari Parwanoo Mrs Jaiswal, while talking to mediapersons here said she could never think even in her dreams of winning such an amount. She said she had been working hard for the past one year to take part in this programme. She has returned from the recording of the programme and the KBC episode on September 24 will show her facing the Big B on the hot seat. * * * There has been an increase in the number of cases of allergy in parwanoo and its adjoining areas due to the abundance of congress grass in the area. Although the entire town has been affected, more cases have been reported from Sectors 4 and 6, the Housing Board Colony and its surrounding areas because of the open spaces where congress grass grows freely. The allergy has affected children and old persons more and the incidence of respiratory allergy is greater than that of skin allergy. Doctors feel that the incidence of skin allergies and intestinal diseases differs from sector to sector because the water supplied to different sectors is drawn from different sources. Unhygienic conditions and dirty water in the slums contribute to the spread of these diseases in these areas. Children in these areas are found to be suffering mostly from bronchitis and the old people from throat and skin diseases. Failure of the administration to prevent the sale of unhygienic food at dhabas and rehris has also led to the spread of such diseases. * * * Thakur Industries, a small-scale industry in Sector 3 here, was destroyed in a fire recently. This small-scale industry was manufacturing corrugated boxes. Mr Daulat Ram Thakur, owner of the unit, said that the machinery, building, finished products and raw material were destroyed. Though the fire brigade reached in time, it could not control the blaze quickly for want of water. The water tank built by the Housing Board is near the factory but there is no arrangement to fill water tankers from there. The fire brigade was forced to fetch water for their tankers from Pinjore, which is about 8 km away. |
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Farmers assail govt
attitude Nahan, September 3 More than 500 farmers' representatives from the district participated in the conference. Most of them were in the agitated mood and attacked the state government for ignoring their interests. The conference was presided over by Mr S.S. Gill, president of the Sirmaur Kisan Mandal. In another resolution adopted at the conference, it was demanded that the government should declare the Hati community a Scheduled Tribe. The farmers also demanded reopening of the Khandsari Processing Unit at Paonta Sahib so that the sugarcane producers of the area could get good price for their produce. At present the farmers of the Paonta valley were selling their produce to a sugar factory at Doiwala in Uttaranchal, where they were reportedly being exploited and their payments were being delayed for no valid reason. Mr Gill announced that if their demands were not met within a month the Kisan Mandal, Sirmaur, would organise a district-level agitation in October. Mr Jeet S. Kathware, Secretary, Hati Samiti, Mr Jaswant Singh, vice-president, Kisan Sabha, Mr Rajender Thakur, Secretary, Kisan Majdoor Union, Himachal Pradesh, Prof Santosh Kumar from Vichar Manch and Mr Jagmohan Ramoul, a freedom fighter were among those who addressed the conference. |
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Time-bound clearance for projects soon Shimla, September 3 Mr Dhumal said the hydel potential of the state should be harnessed expeditiously, which would ensure better supply of electricity in far-flung areas of the state. |
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Himachal to raise mango production Shimla, September 3 The target has been fixed in view of the congenial climatic conditions found for production of better quality mango in Hamirpur, Mandi, Kangra, Una, Sirmour and Solan districts, according to an official spokesman here. The government had opened 22 collection centres for mango alone last year. The government has also opened 150 collection centres for apples with its season having begun this year. So far 1,106 metric tonnes processable apple have been procured under the market intervention scheme and about 30 lakh apple boxes have been sent to markets in different parts of the country. The spokesman said 149 fruit plant nurseries had been established by the Horticulture Department in different parts of the state to ensure the supply of disease-free fruit plants to horticulturists who are also given pesticides and insecticides. Training camps are being organised for horticulturists at district and village levels. Those participating in these camps are given daily allowance.
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HP Governor visits temple Parwanoo, September 3 Mr Satish Berry, president of the Sarv Dharam Sabha, along with members of the working committee of the temple, welcomed the Governor. The Governor offered his prayers in the temple. He also witnessed a cultural programme presented by children. Swami Satyanand presented a memento, a siropa and a Himachali cap to the Governor. Mr H. Zaidi, Superintendent of Police, Solan, accompanied the Governor. The Governor appreciated the efforts of the children and presented a memento to Jyoti, a tiny tot who took part in the cultural programme. |
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Review decision
on hospitals: SJP Hamirpur, September 3 |
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Boy dies at quack’s clinic Hamirpur, September 3 A junior doctor in the nursing home, in a bid to remove the coin, cut the boy’s neck resulting in his death, they said.
PTI
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