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Sunday, September 16, 2001,
Chandigarh, India  
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Help USA uproot terrorism: Farooq
Dhumal govt has lost popularity:
Virbhadra Power staff resent move on
reversion |
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Temple denied rent on
building Forest cover shrinking
in Himachal Let’s help save the ozone layer, say
students IN FOCUS Regulation of cable operators’
work Housing project for Lohana
approved Mysterious fever grips
villagers
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Help USA uproot terrorism:
Farooq Shimla, September 15 Dr Abdullah, during his brief stopover at the Shimla airport while on his way to the tribal area of Reckong Peo to inaugurate the Buddha festival, told newspersons that if Pakistan did not wholeheartedly come out against terrorism by allowing the USA to use its air space, it would get isolated. He said every action against the terrorists would have to be carefully worked out and the menace had to be finished. He hoped that the USA, which has woken up after the second ‘Pearl Harbour’, would remain awake to eradicate terrorism from the world. The entire world community and the United Nations was with the USA at this juncture and India should take the lead. It was not an easy task and difficulties would come in the way, he said. Referring to the Taliban threat to repel any military action and refusal to hand over Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden, Dr Abdullah said he would love to see their retaliation against the world community. The obvious inference of the Taliban threat could be drawn somewhere, he added. Dr Abdullah said during the past three days terrorist violence had come down in Jammu and Kashmir as Pakistan was afraid of the possible fallout. This was a good signal and if the world stood united against terrorism, the menace could be uprooted. Pakistan was under tremendous pressure and it had no option but to accept the conditions put forth by the USA, he added. Asked about the possible fallout of the US action against the Taliban, Dr Abdullah said things were still under investigation and any fallout would be known only after the action. He said India, which has been facing terrorism for the past 12 years, had been warning the world that today was its turn, but tomorrow it could be any other country and its apprehensions had come true. Dr Abdullah ruled out early Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir saying that his government still had one year in office. However, he was keeping his powder dry and would not say anything in advance even if there was any such move, he added. |
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Farooq inaugurates Buddha
festival Shimla, September 15 Dr Abdullah flew to Reckong Peo this morning along with his daughter, Ms Safia, to inaugurate the function, which is being organised by the Tourism Department of the Centre and the Himachal Pradesh Government to strengthen cultural bonds, spread the message of peace and promote tourism in the tribal areas. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Dr Abdullah said Kashmir was an integral part of India. He said all religions taught peace and unity and respect for other religions. He lamented that certain countries were misusing religion for their selfish ends. The 12-year-long terrorism in Kashmir was the mischief of Pakistan, which had faced defeats on war front in the past and had resorted to such heinous tactics to achieve its selfish motive. He wanted that its nefarious designs would not be allowed to succeed. Dr Abdullah said due to terrorism Jammu and Kashmir had been left behind in the matter of development. He warned that Pakistan would be destroyed if it did not stop perpetuating terrorism in Kashmir. Dr Abdullah said he was impressed with the progress made by Himachal Pradesh, especially in the field of hydel power. He said Jammu and Kashmir would like to take power from Himachal Pradesh till it was in a position to generate its own. Mr Dhumal, said Himachal Pradesh was a repository of Buddhist religion and had age-old relations with it. The state had centuries’ old Buddhist monasteries and the government had also offered to set up a statue of “Bamyan” in the state, he added. He said the Dalai Lama also considered Himachal Pradesh as his own home. Mr Dhumal stressed the need to fight the challenge of terrorism unitedly and expressed happiness that today the whole world had realised this. He expressed hope that terrorism would soon be finished once and for all. He said the state government had brought normalcy in the flood ravaged Kinnaur district by restoring damaged roads and bridges. |
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Dhumal govt has lost popularity:
Virbhadra Chandigarh, September 15 Speaking at a meet-the-press programme organised by the Chandigarh Press Club, Mr Virbhadra Singh said the Dhumal government had failed on all fronts. It had lost popularity. Developmental activities had come to a halt, the state had run up a massive debt, corruption had touched a new high, law and order was deteriorating, there were allegations against ministers of amassing wealth through dishonest means while the government itself was directionless. He said the Dhumal government was in power in Himachal Pradesh not because of the people’s mandate but through political machinations. Referring to the clean chit given to him by the CBI after investigation into a charge sheet submitted against him by former minister, Sukh Ram, he said: “This clean chit to me is nothing short of a political slap in the face of the Dhumal government”, he said. Mr Virbhadra Singh said certain members of the Congress had also put their signatures on the charge sheet against him, which was regrettable. He said on the one hand, the Dhumal government was holding inquiries into baseless charges against Congress leaders like him who had retained a clean image throughout their political career spanning 40 years, and on the other the charge sheet prepared painstakingly by the Congress leaders like Kaul Singh Thakur against the BJP government was gathering dust with the government. To a question, Mr Virbhadra Singh, said although the Dhumal government had failed on all fronts, he was not in favour of its dismissal and holding of fresh elections. He denied he favoured elections because his own party was a house divided against itself. He also criticised the Badal government in Punjab and said that it had also become as unpopular in the state as the Dhumal government in Himachal. |
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Power staff resent move on
reversion Shimla, September 15 Mr Chander Singh Mandyal, general secretary of the union, said the management of the corporation had already decided to repatriate 32 officials of the board in the first phase. He said the union would vehemently oppose the move and warned that Mr Yogendra Prasad, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the corporation, would be greeted with black flags as and when he visited the state. He said the management was spending lavishly giving benefits to the NJPC cadre and still recruiting engineers and other staff from the NHPC. But handing out a raw deal to the seconded employees who planned, designed and implemented the project. He said the management, which had been holding talks with the union on the demands, had suddenly come out with a plan to repatriate the seconded employees en masse. He also asked the management to reveal the number of engineers and employees being given voluntary retirement to justify the repatriation of board employees. |
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Temple denied rent on
building Kulu The indifference of the GSI towards the property, worth crores which includes heavy machinery installed inside, puts a question mark on the intentions and working of the department. The machines and a big heap of GI pipes have become junk as those are either under water or in the rooms filled with steam for the past 20 years. The ‘‘kardar’’ of Ram Mandir at Manikaran, Gita Nand, who remained panchayat pradhan as well, on being contacted by this correspondent, said the land on which the building was built belonged to the Ram Mandir. Earlier, this place was used by Devtas reaching Manikaran from other parts of the district. The land was given to the GSI in 1975 with the understanding that the property would be returned to the mandir, if the experiment proved unsuccessful. GSI had tried to exploit possibilities of using steam from the hot spring (88°C to 94°C) for cold storage from 1976 to 1980. When the GSI team left Manikaran, it was assumed that the experiment failed. Since then, the building has been locked. Gita Nand said he took up the matter with the GSI (being the kardar of the mandir) but to no avail. Besides the local MP, Mr Maheshwar Singh, also took up the issue with the Union Minister concerned but again it proved futile. A letter was also sent by the then Deputy Commissioner, Kulu, on October 22, 1998, to the GSI at Lucknow. It was learnt that the GSI had not responded to that letter. The land in question falls in the ‘abadi phati’ (a revenue term) and, was such, no compensation was permissible against the acquisition. And that was why an undertaking was made that if the experiment fails, the land and building would be returned to the mandir. This correspondent spoke to many villagers in Manikaran, who were annoyed with both the Congress and BJP regimes in the state for their indifference to the structure. They said the state government should take over the property and use it either as a health dispensary and police chowki. The government should pay the market rent to the Mandir Committee for the property. These establishments are being run in the “sarai” of the Ram Mandir for several years. Gita Nand also lamented that many important offices like PWD and HPSEB have already been shifted from Manikaran to Jari and people had difficulty in moving. The state government should realise the importance of Manikaran, which is not only historically important as well as a famous tourist and pilgrimage centre, but also had the prestigious 2051 MW Parvati hydro-electric project. |
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Forest cover shrinking
in Himachal Shimla, September 15 Kangra tops the list where forest cover in an area of 105 sq km has been lost in two years between 1997 to 1999. This is followed by Kulu where 70 sq km forest area has gone out of the screen in the satellite data. There was a loss of 35 sq km of forest cover each in the districts of Shimla and Hamirpur. The loss of forest cover in Shimla district is reported to has been caused because of apple orchards replacing the natural green cover. According to a report of the Forest Survey of India, 8901 sq km area is covered under dense forests in Himachal Pradesh and 3859 sq km is open forest. |
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Let’s help save the ozone layer, say
students Parwanoo, September 15 Mr Sanjay Sharma, Assistant Commissioner of Parwanoo, was the chief guest at the function and Dr R.K. Sood, Director, State Council of Science, Technology and Environment of Himachal Pradesh, was the guest of honour. The students participated in slogans and essay writing, painting and mass awareness contest yesterday. A procession was also taken out by students, in the town for creating mass awareness. The students were carrying banners like “use ozone friendly products”, “Sun is killer without ozone” and “Let’s help save the ozone layer”. Mr Sharma, while addressing students and the guests, stressed the need for protection of the ozone layer. Dr Sood highlighted the importance of ozone layer in the stratosphere for saving life on the earth. He commended the work being carried by the United Nations. Dr S.K. Sinha senior scientist, NRTC, Parwanoo, told that the day has been dedicated for creating awareness about the dangers of ozone depletion. Mr Rakesh Bansal, general secretary, Parwanoo Industries Association, also spoke on the occasion and thanked the efforts of the NRTC for its global awareness programme. The chief guest distributed prizes and certificates to the winning students. Results: Essay —Ms Shipla Joshi from Government Senior Secondary School 1, Ms Geetika Arora from Eicher School 2, Ms Sandhya Azad from Government Senior Secondary School 3; Slogans — Ms Divya Tanwar from DAV Public School 1, Ms Swati Goel from Parwanoo Public School 2, Ms Nivedita Thakur from National Public School 3; Painting — Ms Ivan Joshi from Eicher School 1, Mr Dinesh Bansal from Parwanoo Public School 2, Ms Shipra Singal from DAV Public School 3, At the end of the function Dr Sood announced that the Department of State Council of Science Technology and Environment will also give the prize of Rs 5,000 and trophy to a school who will do work for environment saving throughout the year. |
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Helmet only to ward off cops Parwanoo Mr Sanjiv Lakhanpal, Deputy Superintendent of Police, says thatnot wearing a helmet is a violation of traffic rules, and the police has no option except to challan the offender. He, however, agrees that tackling this problem as a legal issue will not solve it. It is necessary to create awareness among the two-wheeler users. He says the local police, in the past one months, had challaned 44 scooter or motorcycle riders, of whom 23 were not wearing helmets. Mr Sanjay Sharma, Assistant Commissioner, Parwanoo, feels that parents of youngsters should stop their wards from driving without helmets. The problem arises when you follow the rules but see the violators go scot-free. Mr Sanjay Dhar, an engineer in a factory at Parwanoo, says that the law in this regard should be made stringent and no two-wheelers should be allowed on the road unless the driver is wearing a helmet. Doctors at the local ESI hospital feel that if the law with regard to helmets is enforced strictly, it will reduce the pressure on the hospitals, since this will reduce the number of serious accidents. Miss Nirmal who commutes between Kalka and Prawanoo on her two-wheeler says that wearing a helmet has become necessary because of the manifold increase in the traffic on the highway. Dr Jaswal, a medical practitioner, feels that challan or any other action under the law is not the answer. Awareness should be created through cinema slides, posters, debates and campaigns at the school level. He said most of the fatal road accidents involved youngsters. Mr Kulwinder Singh says that he is a Sikh and his advice to all women is to wear helmets for their own safety. Anybody wearing a turban, whether a man or a woman, should be exempted from wearing a helmet.  |
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Regulation of cable operators’
work Shimla, September 15 A government spokesman said here yesterday that in the wake of rapid expansion of satellite and cable TV network and irresponsible behaviour of some of the cable operators, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has decided to regulate them. In pursuance of this decision, the complaint against cable operators can be registered with the Chairman of the Inter Media Publicity Coordination Committee of each state, apart from authorised persons of the ministry. The Himachal Pradesh Chairman of the committee is the Station Director of the local Doordarshan kendra. Complaints against cable operators of the state can be lodged at his office. |
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Housing project for Lohana
approved Shimla, September 15 The board, which met here yesterday, approved a Rs 1.68 crore housing colony project for Lohana in Palampur. It was informed at the meeting that work on housing colony at Sanjauli (Shimla) had been started and on housing colony at Basal, (Solan) was expected to go on stream next month. An additional 76 kanals had been acquired at Hamirpur at a cost of Rs 1.28 crore and the housing scheme would be planned on this land. The board also decided to cover all daily wage staff under the Contributory Provident Fund rules from October 1. It also approved filling of the post of a planning assistant from amongst the civil draughtsman cadre. It was also decided that computerisation in the board should be carried out in a phased manner. |
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Mysterious fever grips
villagers Nahan, September 15 According to information, more than 24 residents of Bogdhar and Shivpur villages are suffering from the fever. Rajat (5) died of the fever in
PGI. Mr Dev Raj, president of the gram panchayat, Bogdhar, said Rajat was his nephew and died of the fever while several persons were sick in his village. Mr Surjan Singh said about 12 persons were sick in Shivpur village. They alleged that no medical team had visited the villages. |
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Ex-Sessions Judge to probe cows’ death Shimla, September
15 The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, had promised to appoint the commission as various organisations were not satisfied with the post-mortem reports of two teams of veterinary doctors. |
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Declamation contest today Kasauli, September 15 As many as 15 schools from Karnal, Chandigarh, Patiala, Shimla and other places in the region will participate in the competition. Each school will send one speaker each for English and
Hindi. Mr Virendra Kashyap, Chairman, HP Marketing Board, will be the chief guest, according to a press note. |
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