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Friday,
January 11, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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Kaul Singh rejects Kainthla panel report SDM’s signature forged on licences Damtal incident: police gets vital clues CISF may get security of Gaggal Airport Dharampur faces acute water scarcity |
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Villagers stage dharna Bharat Mahotsava concludes Swedish MPs back Tibetans Don’t hanker after govt
jobs: Minister
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Kaul Singh rejects Kainthla panel report Shimla, January 10 Thakur Kaul Singh said the Congress had throughout been demanding that the enquiry into the reported incidents of March 5 and 6, 1998, should be got done by a sitting judge of the high court, but the BJP-HVC combine government appointed Mr H.D.Kainthla, a retired Sessions Judge, as the one- man commission. Earlier, an officer of the rank of Divisional Commissioner was ordered to probe into the incidents. He alleged that the report of the commission was one-sided and was based on the allegations made by certain leaders of the ruling BJP. He alleged that the Chief Minister, and his alliance partner, Sukh Ram, had been trying to get Mr Virbhadra Singh implicated in some or the other case eversince they came into power. The allegations of misuse of authority made against Mr Virbhadra Singh in the “charge-sheet” of the BJP and HVC were rejected by the CBI, after a thorough enquiry. Thakur Kaul Singh said the commission’s report was on the expected lines. Mr Kuldeep Singh Rathore, spokesman of the Congress, said the government should not have shown hurry in making the report public because a petition against the constitution of the commission was pending in the Supreme Court. |
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SDM’s signature forged on licences Dharamsala, January 10 It was during the “traffic week” campaign organised by the police and an NGO, Jan Chetna, that some driving licences with fictitious stamps and forged signatures were detected. The ADM, Mr S.S. Guleria, to whose notice the matter was brought, found out that the signature of the SDM had been forged. However, all entries regarding the licence number had been duly made in the office record. Inquiries reveal that some of the driving schools operating in the area were providing licences to their students by demanding some money, apart from fees. Some of these students admitted that they had neither taken any driving test nor submitted a medical certificate. It is being suspected that some of the staff in the SDM’s office could have taken money for issuing licences with forged signatures. A local Tibetan, Thupten, admitted that he had got his licence by paying Rs1,000 and without completing any formalities. His licence was also seized by the police when the stamp on it appeared to be fictitious. The licence had been issued by the office of the SDM on July 18. The fact that a number of Tibetans residing at McLeodganj were getting their licences made from Palampur and Kangra and getting them renewed in Dharamsala is baffling. The district administration, to whose notice the matter was brought three days ago, is yet to take action. The authorities are learnt to have told those who reported the matter to them to file a written complaint. Though senior officials have assured that the licence record would be sealed and a probe ordered but nothing has been done so far. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rahul Anand, confirmed that the signature of the SDM had been forged. |
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Damtal incident: police gets vital clues Dharamsala, January 10 The joint combing operation by the ITBP, CRPF, and the police from Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal was wound up today after 10 days. There were reports from villagers about the movement of suspected militants in the forests along the Chamba-Nurpur border but nobody could be arrested. The ITBP, CRPF and police personnel from other states have gone back but the Himachal police is maintaining vigil in the Nurpur-Chamba area. The IG (Law and Order), Mr K.S. Rana, the IG (CID), Mr I.D. Bhandari, the DIG (North), Mr Prithvi Raj, and the SP, Kangra, Mr Sanjay Kundu, today visited the Damtal, Dhangu Pir and Indora areas. It is learnt that the police has received some vital clues from two Kashmiri Gujjars who had been rounded up two days ago. They are suspected to have ISI links. Security has been beefed up along the 216-km boundary that Chamba shares with Jammu and Kashmir. |
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CISF may get security of Gaggal Airport Dharamsala, January 10 A high-level meeting of the Airport Security Committee was held at Gaggal today. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Prabodh Saxena, the ADM, Mr S.S. Guleria, Additional SP, Mr N. D. Sareen and the Aerodrome Officer, Mr S. K. Sharma, discussed various security aspects and the
contingency measures to be adopted in case of any emergency. It is reliably learnt that very soon the security of the airport would be entrusted to the CISF, as the spill over of militancy into the border areas of Chamba and Kangra from Jammu and Kashmir had necessitated this decision. With militants targeting defence establishments even inside Himachal Pradesh territory, an urgent need to upgrade and tighten security at the airport and big power projects like the Bhakra Dam and the Pong Dam was being felt. It is learnt that the Centre had agreed to provide CISF personnel for the security of the Gaggal Airport. During the meeting discussion was also held to tackle any emergency situation arising out of a forced landing or hijacking. The resurfacing of the runway at the Gaggal Airport had already been completed, while work on its extension from the present 3,900 feet to 4,500 feet was in progress. The completion of this would enable landing of bigger aircraft, which would help in bringing down the air fare. At present only the 18 seater Dornier aircraft could land at the Gaggal Airport. Though facilities at the Gaggal Airport are being upgraded, yet with the air fare being very high there are few users. Himachal Pradesh has been making repeated request to the Centre to subsidise the air tariff in the region as was the case in Jammu and Kashmir and the
north eastern states. |
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Dharampur faces acute water scarcity Kumarhatti, January 10 Similar was the condition of roadside dhabhawalas who have to fetch water from distant places. Every day they get only half an hour water supply that reduces to only a few minutes in summer. Most locals have complained of erratic water supply. Lack of repair of pipes has further worsened the situation. Most of the water here comes from Dagroh, about 4 km from here. It was supposed to meet the bulk of the water demand. However, water in the stream has declined drastically owing to deforestation and unprecedented dry spells. The IPH Department had bored some
hand pumps in the town from where water was being lifted to the Dagroh scheme. But this arrangement has failed to be effective as the handpumps at the railway station and the main market have been dried up. The recent government decision to hand over water supply to panchayats has failed in yielding any result in Dharampur. According to the new provisions, all panchayats are supposed to regulate water supply in their respective areas. Bills will be issued by the panchayat itself and the amount would be shared between the panchayat and the government. The Dharampur panchayat has, however, condemned the decision as it has further aggravated water problem here. The residents complained that the problems were not being entertained by the IPH Department and were being referred to the panchayat. IPH officials have, on the other hand, accused the residents for the current situation. The imbalance in the distribution of water could be attributed to the fact that some residents had more than one connection, the officials said.
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Villagers stage dharna Hamirpur, January 10 The protestors also gheraoed the General Manager of the Department of Industries and blamed the department for conniving with the crusher owner. They alleged that the department had provided no objection certificate to the owner of the crusher from the Himachal Pradesh Pollution Control Board without taking them into confidence. Three persons Julfi Ram, Chint Ram and Bhagat Ram, who used run “gharats” said the water level in the khad had gone down since the starting of the crusher at Masyana. They demanded that the crusher should be shifted from this place, as it was polluting the air and the water. The crusher owner was not available for comments. Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner Anuradha Thakur sent the SDM and the ASP Hamirpur, to the spot. The SDM directed the crusher owner not to resume his work till an agreement was reached between him and the villagers. A meeting of the villagers with the crusher owner would be held tomorrow in the presence of the SDM and other officers concerned. |
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Bharat Mahotsava concludes Nurpur, January 10 The mahotsava is being organised every year on the occasion of Swami Vivekanand Jayanti. Mr K.P.S. Gill, a former Director-General of Police, Punjab, and Chairman, Indian Hockey Federation, while presiding over the function on Tuesday gave away prizes to winners of the competition. The results of the competitions are: |
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Swedish MPs back Tibetans Dharamsala, January 10 An eight-member delegation, comprising Swedish parliamentarians, are on a four-day visit to the headquarters of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. The
members include Mr Kent Olsson, Ms Christel Anderberg, Ms Elisabeth Fleetwood and Ms Inger Rene of the Moderate (Swedish conservative) Party, Ms Marianne Andersson and Mr Sven Bergstrom of the Centre Pary, Mr Lennart Kollmats of the Liberal Party and Ms Ewa Larrson of the Green Party. Talking to mediapersons, they said they were here to gain first hand knowledge of the current situation in Tibet. They said they would impress upon their government to ask China to release the Panchen Lama whose whereabouts were unknown. |
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Don’t hanker after govt
jobs: Minister Nalagarh, January 10 He was addressing a public gathering after inaugurating an irrigation scheme at Kashmirpur, 16 km from here, last evening. The scheme, costing Rs 20 lakh, will irrigate 400 bighas of arable land in the region. Earlier, he inaugurated another lift irrigation scheme at Rajpura, near here developed at a cost of Rs 35.86 lakh. This scheme will provide potable water to a population of 5,000 residing in 17 villages of the area. The minister, describing the developmental works being undertaken by the state government, said within a span of three and-a-half years a sum on Rs 12 crore had been incurred on irrigation schemes in Solan district and out of this as many as Rs 4 crore had been spent on Nalagarh area alone.
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3 IAS officers promoted Shimla, January 10 These officers are Mr K.Sanjay Murthy, Deputy Commissioner, Solan, Mr J.R. Gazta, Managing Director, HPMC, and Mr Subhash Ahluwalia, Special Secretary, Youth and Sports. |
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‘POTO needed to wipe out militancy’ Nurpur, January 10 Mr Gill was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at the International vivekanand Bharat Mohtsav. He said cases relating to militancy should be disposed off in a shortest possible time. |
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4,000 kg of resin seized Shimla, December 30 The truck was intercepted during surprise checking carried out in the wee hours of the day. As many as 200 tins, in which resin was packed, were covered with a layer of sand. It was later found that the truck was carrying a fake number plate. The driver and the conductor, however, managed to escape under the cover of darkness.
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Shishak new HP Chief Justice
New Delhi, January 10
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Maghi festival begins Paonta Sahib, January 10 Tomorrow Khenda” (Halwa) will be made as parsad. Thereafter a goat each will be sacrificed in most households of the area.
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