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Saturday,
March 9, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Permits for maxi cabs on anvil: CM Now Stokes to address Kangra rallies HC directive to
IT Commissioner Havildar cremated with honours Govt neglects anti-TB society |
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School
employees end fast Dharamsala, March 8 The HP State Government Recognised and Aided School Employees Union has decided to call off its 18-day old chain fast, following the acceptance of their demands by the state government.
Change attitude towards women: Bhan Women urged to fight social evils Distance education system picking up CBI may probe agro firm’s accounts 5 killed as jeep falls into river
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Permits for maxi cabs on anvil: CM Shimla, March 8 Intervening during question hour, Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, said the decision had been taken in view of the reluctance of bus operators to ply their vehicles on uneconomical routes. No tax would be charged from cabs plying on these routes. Earlier, replying to the main question by Mr Mohinder Singh, Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister, informed the House that a special road tax amounting to Rs 81.53 crore was collected from January 1, 2000 to January 31,2002. Out of this, Rs 38.92 crore was paid by private operators and Rs 32.85 crore by the State Road Transport Corporation. To another question, Mr Dhumal told Mr Lajja Ram that there was no move to take over the Kali Bari temple, Shimla. The Chief Minister also informed that the government had spent Rs 1.72 crore on the modernisation of the police force between April 1,2001 to January 31,2002. He said over the past four years, the Centre had been giving liberal financial assistance to the state for the purpose. Answering a question by Mr Chander Kumar, Mr Roop Das Kashyap, Urban Development Minister, told the House that the government had granted relaxation in building norms for construction of houses in 439 cases in Shimla and Dharamsala during the past four years. Out of the 422 cases in Shimla 103 fell in the banned green area and 307 pertained to land use. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Leader of the Opposition, raised the issue of granting jobs to the visually impaired under the 1 per cent reservation quota through a call attention motion. Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, said the government was alive to the problem and keen to give jobs to them as per their qualifications. He said members of the agitating Blind Persons Association wanted jobs ahead of others who had got registered with a special cell much earlier. This was not possible. Earlier, Mr Mansa Ram, Minister for Social Welfare, said as many as 14 visually impaired had been given jobs during the past four years. In his call attention motion, Mr Virbhadra Singh underlined the need for identifying the backlog under the 3 per cent reservation for the physically challenged, particularly for the visually impaired who had been given 1 per cent quota. The House discussed the annual report of the State Public Service Commission. The resolution for discussion on the report was moved by Mr Kaul Singh of the Congress who questioned the logic of having two recruitment agencies in the fund-starved state. He alleged the workload of the commission had come down drastically with the setting up of the Subordinate Services Selection Board, yet the strength of its staff had increased from 102 to 125. He said the credibility of both agencies had come under a cloud due to the manner in which selections was being made. The government was ignoring its recommendation in certain cases pertaining to relaxation in qualification and ad hoc appointment. In his reply, the Chief Minister rebutted the charges and asserted that there had been no increase in staff. He said the commission was an independent body and as such its employees could not be sent to other departments. He said the Subordinate Services Selection Board was set up as recruitments were being made on recommendatory chits during the Congress regime. |
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Now Stokes to address Kangra rallies Dharamsala, March 8 The Kangra District Congress Committee (DCC), president, Dr M.R Goma, addressing a press conference here today, said Mrs Stokes would address four public meetings at Jwali, Baijnath, Guler and Sulah April beginning. A meeting of the Kangra DCC was held here today which was attended by former ministers Vijai Mankotia Kewal Singh Pathania and Mr Sujan Singh Pathania. A majority of party leaders and workers stressed on the need for unity in the party. Party workers felt it was high time that the HPCC chief, Mrs Vidya Stokes and the CLP Leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, sunk differences in the larger interests of the party. Some of those present at the meeting objected to the rallies held by the Virbhadra faction last month without taking the DCC into confidence. Dr Goma said the Congress would oppose the move to give the BJP land in the name of war memorial for the construction of their party office. “The prime piece of land which is in the name of the Martyr’s Memorial should not be given to any organisation as it is a tribute to the memory of thousands of soldiers from Himachal who laid down their life fighting the enemy,” said Dr Goma. He threatened that in case the land was given to the BJP, the Congress would launch an
agitation against it. A resolution was passed at today’s meeting which was later handed over to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Prabodh Saxena. The Congress demanded that the government must roll back the hike ordered earlier in the rates of cooking gas, kerosene oil , water and power. The Congress leaders criticised the Budget presented by the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal and said the state had been
burdened with excessive loans, which would be difficult to repay. They also criticised the BJP regime for wasteful expenditure
especially at a stage when the state was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Congress criticised the Centre for not resolving the Ayodhya issue, which had led to communal riots in Gujarat. They demanded that the matter should be resolved amicably between the two communities so that there was no communal tension anywhere in the country. |
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HC directive to
IT Commissioner Shimla, March 8 These directions were given by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice W.A. Shishak and Justice Kamlesh Sharma on a petition filed by the H.P. State Forest Corporation in which the corporation alleged that the assessment made by the Income Tax authorities for the year 1996-1997, 1998-1999, 1999-2000, was wrong. The petitioner alleged that feeling aggrieved by this assessment order the corporation filed an appeal against the said assessment order before the Commissioner of Income Tax on February 14. Appeals for interim order for stay of recoveries were also filed, but no orders were passed on the appeals. In the meanwhile the Income Tax Department sealed the local bank accounts of the corporation in the last week of February. The corporation had challenged this action of the Income Tax Department in the High Court.  |
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Havildar cremated with honours Bilaspur, March 8 Local MLA and HP Cooperative Minister Rikhiram Kondal, SDM Subhash Nanda, former MLA of the area Dr Biruram Kishore, paid tributes to the martyr on behalf of the Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, the Governor Dr Surajbhan and leader of opposition Virbhadra Singh, respectively. The Cooperative Minister announced that the family of Jagdish Singh would be given Rs 3 lakh and a shelter would be constructed at the cremation ghat at cost of Rs 80,000 and a link road would also be constructed at this place in memory of the martyr. |
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Govt neglects anti-TB society Kumarhatti The society was primarily formed to provide financial help to multi-drug resistant TB cases that have become a potential health threat in the country, says Dr R.P. Kaushal, Medical Superintendent of the Himachal Pradesh Government sanatorium. Between July, 2000, and July, 2001, as many as 29 patients were treated here. That speaks volumes for the seriousness of the situation, he maintains. A multi-drug resistant TB (MDRTB) case is one in which the disease becomes resistant to conventional medicines. Hence, a number of new-generation drugs are required for treatment, which extends over a period of 18 to 24 months. MDRTB cases can prove hazardous to society as a single person suffering from the disease can infect nearly 20 healthy persons per year. Dr Kaushal, who was instrumental in the formation of the MDRTTS in October last, says around Rs 1.50 lakh is required for the full course of treatment of an MDRTB patient. Most of the patients, who come from poorer sections, cannot afford it. Dr Kaushal says that at present thousands of persons are suffering from MDRTB in the country. Generally, people know that TB is an infectious disease but not many are aware of the extent of the harm caused by MDRTB. Ordinarily, a TB case becomes an MDRTB case when there is haphazard or inadequate treatment or discontinuance of treatment. The MDRTTS can prove helpful in MDRTB cases as there is no government policy or budget provision for such patients. Even the revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme is silent on this. |
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School employees end fast Dharamsala, March 8 In a statement issued here today, the President of the Union, Mr Rajender Kumar, said the Education Minister, in a meeting with representatives of the union had assured that within next three months a transparent policy would be framed for them and they had decided to postpone their ongoing agitation. He informed that during the meeting with the Education Minister and the Secretary, Education, at Shimla yesterday, some of their demands had been accepted. He said the government had assured that the remaining grant-in-aid for 2000-2001 would be released by April 15 while the grant-in-aid for the next financial year will be paid by June,30. The government had further assured the union, that in future the payment of grant-in-aid would be made in two instalments on December, 31 and June, 30. The filling of vacant posts would be done at the earliest with the concurrence of the government and all left-out cases sent for grant-in-aid would be placed before the committee concerned in April and the eligible candidates would be paid their salary by June, 30. |
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Lack of water hits fire fighting Kasauli The town is surrounded by pine trees from which inflammable needles fall during the intense heat of summer. This often sets these needles ablaze leading to forest fires, which cause huge losses to plantations. A loss of several lakhs was caused to the building of the Central Research Institute a few years back when a forest fire in its vicinity spread to the building. The headmaster’s house at Lawrence School was also severely damaged in another fire some time back. Figures collected from the Forest Department show that in the past five years an area of 3435.40 hectares was ravaged in as many as 147 fires in the entire division. Of these, 122 occurred in 1999 alone, destroying 3260.90 hectares of land. The intensity of forest fires in 1997 was so high that the fire even endangered the Cantonment Hospital as well as the holiday home buildings. A meeting of civil and defence officials was convened subsequently where it was proposed to enhance the fire-fighting system by providing more hydrants and to build a water tank exclusively to douse fires. The Cantonment Board was directed to provide land for building the tank and the state government for funds. But even after more than two years nothing substantial has been done to upgrade facilities. A number of measures were also proposed by fire officers who had to visit the town daily during summer. The Station Fire Officer, Mr K.K. Pawar, stated that as forest fires pose grave problems every summer, he had suggested to the Cantonment Board to provide a separate water line for fire fighting. Each time a fire broke out in the town a fire brigade has to be rushed from either Parwanoo or Solan which delays rescue work for hours causing a loss to life and property. The lone fire brigade present in the town had failed to work on time for lack of proper maintenance. Non-availability of water was another factor, which hampered fire-fighting operations till the arrival of the fire engines from Solan and Parwanoo. Once the water was exhausted it took another hour to refill the water delaying operations further. Though Cantonment Board officials had presented their resolve to enhance fire-fighting, it remains to be seen what action is taken. |
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Change attitude towards women: Bhan Shimla, March 8 He was addressing a large congregation of women at a function jointly organised by the centre for Women’s Studies, H.P. university, the H.P. State Commission for Women, the State Resource Centre and the Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti on the occasion of International Women’s Day here today. The Governor said there was much imbalance in the society between men and women and women were not only subjected to discrimination, but atrocities and humiliation too. He said women were paid low as compared to their male counterparts and the household work done by women was hardly paid for. He said women awakening was more or less confined to the advantaged, educated and upper strata of urban society. He said for real empowerment of women, women living in rural areas needed to be made aware of their rights and various welfare measures initiated for their benefit. He said education could play an important role in this. Lauding empowerment of women provided by way of reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions, Dr Suraj Bhan cautioned women against exploitation from male members. He said proxy governance needed to be guarded against. He called upon men to treat women with respect and regard them as equal partners. He said besides ensuring equality of women, they must be provided ample opportunities in every sphere. The family and society would both progress with the advancement of women, he emphasised. Dr Suraj Bhan said 5.76 lakh poor women of IRD families had been given an insurance cover of Rs 25,000 under Matri Shakti Bima Yojana. The premium under this scheme was paid by the government. Dr N.M. Ghatate, member, Law Commission of India, while delivering his keynote address on “Women’s empowerment in legal perspective”, outlined various legal provisions available for ensuring protection of women’s rights. He said despite growing recognition of women rights during the last decade, promotion and protection of human rights of women continued to be a challenge to all countries. He said women required to be treated as persons and not statistical abstraction. He said in tune with various provisions of the Constitution, many women-specific and women-related legislations had been enacted to protect women against social discrimination and violence. He said the Law Commission had given a report for economic empowerment of women by giving them a share in property, which would help in eliminating the evil of dowry. Prof S.D. Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, Himachal Pradesh University, said women enjoyed a position of respect and dignity in ancient India which needed to be restored. He said there was a need to create awakening among women about their rights so that the process of women empowerment could be speeded. Prof K.L. Johari, former Vice-Chancellor, Guru Jambeshwar University, Hisar, stressed on the need to improve quality of life so as to end discrimination. |
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Women urged to fight social evils Nahan, March 8 She said these problems could not be solved solely through legal means instead a change in the mindset was required. Several programmes and contests were organised on this occasion in the different parts of the district today. In the declamation contest, Rajan Kaushal, Vanita and Banshi Ram secured first, second and third position, respectively. At an another function organised at Nalaka in Mattar Panchayat, Additional Deputy Commissioner Sharbh Negi said lack of awareness was a big hindrance in the upliftment of women. The Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti organised a meeting of intellectuals to discuss the aspects of women empowerment. More than 10 persons delivered their speeches last evening on the eve of Women’s Day in the DIET Hall here. At a function organised by the Indera Ladies Club here, Mrs Kunjana Singh, chairperson of the club and joint secretary, All-India Mahila Congress, demanded reservation for the women in Parliament and state assemblies. |
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Distance education system picking up Dharamsala, March 8 Speaking at the one-day orientation Programme organised here yesterday, The Assistant Regional Director, IGNOU, Dr Jagdish Sharma, said, that a total of 4500 students had enrolled for 67 courses being offered at 23 centres in Himachal Pradesh. Dr Sharma, further added that 24 per cent of those receiving higher education in India were studying through open learning system of which 16 per cent is constituted by IGNOU. The Chairman of HP Board of School Education, Dr C.L. Gupta, said for more effective counselling academic counsellors must establish a good rapport and communication with the students. The Principal of Government Degree College, Dr Tripta Tandon, said the interaction amongst academic councellers would help strengthen the IGNOU centre in the Dharamsala College. In all 30 academic councellers, participated in the orientation programme. They made recommendations for improving the academic standard at the IGNOU centres. |
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CBI may probe agro firm’s accounts Shimla, March 8 The report presented by the chairman of the committee, Mr Dulo Ram, in the House today, observed that during 1997-99 serious irregularities, involving over Rs 1 crore, were committed. Further, the report also said that a senior police officer, who was the Managing Director of the corporation during this period, was directly
responsible for the irregularities. Citing these as reasons, the committee had said it was not appropriate to hand over the case to the state and had instead recommended it to be given to the CBI. |
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5 killed as jeep falls into river Kulu, March 8 Two persons died on the spot while three succumbed to their injuries later at the Zonal Hospital here. Four persons were admitted to a hospital here whose condition was stated to be out of danger. It was also learnt that one person wase missing and it was being apprehended that he had been washed away. The deceased have been identified as Sewak Ram, Gian Chand, Chander Mani and Sunil Kumar. The district administration has given Rs 20,000 as compensation to all those injured and next of kin of the deceased. Maheshwar Singh, MP, Karan Singh, Minister of State for Primary Education, and Prakash Chaudhary, Rural Development Minister, expressed their sympathies towards the families of the victims. |
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Decision on cement plant on March 17 Chamba, March 8 According to sources, the proposed plant would cost about Rs 600 crore, produce 10 lakh tonnes of cement annually and provide employment to about 10,000 persons. Meanwhile, a section of the local population is up in arms over setting up of the plant. The project, the say, would have detrimental effects on the environment. |
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4 held with 4 kg of charas Shimla, March 8 The arrested are Kuldeep Singh, Shyam Singh, Parkash Singh and Sampuran Singh. Mr Venugopal said so far during the year 97,790 kg of charas had been seized and 52 persons, including 23 foreigners. |
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Jawan cremated Paonta Sahib, March 8 |
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