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Saturday,
June 1, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Sonia assures support to government
Dhumal flays Cong stand on
MoUs HP to promote tourism: CM Land occupied by Virbhadra to be
mutated |
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ADA for HP staff from January
1 Pollution board to launch awareness
drive Two constables suspended Road link to eight villages completed Judicial custody for Naib
Tehsildar
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Sonia assures support to government Shahpur (Kangra) May, 31 “With threatening statements being hurled by Pakistan every day, the apprehension of a war breaking out has increased,” she said, addressing a rally at Shahpur in Kangra district. She lashed out at the NDA government for its failure to crush internal and external forces out to create instability in the country. Having a dig at Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, she said it was strange that he had found time to holiday at Manali when the nation was threatened by the clouds of war and Gujarat was being ravaged by communal violence. “It is a pity that keeping the chief ministership of Mr Narendra Modi is more important for the BJP than ensuring the safety of thousands of innocent people in Gujarat who are being made victim of communal carnage,” she regretted. “I am pained at the tragic events in Gujarat which had converted Mahatma Gandhi’s land into Godse’s land and it is for the people of the country to decide whether to be guided by Gandhian principles or follow those indulging in communal violence” she opined. Ms Gandhi said the BJP’s claim of being a party with a difference had been totally shattered as the people had seen for themselves that it had failed on practically all
fronts. She added that the people had lost faith in the BJP and were now pinning their hopes on the Congress for peace and harmony in the country. Remembering the close association that Himachal Pradesh has had with the Nehru-Gandhi family, she regretted that the BJP-HVC regime in the hill state , despite getting liberal financial aid from the Centre had failed to speed up development. “Instead of tapping the immense hydro electric power potential in the state, the government ordered a steep hike in the power tariff and imposed user charges in hospitals,” she lamented. “In a state like Himachal Pradesh, which is endowed with abundant natural beauty, tourism should have been promoted. It could have helped in generating jobs at a time when unemployment has doubled over the past few years,” she said. Ms Gandhi said during the four-year regime of the state government, all development works had been severely hit while corruption was at its peak. “ I am confident that the people of Himachal Pradesh will bring the Congress back to power as all that the present regime has done is to take anti-people decisions and harass Congress leaders and party workers,” she stated. She said Himachal Pradesh had a special place in the country as many soldiers of the state had sacrificed their lives fighting the enemy at the border. She said the people of the state were brave, courageous and hard-working. Speaking on the occasion, HPCC chief Vidya Stokes thanked Ms Gandhi for taking out time to visit Himachal. She said Mrs Gandhi had strengthened the party and enthused party workers ever since she took up the reins of the party. She said the Congress had always protected the interests of the weaker sections of society. A former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, in his address said the people were impatiently waiting for Ms Gandhi to become the next Prime Minister. “After the Congress’ victory in the Assembly elections in many states, it is now the turn of Himachal Pradesh, where people are fed up with the corrupt and anti-people government,” he stated. He said the NDA government had failed to check the internal and external forces threatening the secular nature and social fabric of the country. He urged Ms Gandhi to visit the state again during the coming months as elections were due within a year’s time. Earlier, after arriving at the Pathankot railway station, Ms Gandhi first drove to the Shiv temple at Kathgarh in Nurpur, following after which she proceeded to the rally venue at Shahpur. She was accompanied by the AICC General Secretary, Ms Mohsina Kidwai, who is also in charge of Himachal affairs. Shahpur rally
highlights * Attired in a maroon-beige salwar kurta, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, kept wearing the red Kinnauri cap presented to her, throughout the rally. *
She was welcomed at the Pathankot railway station by the HPCC chief, Mrs Vidya Stokes, CLP leader Mr Virbhadra Singh, Mr Sat Mahajan, Mrs Chandresh Kumari and other senior leaders. After this she drove to the ancient Shiva Temple at Kathgarh near Indora to offer prayers. *
Those who were allowed on the dais included Mrs Mohsina Kidwai, Mrs Vidya Stokes, Mr Virbhadra Singh, Mrs Chandresh Kumari, AICC member, Mr Anand Sharma, Mr Vijai Mankotia and Mr
M.R. Goma. * Breaking the security cordon after the rally, Mrs Gandhi crawled under the barricades to shake hands with people, making the task of the SPG difficult. *
Though dance troupes from Kulu and Chamba had been summoned to perform but owing to paucity of time they did not get the opportunity to perform. But she was greeted with folk music on her arrival. *
Though it was a very well attended rally but contrary to claims of Congress leaders the gathering was below one lakh. No doubt it was a great show by the Congress but leaders of the Virbhadra and Stokes camp remained huddled in their groups. *
Congress MLA Harsh Mahajan, while announcing the names of the leaders, who spoke before the arrival of Mrs Gandhi, time and again mentioned that this was strictly as per the list given to him by the Secretary, AICC, Mr Satyajit Gaekwad. This was apparently to avert any resentment and strike balance between the two groups. |
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Dhumal flays Cong stand on
MoUs Dalhousie, May 31 Speaking at a civic reception function organised at Dalhousie Club after inaugurating a Rs 88-lakh Circuit House and a Rs 54-lakh Bachat Bhavan here
todeay, Prof Dhumal stated that these MoUs were executed taking into account all relevant aspects of the state’s interests in which issues like royalty share and employment had been included. The Chief Minister said the Congress leaders should go through the MoUs before taking to criticism. The Chief Minister said work on hydroelectric projects having a generation capacity of over 7155 mw had been started during the past few years. He said work on 300-mw Chamera hydroelectric project (stage-II) in the Chamba district was started in 1999 and was one-and-a-half year ahead of schedule, which was now towards completion. The Chief Minister said 2051 mw Parbati hydel project and 800 mw Kol Dam hydel project on which work had been started during the regime of the present government. He said 1,500 mw Nathpa
Jhakri, 300 mw Baspa stage-II and 126 mw Larji hydroelectric projects were likely to be commissioned in the next two years. Besides, the state was going to harness 2,226 mw of additional power by next year. The Chief Minister directed the authorities of the Irrigation and Public Health Department to ensure the construction of a prestigious water supply scheme for Dalhousie hill station on which a sum of Rs 4.25 crore had been spent. He also announced the upgradation of four primary schools, namely
Sakreda, Tappar, Swagallu and Nagali to middle standard on a demand presented by a BJP leader, Mrs Renu
Chadha. The Chief Minister said Rs 65 crore compensation had already been distributed among the
outsees of Ranjit Sagar Dam whose land and houses had been submerged in the dam waters in Dalhousie tehsil of Chamba district while one member of each family had been given jobs. Earlier, the Himachal Industries Minister, Mr Kishori Lal, said work on a Rs-750 crore cement plant at Sikridhar in Chamba district would be commenced soon for which the clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and forests was being awaited. Mr Mohan Lal, Ayurveda Minister, Mr Ravinder Ravi, state Power Minister, Mr Rakesh Pathania, Chairman, Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, Mr Kirpal Parmar, member Rajya Sabha, were also present. Later, the Chief Minister inaugurated the Mehla bridge and laid the foundation stones of Donali and Gehra bridges to be constructed on the Ravi. |
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HP to promote tourism: CM Kulu The Tourism Department in the state boasts of 1,434 hotels, having a bed capacity of
32,000. Heliskiing, skiing, white water river rafting, hang-gliding,
para-gliding and water sports attract adventure-loving tourists to the state. The government has issued fresh instructions and framed new rules to regulate adventures sports to ensure safety norms as per the international standards. In an exclusive interview with this correspondent recently, the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, said the government had announced an ambitious tourism policy. Tourism had been declared an industry and the government was committed to providing infrastructure for its development. Mr Dhumal said Rs 488.50 lakh for the development of tourism and Rs 67.26 lakh for the civil aviation sector had been allocated last year. He added that Rs 26.70 crore had been proposed for the Tenth Five Year Plan. Mr Dhumal said to promote new areas, tourism complexes were being set up at Keylong,
Kaza, Sangla, Kasauli, Kalpa and Kharapathar in the state. The Chief Minister said tribal areas in the state, which had a rich cultural heritage and were known for their natural beauty, were being developed from the tourism point of view. He thanked the Prime Minister for laying the foundation stone for the Rohtang tunnel which, he said, would also open new vistas of tourism in the tribal region of the state. Mr Dhumal said the government had plans to connect Naina Devi with Anandpur Sahib by ropeway in collaboration with the Punjab Government. He said 14 potential places for setting up ropeways in the state had been identified and private entrepreneurs’ participation would be given priority. He said the government had exempted units like amusement parks, ropeways, golf courses, film cities and light and sound shows from the entertainment tax for 10 years. Mr Dhumal said the existing airports at Shimla, Kulu and Kangra were being further developed by spending Rs 30 crore. Besides, an additional Rs 30 crore had been sanctioned for the Kulu airport by the Prime Minister. |
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Land occupied by Virbhadra to be
mutated Shimla, May 31 This has been
ordered by the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) in a letter to the Deputy Commissioner in which he has referred to the inquiry which was conducted by Mr Sanjay Gupta, Additional Commissioner (Appeals). The inquiry was reportedly conducted on a complaint under the state government’s “reward scheme” by a local journalist who was earlier a functionary of a political party in the state. The Financial Commissioner, in his letter dated May 17, said from the inquiry report it had become manifest that there was gross violation of law by which the state-vested land had not been mutated in favour of the state government. In a letter dated May 20, the Subdivisional Officer (Civil), Rohru, informed Mr Gupta that the land holdings of Mr Virbhadra Singh in Rohru, Jubbal and Chirgaon were over 4.68 hectares and those of his brother, Rajkumar Rajinder Singh, over 56.34 hectares. He said the entire old land record was written in Urdu and at present there was no offical in the subdivision familiar with the language, adding that it was difficult to provide its copies. The Deputy Commissioner, Shimla is being requested to depute a person who knows Urdu. |
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ADA for HP staff from January
1 Shimla, May 31 Announcing this at a meeting with the Himachal Pradesh Non-Gazetted Services Federation here last evening, the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, said the ADA would be given in cash from June 1 and arrears up to this month would be credited to the GPF of the employees. Earlier, at a meeting of the joint consultative committee (JCC) of the federation, which was presided over by the Chief Secretary, Mr Harsh Gupta, it was decided to release the arrears of house rent allowance due from September 1, 1997, to August 31, 1999. The arrears would be paid in six equal instalments and would be credited to the GPF. This would put an additional burden of Rs 60 crore on the exchequer. It was decided to increase the allocation for house building loan to Rs 15 crore from the existing Rs 10 crore and the maximum limit of the loan had been fixed at Rs 4 lakh. It was decided to grant uniform allowance at the rate of Rs 140 per month to the eligible employees and financial assistance for carrying the body of any employee dying on duty to his native place had been enhanced to Rs 5000 from the existing Rs 300. It was decided that the Cabinet would decide the cases of compassionate employment and various posts in the offices of the advocate-general, fisheries, education, technical education, home guards and health departments would be upgraded. To fill the vacant posts, it was decided to set up a committee under the chairmanship of the Finance Secretary which would submit its report within two months. The Chief Secretary said as many as 41,272 posts of various categories had been filled during the past four years and 23,927 posts created. Meanwhile, Mr Ganga Singh Thakur, president, and Mr Prem Singh Bharmouria, secretary general of the federation, have thanked Mr Dhumal for accepting the demands of the federation and granting the ADA. |
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Pollution board to launch awareness
drive Solan, May 31 The board Chairman, Dr Rajiv Bindal, who addressed a press conference here today, said special camps would be organised at educational institutions and industrial areas all over the state from June 1 to 7. Camps for monitoring emissions by motorised vehicles would also be held at important points on highways. These camps would be held from June 1 to 3 at Parwanoo, on June 4 and 5 at Solan, June 5 and 6 in Shimla and June 6 and 7 at Paonta Sahib. Dr Bindal said the board had also undertaken a survey of the entire state with a view to preparing zonal atlases. Data concerning water levels and it’s availability and quality of air as also the present and potential and use would be made available in these documents, which would be basically geographical in nature. The board was also setting up an air monitoring station at Barmana in the Bilaspur district. It had been located near the cement plant there. It would help keep a close watch on the affluents discharged by the large sized unit. It would become operational in mid June, he said. |
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Two constables suspended Shimla, May 31 Shyamat Rao was one of the two accused in the case pertaining to the murder of a woman and her son, who were owners of a hotel near Lakkar Bazaar. He was undergoing tests at IGMC for suspected AIDS. He escaped by climbing down the sewage duct in the toilet of the hospital. The SP, Mr Pardeep Kumar, has announced a reward for providing clue to his arrest. The accused and his accomplice were arrested sometime ago near Nahan when they were trying to escape to Dehra Dun in car belonging to the murdered hotelier. |
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Road link to eight villages completed Nahan, May 31 Addressing a public meeting on the occasion, he said it was unfortunate that this area had been consistently neglected by previous governments for over 54 years and remained without development for such a long time. He said construction of this road would cost Rs 40 lakh which included construction of two bridges which had been completed. The Chairman said Rs 68 lakh had been sanctioned for the Chandrol-Pankuffer road, Rs 5 lakh for the Kotla Bangi-Kadoli Dhochi road, Rs 6 lakh for the Manva-Dhanna Chhukharia road and Rs 4 lakh each to bridge Sarva Khud and Bhajetoo Khud. He also inaugurated a 25 KVA transformer at Manva. |
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Judicial
custody for Naib
Tehsildar Nurpur, May 31 A forgery case under sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC was registered against him when he was posted Naib Tehsildar (Revenue) here in 1998 on a complaint by a panchayat pradhan. It was alleged that in 1998, Bir Singh, a field Kanungo (revenue) had transferred five kanals of government land at Charor village to his sons’ names in connivance with the then Naib Tehsildar. The land was allegedly grabbed on forged witnesses who were attested and recorded by the Naib Tehsildar. The police after preliminary investigations found this involvement of the Naib Tehsildar in the land grab case. The Gangath police after arresting the Naib Tehsildar from Theog had also taken two days’ remand on Tuesday. In the meanwhile, the field kanungo and his son Balwinder had got interim bails from the High Court, at Shimla. |
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Entrance
test dates
clash Nahan, May 31 |
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Sepoy cremated with honours Nurpur, May 31 |
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Anti-tobacco rally Hamirpur, May 31 |
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1 killed
by lightning Mandi, May 31 Khub Ram and his sister were standing in the courtyard when lightning struck them. Three persons had been killed in Nachan and one at Barot in the Chuhar valley. As many as 100 sheep and goat were perished in Roolang village near Barot when lightning struck the herd. |
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Promoted Shimla, May 31 Mr O.P. Sharma, Managing Director of the Himachal Pradesh Forest Corporation, has also been promoted as the Additional Principal Chief Conservator Of Forests, against the upgraded post. |
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