H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Stir on shifting of college ‘motivated’
Kangra, July 18
Mr Vipin Parmar, MLA, Sullah, and Chairman of the Khadi Board, today described the agitation against shifting of Shaheed Vikram Batra Government Degree College from Palampur to Paraur as a game plan to create a stumbling-block in the development of the area.

• Index page: HP raises old-age, widow pensions

11,000 HIV cases in HP: CMO
Kangra, July 18
Himachal Pradesh has as many as 11,000 estimated HIV positive cases, of these 386 are confirmed HIV positive while 91 are full-blown AIDS cases.

Police: no ultras in Nurpur jungle
Dharamsala, July 18
The Kangra police has contradicted reports appearing in a section of the Press that certain armed persons were seen moving about in a jungle near Nurpur on Monday.

Motor-cycle thief arrested
Parwanoo, July 18
A patrol party of the Parwanoo police has nabbed a motor cycle thief near Koti village on the Kalka-Shimla national highway.

Cong protests against inaction of police
Bilaspur, July 18
Hundreds of Congress men and women led by Pradesh Congress Committee delegate Bambar Thakur and former MLA Sadaram Thakur took out a procession through town bazaars and held a rally in front of the DC’s office here last afternoon.

Anti-measles campaign
Chamba, July 18
The Chief Medical Officer of Chamba district, Dr V.D. Sharma, has said an ‘intensive immunisation campaign for measles’ is in progress in the district.

• HP hikes aid to ex-servicemen

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Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama begins a nine-day long sermon period in Dharamsala. (28k, 56k)

Stir on shifting of college ‘motivated’
Our Correspondent

Kangra, July 18
Mr Vipin Parmar, MLA, Sullah, and Chairman of the Khadi Board, today described the agitation against shifting of Shaheed Vikram Batra Government Degree College from Palampur to Paraur as a game plan to create a stumbling-block in the development of the area.

Mr Parmar said here today that for the past seven years the people of Palampur could not provide land for the college due to some personal reasons. Contrary to this 70 kanals of land were given to this college at Paraur. He said 12 temporary sheds were constructed in the beginning.

Mr Parmar alleged that main stumbling-block was the construction of Palampur bus stand. They alleged that it was being constructed outside the town and would affect their business.

Meanwhile, a few hundred students of the college today took to streets of Palampur in protest against the shifting of the college to Paraur. They raised anti-government slogans and alleged that the government had backed out from its promise of shifting the college.

Mr Vipin Parmar threatened that a delegation headed by Mr Omkar Upadaiay, president of the College Sangharsh Samiti would visit Nagrota Bagwan Maranda, Dhira, Thurul, Bhawarna and Sullah markets before boycotting the Palampur market.

11,000 HIV cases in HP: CMO
Our Correspondent

Kangra, July 18
Himachal Pradesh has as many as 11,000 estimated HIV positive cases, of these 386 are confirmed HIV positive while 91 are full-blown AIDS cases.

This was stated by Dr P.S. Dogra, Chief Medical Officer, Kangra, on the inaugural day of a three-day folk media workshop on information, education and communication to control AIDS organised by the Himachal Pradesh State AIDS Control Society here today. He said that during the past three months of 63 persons tested for HIV at the Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centre (VCTC) at Dharamsala, 22 were found to be HIV positive while nine persons were reported to be full-blown AIDS cases. Among the 22 cases 10 were male, nine female and three children.

Dr Dogra said this was an alarming situation and stressed the need to create awareness about AIDS among people. He said three persons from Hamirpur were found to be HIV positive while the remaining 19 were from Kangra district.

Dr Dogra said that three foreigners tested for HIV at the VCTC were not found to be positive.

Dr T.D. Sharma, Principal, Family Welfare Centre, here said that there were 24,087 full-blown AIDS cases in India as per a survey conducted in June 2001. He said that AIDS had spread four times in the country between May 1999 and June 2001.

Police: no ultras in Nurpur jungle
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, July 18
The Kangra police has contradicted reports appearing in a section of the Press that certain armed persons were seen moving about in a jungle near Nurpur on Monday.

Additional SP Kangra, N.D. Sareen told this reporter that the man who claimed to have seen armed persons did not appear to be reliable. He said despite this, the local police had checked the area.

Motor-cycle thief arrested
Our Correspondent

Parwanoo, July 18
A patrol party of the Parwanoo police has nabbed a motor cycle thief near Koti village on the Kalka-Shimla national highway.

According to sources, the police saw a youth with a motor cycle on the roadside. Thinking that his motor cycle has broken down, the police approached the youth and started talking to him. His evasive answers roused the suspicion of the party.

The party arrested the youth under Section 41 (2) 109 of the Cr PC. His interrogation revealed that the youth, Naresh Kumar, was a resident of Maloya, Chandigarh, and he had stolen the motor cycle (CH-01-7744) from Sector 8, Chandigarh regarding which an FIR had already been registered.

His modus operandi was to steal motor cycles from Chandigarh and drive to some lonely place. After dismantling the parts, he used to sell these.

Cong protests against inaction of police
Our Correspondent

Bilaspur, July 18
Hundreds of Congress men and women led by Pradesh Congress Committee delegate Bambar Thakur and former MLA Sadaram Thakur took out a procession through town bazaars and held a rally in front of the DC’s office here last afternoon.

They were protesting against the alleged failure of the police to arrest the murderers of Uma Devi of Laghat village and Vishal Panwar of Bilaspur town. They alleged that protection was provided to the culprits.

Anti-measles campaign
Our Correspondent

Chamba, July 18
The Chief Medical Officer of Chamba district, Dr V.D. Sharma, has said an ‘intensive immunisation campaign for measles’ is in progress in the district. A team of doctors led by Dr Y.D. Sharma and Dr Vishal Mahajan has surveyed the area and ensured that a sufficient supply of medicines was being made in the area, besides taking preventive measures to control the outbreak of such a disease.

Denying reports of some cases of children dying of measles in the area, the CMO appealed to the people not to panic.

HP hikes aid to ex-servicemen
Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 18
The Himachal Pradesh Government has enhanced the rates of financial assistance being paid to ex-servicemen and their widows, including Second World War veterans, aged above 60 years and not receiving any kind of pension, from the present Rs 150 per month to Rs 200 per month. It also revised the income ceiling from Rs 5,400 to Rs 11,000 per annum for the purpose.