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Friday,
November 1, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Delimitation
fears ‘unfounded’ Dr Retola
foresees another plague Row over
Dalit girls’ segregation averted HP varsity
students’ memo to UGC team |
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Virbhadra
summoned in khair wood case Kargil
martyrs’ families honoured Freshers
perform well IGMC
annual fest opens Relay
fast enters second day “Sadbhavana
2002” notified
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Delimitation fears ‘unfounded’ Chamba, October 31 Talking to newspersons here today, the Chief Minister said that news appearing in the media regarding delimitation were not based on facts. In fact, these were the ‘working proposals” drawn up by the Delimitation Commission and not the draft proposals. He said that the delimitation proposals were yet to be put up to the Union Government for finalising the draft proposals. Thereafter these would be published for inviting claims and objections of the people and their representatives before according final approval. The Chief Minister said that resentment of senior leaders of the state on the delimitation showed that they were not conversant with the procedure laid down in the Delimitation Act. He said according to the Constitution delimitation of constituencies was mandatory after a period of 30 years as earlier the delimitation was done in 1972. For this purpose, a Delimitation Act passed by the Parliament in May 2002 received the President’s assent in June 2002 in which it laid down that population figures of the 1991 census would be applicable, the Chief Minister said. The Chief Minister said that accordingly the Delimitation Commission was formed under the provisions of the Act, which comprised Members of Parliament (MPs) and five Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of Himachal. Referring to Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s rally held recently at Mandi, the Chief Minister described it ‘a complete flop’. He said that the speech of Sonia Gandhi was like the one she delivered in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that facts and figures on Himachal given to Sonia were wrong. The Chief Minister claimed that crime graph in the state was on the decline and atrocities against women had reduced to a great extent. To curb crime against women helplines had been set up where the grievances of the women could be heard and redressed. For this, several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were also coming forward for this. Referring to Sonia Gandhi’s claim on unemployment in the state, Mr Dhumal said that it was due to wrong policies of the Congress regime. He said that 65,000 persons had been given direct jobs in the government sector and services of 12,000 daily wage workers had been regularised besides self-employment was generated for lakhs of people in the state. On corruption, Mr Dhumal said that corruption thrived during Congress party’s rule, and if there was any instance of corrupt practice in the BJP-led regime people had the right to seek probe from the Himachal Pradesh Lokayukta. The Chief Minister castigated the Congress party which could generate only 299 MW of power in the state sector while the BJP-led government in its four-year regime generated 800 mw of the power. He said that the state would generate 2026 MW of power by 2003, 10,000 MW by 2010 and 20376 MW by the end of year 2015. The Chief Minister said that deaths due to starvation in Rajasthan was matter of shame for any political party. The Chief Minister today inaugurated Dakog Bridge across the Ravi river connecting the Banni Mata route alongside several distant tribal areas with the main Bharmaur-Chamba highway and inaugurated the mini-secretariat at Bharmaur, the sub-divisional headquarter township. |
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Dr Retola foresees another plague Shimla, October 31 He said the National Institute of communicable disease, New Delhi, which investigated the outbreak of the disease in Kelvi and Gallu villages in February last, has found the presence of the disease-causing bacteria in the wild rodents, and called for urgent surveillance and remedial measures to prevent a possible outbreak of plague. He said the focal affected wild rodents so that prophylactic measures could be taken. Dr Retola, who has received global recognition for his pioneering role in combating plague thrice in the state suggested that an independent surveillance unit should set up in the area for constant monitoring training of the field staff. He said this was essential for a quick diagnose and response as the incubation period of the disease was as short as two to six days, depending on the virility of the bacteria. Referring patients to the IGMC Hospital, here, or the PGI, Chandigarh, can imperil their lives. The infection can reach an “incurable” stage. He maintains that lives of some of the patients who died during the February outbreak could have been saved had the disease been diagnosed early and the infected persons given treatment then and there. The speed and effectiveness Dr Retola has shown in containing plague during the recent outbreak has amazed medical experts in the USA, Dr Daniel R. Lucey, Director infections Diseases Service, Washington, has said in a communication. Dr Lucy said he was impressed at the alacrity by which the spread of the epidemic was controlled right at its onset limiting the loss of lives to just four in recent outbreak. “The daring spirit with which the controlling team of doctors headed by Dr Retola, braved the adversities to reach the plague contacts and infected people in snow-bound areas in rugged and hazardous terrains to provide timely medical help prevented a heavy loss of human lives”, he said. He has sought feedback on the efficacy of certain medicines and strategies for amendment in the US system of cure and prophylaxis for plague epidemics. The input from India provided by Dr Retola has been incorporated in plague control system in the USA. |
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Row over Dalit girls’ segregation averted Dharamsala, October 31 Some parents of Dalit girl students of Government Senior Secondary School, Kandbari, met the SDM, Mr K.C. Chaman, on October 29 with a complaint that their daughters studying in class VI were being forced to sit separately from other girls. The SDM visited the school on Wednesday. He was accompanied by the SDPO, Mr Pritam Thakur. According to Mr Chaman, they found that the Dalit girls numbering six, were sitting separately. But the inquiries revealed that the action was neither the doing of teachers or any group of students belonging to the upper class. The SDM directed the SDPO to investigate the whole matter. When contacted, Mr Thakur said the matter had been resolved as the complainants withdrew their complaints stating that a misunderstanding had led to the incident. He said four Dalit girls were seated in one line and to balance the row the class teacher asked some other girls to shift to that row. The girls also happened to be Dalit students. The matter would have ended there but some boys of the class started teasing these girls, who reported the matter to their parents. The parents informed the panchayat pradhan of the Nain panchayat, Ms Bina Devi, who visited the school and inquired into the allegations. The Principal and the teachers showed their ignorance about the matter. Mr Thakur said during his visit today the boys responsible for teasing the girls were reprimanded. |
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HP varsity students’ memo to UGC team Shimla, October 31 The memorandum demands starting of new courses like Anthropology, Philosophy, criminology and forensic sciences and drama and folk arts in the faculties of social sciences, humanities and laws. Starting of post-graduate courses in bio-diversity, Himalayan ecology, environmental sciences, polymer, analytical and applied chemistry and geology in the faculty of physical and life sciences. B.Ed in commerce and arts in the faculty of education. The SCA memorandum seeks two new hostels to house 300 students for those coming from far-off areas of the state. Website/networking facility in the university for the display of all information concerning courses offered, schedule of curriculum, examinations and results and documentation of present and old documents. Support for placement cells for professional courses. Allocation of funds for the construction of gymnasium and basketball, badminton and volley-ball courts. |
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Virbhadra
summoned in khair wood case Shimla, October 31 They have been charged with criminal breach of trust, forgery, cheating, criminal misconduct and misuse of official position to cause pecuniary gain to Sagar Katha Udyog. Former Deputy Secretary (Forest) and Mr Dinesh Kumar, a partner of the firm, are two others issued summonses in the case. Mr Virbhadra Singh has been charged with allotting 25 per cent khair wood quota to Sagar Katha Udyog without approval of the cabinet and after altering and interpolating original noting on the file. Investigations revealed that Mr O.P. Yadav, and Mr Geeta Ram allowed 6 per cent unauthorised benefit in price to the firm for a period of two years. The case has been listed for December 3. |
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Kargil martyrs’ families honoured Hamirpur, October 31 Mrs Anita Verma and Mr Kuldeep Singh Pathania, two former MLAs represented the Virbhadra Singh’s faction at the function. The function was largely attended. Mrs Stokes demanded more representation for the Himachal youth in the Army. She criticised the ruling party for playing politics in the name of the martyrs. Mr O.C. Sharma, former Director-General of Police, Madhya Pradesh, flayed the state government for shifting the Shaheed Capt Vikram Batra Memorial College from Palampur to Paraur on political considerations. Dr Vinod Sharma, convenor of the function, released a role of honour of Kargil martyrs on the occasion. |
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Freshers
perform well Palampur, October 31 Pretty Renu Gard as Sahiban gave a heart-warming performance. She perhaps could not have expected more than what came to her in the form of repeated applause from the audience. Rajiv as Mirza Amam Khiva Khan as Mirza’s father, Nisha as Sahiban’s mother, Sunil as Kammu Bahman and Kailash as Baniya also performed well. Deft handling of the play by Dr Yogesh Gambhir and Dr Sunita Dhir made up for a Balwant Gargi’s script, replete with flaws, by plugging loose ends and distorted poetical rendition sine qua non of a poetic play which “Mirza Sahiba’ happens to be. Melodious compositions by Shamim Iqbal strengthened the powerful portrayal of melodramatic scenes. The handling of lights by Daljit Dally and Gurmeet Singh and sets by Avtar Singh filled the remaining gaps. Dr Gambhir said some suggestions by his colleague, Prof Gurcharan Singh, helped to improve the play. Subtle and innovative theatrical effects introduced by the directors made it a memorable event for the audience which remained spellbound. According to Dr Sunita Dhir said “the play left much to be desired, though many actors had performed beyond her expectations as they are newcomers in the department. With a little more effort, they can give a superb performance”. The second play, “Nau Baran, Das” represented the longing for a life full of razzmatazz. Affected by the glamour and excitement of “filmi” life, the main character, Ninder, portrayed by Gurcharan, is exploited by those around him. His lackadaisical approach gets him nowhere. The director of the play, Dr Navnindra Behl, said; “The relevance of the subject and subtle meaningfulness of the subject tempted me to choose this challenging script of evolving a theatrical experience out of the narrative”. “Evolving the script through improvisation by involving students in writing and performing in the rehearsal room was experimental,” she added. Dhanto (Priyanka), Harpreet Kaur (Aishwarya Rai) and Dharmendra (Keshav) provided the much-needed balance and strength to the play. |
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IGMC annual fest opens Shimla, October 31 A slide show designed by Mr Avinash Sharma, president of the IGMC CSA, was presented. The theme of the show was history of the IGMC and life of a medical student. Speeches were made by festival coordinator Amit Saini, cultural secretary Saurabh Galodha, staff adviser N.S. Sharma and chief guest H.L. Kapoor. |
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Relay fast enters
second day Kangra, October 31 The spokesperson for the union, Mr Sanjeev Kapoor, told mediapersons today that the decision was taken following the “indifferent” attitude of the government towards their demands. |
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“Sadbhavana
2002” notified Shimla, October 31 The spokesman further said to enable all eligible dealers to opt for self-assessment, it had been decided to allow them to file statements of self-assessment by December 15. |
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CM’s security staff fall sick Shimla, October 31 The securitymen cooked food and soon after eating it, they started showing symptoms of diarrhoea. The sample of food has been sent to a laboratory.
PTI |
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Dhumal’s Divali gesture Shimla, October 31 |
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HP Chief Secy retires Shimla, October 31 A 1966-batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, Mr Gupta held several important positions during his service career and was appointed Chief Secretary in June, 2001.
PTI |
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