H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Poll code in 3 Himachal segments from May 25
Chamba, May 21
The Election Commission of India has enforced the Model Code of Conduct from May 25 to June 13 in the three Assembly constituencies of Bharmour, Kinnuar and Lahaul-Spiti in Himachal Pradesh where the poll is scheduled to be held on June 8 in the second phase of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly poll.

Fresh alert on Chamba borders for 
Assembly poll
Chamba, May 21
Patrolling has been stepped up by the security forces on the borders of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh adjoining the terrorist-affected pockets of Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir in view of the second phase of Assembly elections in the Bharmaur tribal Assembly constituency, which goes to the polls on June 8 along with Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti.

Forum settles insurance claim for Rs 50,000
Dharamsala, May 21
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum for Chamba and Kangra districts here has ordered the New India Assurance Company to pay Mr Rikhi Ram, a bus owner, Rs 50,000 as insurance claim, along with interest from February 2, 2002.

Katwal gets interim bail
Shimla, May 21
The HP High Court today granted adinterim bail to the suspended Chairman of the HP Subordinate Services Selection Board, Mr S.M. Katwal. Issuing notices to the state to produce the record of the case, Mr Justice K.C. Sood directed Mr Katwal to join the investigation and not to influence witnesses or affect the investigation being conducted by the investigation agency.

Anganwadi workers hold rally
Nahan, May 21
Hundreds of anganwadi workers and helpers from different parts of the district held a procession in the town today in support of their long-pending demands and handed over a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur.

Poll code in 3 Himachal segments from May 25
Our Correspondent

Chamba, May 21
The Election Commission of India has enforced the Model Code of Conduct from May 25 to June 13 in the three Assembly constituencies of Bharmour, Kinnuar and Lahaul-Spiti in Himachal Pradesh where the poll is scheduled to be held on June 8 in the second phase of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly poll.

Stating this here today, the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer here, Mr Rahul Anand, said the Assembly poll in 65 constituencies of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha was held on February 26 in the first phase.

The District Election Officer said the Elections Commission had already decided to hold election to these Assembly segments on June 8 owing to their difficult geographical terrains and snowy weather conditions during the winter.

He said Chask Bhatori having the lowest of 62 electors was situated at an altitude of 4,170 metres in the Pangi tribal part of the Bharmour Assembly segment in Chamba district. It was the highest polling booth in the district.

The Bhatwara polling station with 1,163 voters had the highest number of voters in the Bharmour Assembly segment.

He said there were more than a dozer polling stations where the poll officials would have to trudge for about 10 km. To reach the Kugti polling station, the poll personnel would have to walk for 17 km on foot the longest distance to be covered by a polling party in the district.

The Bharmour Assembly constituency had been divided into three sectors, Bharmour. Holi and Pangi, for the conduct of free and fair elections.

He said the total number of electorate was 48,298, including 23,298, including 23,007 female voters in this tribal Assembly constituency having 104 polling stations. About 350 poll staff had been trained in the operation of electronic voting machines and about 550 security personnel had been deployed for the smooth conduct of elections in this constituency.

Fresh alert on Chamba borders for Assembly poll
Our Correspondent

Chamba, May 21
Patrolling has been stepped up by the security forces on the borders of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh adjoining the terrorist-affected pockets of Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir in view of the second phase of Assembly elections in the Bharmaur tribal Assembly constituency, which goes to the polls on June 8 along with Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti.

After taking stock of the situation in the Pangi tribal sector during his recent visit to this mountainous valley, the Superintendent of Police, Chamba, Mr Ajay Yadav, said here today that battalions of the Himachal Armed Police, the Indian Reserve Battalion and the Indo Tibetan Border Police had been geared up for utmost vigilance in borders areas.

He said 11 out of 104 polling stations in Bharmaur were located on the border. These had been identified as “hypersensitive”. Besides, 15 polling stations had been declared “sensitive”.

The SP said the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Borders), Mr Sukh Dev, and the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), Mr D.K. Choudhary had been asked to tour the border areas.

The forces were exercising utmost caution on the borders through its 26 checkpoints in close coordination with nine checkpoints of the Indo Tibetan Border Police, he added.

Forum settles insurance claim for Rs 50,000
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, May 21
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum for Chamba and Kangra districts here has ordered the New India Assurance Company to pay Mr Rikhi Ram, a bus owner, Rs 50,000 as insurance claim, along with interest from February 2, 2002. The amount is to be paid within one month.

According to the complainant, the bus, insured for Rs 4 lakh with the insurance company, met with an accident on February 7, 2002. The company, however, refused to pay the insurance claim on the plea that bus driver Baldev Singh did not hold a valid driving licence at the time of the accident.

The company also contested the compensation, claimed by the bus owner.

In their judgement, the president of the forum, Mr B.R. Chandel, and a member, Ms Sonia Sood, said that the insurance company had failed to prove that the licence of the driver was fake, meaning he was fully competent to drive the bus.

Regarding the amount of compensation, as the complainant had signed a discharge voucher in favour of the company for Rs 50,000, it was clear that he was ready to settle the claim for the said amount.

The forum its order instructed the insurance company to pay the owner Rs 50,000 as claim. The forum also directed the insurance company to pay the owner Rs 1000 as cost.

Katwal gets interim bail
Our Legal Correspondent

Shimla, May 21
The HP High Court today granted adinterim bail to the suspended Chairman of the HP Subordinate Services Selection Board, Mr S.M. Katwal. Issuing notices to the state to produce the record of the case, Mr Justice K.C. Sood directed Mr Katwal to join the investigation and not to influence witnesses or affect the investigation being conducted by the investigation agency.

Mr Katwal, in his bail application, had alleged that he was being harassed by the government and had been falsely implicated in the case because of political considerations since the petitioner was appointed by the BJP government.

Anganwadi workers hold rally
Our Correspondent

Nahan, May 21
Hundreds of anganwadi workers and helpers from different parts of the district held a procession in the town today in support of their long-pending demands and handed over a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur.

They have demanded that their services should be regularised and the practice of handing over the anganwadies to the panchayats be stopped.

Officer-bearers of the SFI, the Sirmaur Kisan Sabha, CITU, the DYFI, AITUC, the PWD and IPH Employees Union of Sirmaur district also took part in the rally.