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Monday,
September 15, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Dhumal blamed for
medical scam Health Dept’s
working worries minister BJP hits back at
Education Minister Vinod Sharma
elected Nurpur BJP chief Orders to vacate
railway land |
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Details of
‘diverted’ HP forest land sought Ban on private
tuition sought
Workshops for
teachers held Pilot project
for control of cancer Dairy owners
cautioned against oxytocin abuse ‘Durga Rahasya’
released Youth held for
killing Dari teacher X-rated CDs
seized, 4 held
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Dhumal blamed for medical scam Shimla, September 14 Mr Ram Lal Thakur Himachal Industries Minister stated this at a press conference here today that the Vigilance Department had sent a report on the purchase of expensive equipment without requirement at excessive rates and sought permission to initiate a probe into the scam. However, the department was not allowed to go ahead with the inquiry on the plea that an MCI team was to visit the college for inspection and vigilance probe could influence the report. He said it was shocking that the government used such a flimsy pretext to block a probe into the scandal. Also some of the faculty members appointed in Tanda college continued to draw salary from their parent institution as well as the college. A few went on foreign jaunts. Also some favoured doctors toured far-off places to get their wards admitted in professional colleges at government’s expense. Mr Thakur held Mr
P.K. Dhumal, a former Chief Minister, responsible for the medical scam in the Directorate of Health Services. He said when Mr Dhumal had in the capacity of Finance Minister himself, regularised the illegal purchase after tampering with the file why three directors of the department were sent to jail for the scam. He wanted to know the compulsions Mr Dhumal had in regularising the illegal act and alleged that the directors were made the scapegoat to protect the politicians. Challans were presented in the court on the eve of assembly poll in an undue haste to protect the political leadership. The Industries Minister also accused Mr J.P.
Nadda, a former Health Minister, of misleading the people on the appointment of doctors on contract. He said the BJP government recruited 225-doctors from outside the state at a time when about 200 qualified doctors from state’s own medical college were available. He said some of those given jobs did not possess even a valid MBBS degree recognised by the MCI. |
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Health Dept’s working
worries minister Hamirpur, September 14 Talking with reporters at Circuit House here last night, she said at the proposed meetings, issues regarding the functioning of health institutions would be discussed. She said BJP government had changed the structure of the Health Department ignoring the guidelines issued by the Central Government. She said it would also be reviewed whether the present structure of all newly upgraded regional hospitals was to be maintained. She said the state needed only three zonal hospitals at Shimla, Mandi and Dharamsala. Answering a question regarding the ongoing controversy between her and the former Health Minister, Mr J.P. Nadda, regarding the appointment of medical officers from outside the state, she said she was not against bringing doctors from outside the state. But when doctors were available in the state what was the need to import them from other states. She said she was enquiring about the antecedents of medical officers recruited on contract basis by the previous BJP government as it had been found that in at least two cases, persons with fake degrees had been given jobs. She announced that the interview for 100 new medical officers and 81 nurses on year’s contract would start at Shimla from Monday She directed the CMO, Hamirpur, to ensure that there was no shortage of medicines and all medical officers were punctual. |
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BJP hits back at Education Minister Shimla, September 14 He also attacked Mr Mukesh Agnihottari, a Chief Parliamentary Secretary and in charge of the state Housing Board, for branding Mr Dhumal as "protector of the corrupt" and alleged that the Housing Board had become a "den of corruption." Mr Sharma claimed that the Dhumal government had increased the job reservation quota for OBCs from 15 to 20 per cent. |
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Vinod Sharma elected Nurpur BJP chief Nurpur, September 14 Mr Rajiv Bhardwaj of the BJP Yuva Morcha (Kangra district) and loyalist of Mr Shanta Kumar, along with his supporters thronged the election venue yesterday and raised objections relating to the membership drive and boothwise party committees formed by the other faction. They later boycotted the election process. |
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Orders to vacate railway land Solan, September 14 The Railways, which had presented the case before the Estate Officer, fought a long legal battle for the vacation of this land. A copy of the judgement possessed by this correspondent revealed that the case, which was earlier decided by the Estate Officer in 1999, had also established the furniture unit as an illegal occupant of the land. The decision was however, contested by the unit owner, who filed an appeal in a district court here. The case was later referred back to the Estate Officer in 2001. The Railways authorities had contested the case on the plea that the land was property of the Railways falling within Railway Plan No. 30 of 1901 to 1903. A dispute raised by the industrial unit that the state was the recorded owner of the land and hence they should intervene into the matter was set aside by the Estate Officer. It was observed that though the state was the owner of the land, but its possession lay with the Railways and lease money had been paid to the Railways during its period of occupation. The order passed on August 29 , under section 5 (1) of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, has directed unit owner Anil Sood to vacate the premises within 15 days and pay damages at the rate of Rs 22089.60 per annum and thereafter at the same rate till the vacation of the premises. It was also learnt that the furniture industry had also leased out some land for stacking wood from the local Municipal Committee. However, no information about the details of the leased land was available with the committee Executive Officer, who said the file pertaining to the matter had been missing. |
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Heritage status sought for Tabo monastery Shimla, September 14 The proposal, if accepted, will bestow world heritage status on these monuments and help bring international expertise for their upkeep. Funds and technical expertise are required for prolonging for life of these decaying monuments, particularly the over 1000-year-old Tabo monastery and Masrur temple, the only monolith structure in northern India. Exposed to the vagaries of weather the Rock temple has become fragile with stone peeling off like paint. The Tabo monastery made of timber and adobe also needs major restoration works to save its fading paintings. At present, there are 3606 centrally protected monuments in the country and 5000 individual structures being maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, Himachal Pradesh has 40 monuments of national importance, which are looked after by the Mini Circle of the ASI. In Chamba district alone there are 13 monuments which include the Ganesh temple, Lakshana Devi temple, Mani Mahesh temple, Nar Singh temple, Bansi Gopal temple, Chamunda Devi temple, Hari Rai temple, Laxmi Narayan temple, Shailtkhonit idols, Sita Ram temple, Champa Devi temple, Shakti Devi temple and Brijeshwari temple. The heritage monuments in Kangra district include Katoch
Mehal, Narwdeshwar temple, Ashapuri temple, Baijnath temple, Sidh Nath temple and Bodh Satupa at
Cehtru. Other important monuments include Vice-Regal Lodge, in Shimla, Shiv temple in
Sirmaur, Barsela monument, Triloknath temple, Panchvaktra temple and Ardh Nareshwar temple in Mandi. The stone age sites at Bilaspur and Kangra are notable there are several neolithic sites in Himachal. The Temple at Chhatrari in Bharmaur with timber interior and inscribed bronzes of Shakti are remarkable. The Buddhist monasteries and Gompas of Lahaul-Spiti and Pangi valley along with other temples and forts of Kangra,
Nurpur, Kotla are also important heritage sites. The monolithic rock-cut temples of Masrur are fine examples of stone architecture and sculpture, while Vice-Regal Lodge is a precious specimen of the Indo European architecture style. The ASI has launched Cultural Awareness Programmes aimed to create awareness about protected monuments in the state to boost heritage tourism. |
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Details of ‘diverted’ HP forest land sought Chandigarh, September 14 The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in a letter written to the Himachal Government said before the illegal notification was withdrawn, certain pockets of the forest land had been put to non-forestry use. The state government has already admitted that 310 hectares of forest land had been allotted by the previous Dhumal regime. Inquiries reveal that the Centre had shot down a request by the Himachal Pradesh Government to denotify thousands of acres of forest land across the state. Through the notification issued on August 24, 1998, without seeking permission from the Union Ministry of Forests, the state government had allotted the land for mining and other purposes. The decision of the Centre had been communicated to the state government after the National Advisory Committee, constituted under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, turned down a request of the state to consider its notification. Sources in the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment said the state government had been clearly asked to withdraw their notification with immediate effect. |
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Ban on private tuition sought Chamba, September 14 In a memorandum submitted to the Himachal Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, the union president, Mr Gurmeet Kukreja and general secretary, Mr Vishal Anand, alleged that regular government teacher were taking private tuition without any check by the Education Department. They also alleged that those students who could not afford tuition were ignored by the teachers. They were given even low marks for practical examination of science subjects in the annual examinations. They demanded a complete ban on private tuition by regular government teachers, which had been flourishing for the past several years. The leaders also urged the Chief Minister to provide direct or indirect employment opportunities for the unemployed so that they could get themselves absorbed in different public and private sectors in the state. |
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10,000 take JBT entrance test Hamirpur, September 14 Nearly 10,000 candidates took the test in the district. Bus and taxi operators did a roaring business despite the fact that the Shradhas are on. Postgraduate and graduates were among the candidates, though the minimum qualification for taking the test is class XII. Many candidates with minimum qualification were heard saying that they stood no chance in front of those having master’s degrees. One of the candidates holding master’s degree in English, Dinesh Kumar, said that growing unemployment had compelled him to take the examination. |
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Workshops for
teachers held Kangra, September 14 The teachers who attended these workshops were guided to identify and evolve a teaching methodology ideally suited to their classrooms. Various interactive techniques and methods such as group discussion, stimulation, role-play and case study were discussed at the workshop. |
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Pilot project for control of cancer Hamirpur, September 14 Talking to mediapersons here last night, she said the project would be controlled by the AIIMS, New Delhi, in coordination with the IGMC, Shimla. KANGRA: The Himachal Government has decided to approach the Medical Council of India to reconsider the case of recognition of Dr R.P. Government Medical College, Tanda, and inspect the institution afresh as the deficiencies pointed out have been taken care of. Stating this here on Sunday, Ms Kumari said the shortcomings were of minor nature. The minister said she would be in New Delhi on September 18, when the case would come up for hearing in the apex court. |
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Dairy owners cautioned against oxytocin abuse Palampur, September 14 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr K.B. Relhan, the president of the forum, said the administration of oxytocin reportedly minimises the resistance of animals to release milk. |
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‘Durga Rahasya’
released Shimla, September 14 The book seeks to explain the eternal Feminine Principle as the underlying force behind all creation. It brings out the cosmological, authropological and existential meaning of the scripture on Goddess Durga in three tales. The Feminine Principle is all pervading and there can be no salvation without getting in touch with the “femina” inside, says. Dr Ranchan, who has earlier translated the Durga Saptshati from Sanskrit to English. |
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Youth held
for killing Dari teacher Dharamsala, September 14 Renu Sood, 45, had separated from her husband in 1996. Since 2002, she had been in an illicit relationship with Sagar. The youth had candidly recorded their amorous escapades on a CD which he had now been using to blackmail her. He had also filmed several other girls and was blackmailing them. After Renu got back the CD, she decided to break the relationship and told Sagar that she would report the matter to the police if he troubled her again. Angered, Rana, who is also a drug addict, decided to kill her. He bought two pairs of surgical gloves and later carried a meat cleaver to the house of Renu early Sunday. When she opened the door, he stabbed her. Later, after washing himself and collecting the CD, he threw the gloves near a khad. On a tip-off from neighbours, the police raided his house and recovered the incriminating footage from the hard disc of his computer. Sagar Rana later confessed to his crime and led the police to site where he had dumped the evidence. A case under Section 302 of the IPC has been registered against him. |
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X-rated CDs
seized, 4 held Dharamsala, September 14 According to the police, four CDs were seized from Suman Pal of Gurdwara Road, six CDs from Deepak Chaddha of Kotwali Bazar, two from Sudhir Pathania of PWD Colony and six pornographic CDs from Ashok Mahajan of Kotwali Bazar. All four have been arrested and cases under Section 294 of the IPC registered against them. |
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