H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Army polyclinic building allotted to education board
Hamirpur, October 7
The much publicised project of the Army to have a B-grade polyclinic for the ex-servicemen at Hamirpur is unlikely to become a reality as the proposed building where the project was to start has been allotted to the Himachal Pradesh School Education Board by the Department of Education for starting its local office there.

DC asks civic body to seek transfer of land
Solan, October 7
The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rajesh Kumar, yesterday directed the municipal committee to seek the transfer of disputed land leased out to the Himachal Furniture Industry from the Urban Development Department back to the committee.

Ludhiana youth murdered
Solan, October 7
A Ludhiana youth, Ravi was murdered by a sharp-edged weapon last evening by three persons near Garkhal village 10 km from Kasauli. The four youths who had come to Kasauli in a Santro car (HR-01-J-6224) started quarrelling over some issue at Kasauli.

Community schemes approved
Shimla, October 7
Prof Chander Kumar, Forest Minister, today chaired the ninth meeting of the governing body of the Biodiversity Conservation Society (BiodCs) which manages the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Kulu district. 

Stone pelting fair an annual event
Shimla, October 7
Ever heard of ‘pattharon ka mela’ or stone pelting fair in a country that boasts of festivals related to lights,colours and seasons.

Jogi case not to hit party, says leader
Hamirpur, October 7
Ms Anita Verma, All India Secretary of the Congress, said that the framing of charge sheet by the CBI against the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Mr Ajit Jogi, would not affect the party’s prospects in the coming Vidhan Sabha elections in the state. She said that Mr Jogi had committed no crime and as such charge sheets would not harm him or the Congress.

Army polyclinic building allotted to education board
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, October 7
The much publicised project of the Army to have a B-grade polyclinic for the ex-servicemen at Hamirpur is unlikely to become a reality as the proposed building where the project was to start has been allotted to the Himachal Pradesh School Education Board by the Department of Education for starting its local office there.

The new order of the state government has led to resentment among the ex-servicemen of the state, who were hoping that this project would become a reality as promised by the Army authorities. The district has a large number of ex-servicemen and their families as well as families of the thousands of serving soldiers.

Brig B.S. Kular of the Mechanised Brigade had started this project in a single room on the campus of the Sainik Welfare Board till the finalisation of a permanent building for the project on May 9.

Under the scheme known as Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme, families of ex-servicemen and serving soldiers located in the district were to be provided with better medicare facilities by the Army doctors. In all, 227 such polyclinics were to be opened in India by the Ministry of Defence for the welfare of the families of the ex-servicemen and the serving soldiers.

Those who wish to become members of the scheme had to pay a lump sum amount varying from Rs 1800 to Rs 1,800,000 on basis of their basic pension. In case of a person becoming critically ill, he was to be referred to the Military Hospitals and his/her entire expenditure was to be meted out through this scheme.

Sources in the state government told The Tribune here yesterday evening that the Department of Education had allotted the huge complex of the Kendriya Vidyalya, Hamirpur, to the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education for starting its activities there.

Lt General, S. Padmanabhan of 11 Core had recently visited Hamirpur to inspect a building for the polyclinic and had selected the old Kendriya Vidyalya building for this ambitious project. However, immediately after he left the Education Department of the state allotted this building to the state education board without taking the district administration into confidence.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Devesh Kumar, refused to comment on this issue.” I have no knowledge about the new order of the state government,” he told The Tribune yesterday evening.

Lt Col Mohinder Singh, chairman, Himachal Pradesh Ex-servicemen Corporation, when contacted by The Tribune said talks between senior Army officers and the Chief Minister, Mr Vir Bhadra Singh, were on to settle out the issue. He said if no suitable building was found for the scheme, additional construction work would be carried out on the present complex of the Sainik Welfare complex here to start the poly clinic.

He said in all eight such polyclinics would be started in Himachal Pradesh. Out of which work for the three at Hamirpur, Una and Bilaspur was already in progress.

DC asks civic body to seek transfer of land
Our Correspondent

Solan, October 7
The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rajesh Kumar, yesterday directed the municipal committee to seek the transfer of disputed land leased out to the Himachal Furniture Industry from the Urban Development Department back to the committee. With the file pertaining to the disputed land adjoining the railway line here having been found by the committee, legal opinion is being sought about the matter by the committee, informed the Executive Officer, Mr B.L. Negi.

The land was leased out to the furniture industry violating laid norms in May, 1998. While the decision was arrived at in a committee resolution in 1997 it was learnt that the lease deed which was finally executed a year later had violated conditions passed in the general house of the committee.

The manner in which the file pertaining to the matter was first procured by the then committee president, Ms Shammi Sahni, and important pages were later removed from it when it was returned some time back had lent credence to the fact that all was not well in the matter. The Deputy Commissioner taking a serious view of the matter has now directed the committee to obtain the actual records of the matter from the tehsil and facilitate the transfer of the land.

The land which was earmarked to be developed into a parking lot to ease congestion was leased out to an individual. The matter taken up after the owner received an eviction order from the Railways for illegal occupation of its adjacent land.

Ludhiana youth murdered
Our Correspondent

Solan, October 7
A Ludhiana youth, Ravi was murdered by a sharp-edged weapon last evening by three persons near Garkhal village 10 km from Kasauli. The four youths who had come to Kasauli in a Santro car (HR-01-J-6224) started quarrelling over some issue at Kasauli. The fight took a serious turn when they brandished knives. All were found to be drunk said police officials.

The other three youths Amandeep, Ranjit Singh alias Jeeta and Mohit Sharma hailing from Sahnewal area of Ludhiana district stabbed Ravi with knives on way back near Garkhal village. The fight which took place on the Garkhal-Dharampur road drew the attention of a scooter-borne HRTC driver who informed the Garkhal police post about the incident.

The police reached the spot and discovered the body of the deceased had been rolled down from the gorge. The car parked nearby was also found to be damaged in the fight. It appeared to have been smashed and was repeatedly hit with the road parapet said some onlookers.

The Dharampur police was informed about the three accomplices who had escaped in a private bus. They were nabbed by the Dharampur police which had set up a naka. The body of the deceased was taken to community health centre, Dharampur for a post-mortem examination. The three youth were detained and a case under Section 302 and 201 of the IPC was registered against them.

Interrogation of the three detained youths by the police revealed that a dispute over the purchase of Santro car had led to the murder. It was learnt that Amandeep had bought this car from Ravi sometime back for Rs 1,05,000. The relatives of the deceased who arrived at Kasauli stated that all four were involved in the theft of vehicle.

A case of motorcycle theft against the deceased was registered recently at Sahnewal police station and he hailed from Dhamot village falling under police station Payal of Ludhiana district.

Community schemes approved
Our Correspondent

Shimla, October 7
Prof Chander Kumar, Forest Minister, today chaired the ninth meeting of the governing body of the Biodiversity Conservation Society (BiodCs) which manages the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Kulu district. The park is a natural repository of biological diversity of temperate zone such as western tragopan, monal, musk deer, snow leopard, brown bear, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan tahr, serow and rare herbs such as aconitum, jurinea, dactylorhiza and many more. This is the western portion of the park, which has 160 villages, mostly dependent on the natural resources.

In order to reduce the dependency of local people on the park’s natural resources, Prof Chander Kumar approved community development schemes such as marketing of vermi compost being produced by the van vihars in Manali, which also covered by the BiodCs, would get a new facelift with more facilities for the public. The BiodCs was a state -enabled mechanism to plough back the income that was generated by the tourist entry fee, paddle boating and other activities into the maintenance of the three Manali-based van vihars as well as the resource dependent communities at the GHNP. A map of the Great Himalayn National Park and a booklet on vermi compost was released by the Forest Minister at this occasion. The meeting also appreciated the community-based work being done by the park authorities among the poor households.

Stone pelting fair an annual event

Shimla, October 7
Ever heard of ‘pattharon ka mela’ or stone pelting fair in a country that boasts of festivals related to lights,colours and seasons.

It may seem strange but such a fair is annually celebrated in the former princely state of Dhami, located about 22 km from here on the road to Bilaspur. This 18th-century fair held the day following Divali is attended by a large number of people at Dhami, a village that was once the favourite hunting ground for the Britishers.

On the day of the mela the locals dressed in their best colourful dresses come here to witness the fair and some also participate in the stone pelting exercise. Shopkeepers from various parts of state come to Dhami to set-up shops and earn a few extra rupees. Stone pelting begins with a vengeance and one who bleeds is considered an honoured devotee of the goddess Kali. His blood is smeared on the forehead of the goddess. The ancient temple of Kali Devi is located in the middle of Dhami and is a landmark of the village.

Further down the grassy slopes of the village are two stone idols of a man and a woman called ‘daranis’, the silent guardians of the Kali Devi temple. Though the legend of this mela is not known but certain residents of Dhami are of the opinion that there was a time when human sacrifice prevailed in the village to appease Kali Devi. However, this practice was put to an end by a Chauhan raja.

But this did not help as the human sacrifice assumed the garb of pelting stones. The blood of the injured is then smeared as ‘tilak’on the forehead of the goddess.

However, according to another legend, the fair is related to a round structure in the village called ‘sharda’meaning burning that was built by Dei, a Suketi belle. As per the legend, she was to be married to the prince of Rangoli state but just before the marriage was to be solemnised the prince was poisoned by residents of Jamog village.

According to the custom, the stone pelting exercise takes place between the residents of Halog that was once the capital of Dhami estate and Jamog. They line up on either side of the ‘sharda’ structure and pelt each other with stones, that are not very large in size. The fair begins when the priest of Narsingh devta temple housed in Dhami’s crumbling palace walks to the Kali Devi temple accompanied by a team of musicians. — UNI

Jogi case not to hit party, says leader
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, October 7
Ms Anita Verma, All India Secretary of the Congress, said that the framing of charge sheet by the CBI against the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Mr Ajit Jogi, would not affect the party’s prospects in the coming Vidhan Sabha elections in the state. She said that Mr Jogi had committed no crime and as such charge sheets would not harm him or the Congress.

Reacting to the filing of the charge sheet against Mr Jogi by the CBI accusing him of forging documents to claim that the Intelligence Bureau had launched an operation to tarnish his image, she said today that whatever Mr Jogi had said that was based on a photocopy of the ‘Operation Black sea’ launched by the Central Government.

Ms Verma, who is the party in charge of elections in the state, said that this act of the Central Government would not help the BJP in the coming elections and the Congress would again win the elections with a thumping majority.

Dagshai school celebrates founder’s day

Shimla, October 7
The Himachal Pradesh Governor has stressed the need for imparting quality education to the students in the state so that they could compete with their counterparts in the country. He was addressing teachers, guardians and students of Dagshai Public School on its 46th founder day function held at Dagshai in Solan district today.

The Governor said that the purpose of education should be to make the students good citizen of he country and for this all aspects of life needed to be taken care in the educational institutions. He said that stress should also be laid on creating healthy environment in the educational institutions so that moral and spiritual values could be instilled in the students.

The Governor also inaugurated an exhibition put up by the students on the occasion.

Sardar Saran Singh, chairman, charitable trust of Dagshai Public School, lauded the efforts of the students for maintaining moral and spiritual values.

Earlier, Principal of Dagshai Public School Tejinderjit Singh welcomed the chief guest.

The Governor also gave away the prizes to the students who excelled in academics and other co-curricular activities.

A colourful cultural programme was also presented by the students. — PTI

Govt to encourage eco-friendly industries
Our Correspondent

Mandi, October 7
Speaking at a function organised here in connection with the Wildlife Week at Post Graduate Vallabh Mahavidylaya last evening, Parliamentary Affairs minister Thakur Kaul Singh said environment pollution had endangered the wildlife to such an extent that many species were on the verge of extinction.

He said global eco-degradation and pollution had assumed alarming proportions. Referring to the preservation of wildlife in India, he lamented that barely 4 per cent area had been left for the sanctuaries. In Himachal Pradesh, however,12 per cent area was reserved for the sanctuaries. He said the Himachal Pradesh Government had decided to encourage eco-friendly and pollution-free industries in the state with main thrust on generation of hydel power promotion of tourism.

The minister gave away prizes to students of various educational institutions who participated in a quiz and various other competitions organised in connection with the Wildlife Week.

The Divisional Forest Officer, Mr G.R. Sahibi, thanked the minister for attending the function.

Non-gazetted federation splits; Bharmauria
new president
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, October 7
The district unit of the Himachal Pradesh Non-Gazetted Services Federation vertically split today when a section of employees elected Mr Prem Singh Bharmauria as the district president and Mr Lekh Raj Thakur as the general secretary. Election for the new body was held here today with Mr Krishan Chand Thakur, former senior vice-president of the district body on chair. Mr Inder Singh Thakur attended the meeting as observers of the state body in the elections.

While talking to The Tribune here this afternoon, the newly elected general secretary, Mr Lekh Raj Thakur, said his was the only and legal body of the federation in Hamirpur. He said the elections organised on June 8 at Hamirpur were not valid and those were of a splinter group.

Mr Thakur urged the Chief Minister, Mr Vir Bhadra Singh, not to give any weightage to the local body led by Mr Prem Chand Verma.

Draft development plan for Dalhousie notified
Our Correspondent

Dalhousie, October 7
The Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Department has published a ‘Draft Development Plan for Dalhousie Planning Area’ through a notification. It is for the first time that the much-awaited draft development plan has been drawn for Dalhousie.

According to the notification issued by Mr J.R. Verma, Director, H.P. Town and Country Planning Department, the copies of draft development plan for Dalhousie were available for inspection to the general public at the offices of the Director Town and Country Planning, President, Municipal Council Dalhousie, Assistant Town Planner, Chamba. The plan specified the existing land-use map, a narrative report supported by maps and charts, explaining its provisions, phasing of its implementation, provisions for its enforcement, manner in which permission for development could be contained and approximate estimate of cost of land and works involved in implementation of the plan.

The Director appealed to the residents of Dalhousie planning area to send their objections and suggestions with respect to the draft development plan in writing to the Town and Country Planning Department and Municipal Council, Dalhousie.

Govt to inform HC on dental colleges’ fee
Our Correspondent

Shimla, October 7
The Himachal government has decided to send a reference to the Chief Justice of Himachal High Court for constituting a committee on the issue of fee structure for privately-managed dental-colleges in the state. The court was informed that if the admission fee charged for the current academic session is higher than the recommendation by the committee then it will be adjusted for the next session.

The High Court has directed the state to send the reference in a week. This issue was raised through a public interest litigation filed by Trisha Sharma wherein she challenged the notification issued by the state government with regard to the increase in the admission fees. As per the recent judgement of the Supreme Court a committee for deciding the fee structure under the chairmanship of the retired High Court judge is to be constituted. A reference with regard to the committee should have been sent by the government before increasing the fees structure but instead of doing it the government increased the fees on its own. The fee structure for management quota was increased from Rs 86,250 to Rs 2.50 lakh and state nominee candidates fees was also increased from Rs 9200 to Rs 20,000.

Now the fee structure will be decided by the committee, which is to be constituted under the chairmanship of a retired judge of high court.

Virbhadra’s effigy burnt
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, October 7
Leaders and activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad burnt an effigy of the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, at the Anoo campus of Government Degree College, here today. They were protesting against the anti-student and anti-people policies of the state government.

Earlier, they held a procession under the leadership of Narendra Atri, a senior ABVP leader and former president, SCA of HP University, Shimla. Students also raised anti-government slogans and held a demonstration on the college premises. Addressing the students, Mr Atri flayed the state government for its anti-people and anti-student stance and alleged that the way the government was functioning, it was harming the cause of everyone. He asked students to expose the misdeeds of the Congress led state government.

He opposed the closure of BIT course from Hamirpur College and hike in the bus fare.

Nathpa project opening on Oct 14
Our Correspondent and agency

Shimla, October 7
The 250 MW unit of the 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Project will be formally inaugurated on October 14. Mr Anant G. Geete, Union Minister of Power, will be the Chief Guest. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, will preside over the function.

The trial run of the first unit of the Rs 8,000 crore project for commercial production started two months ago and the second unit of 250 MW had also been put on trial run few days ago. All six units of the project are likely to be commissioned by July 2004. The project would generate 6951 million units of energy during a 90 per cent dependable year which would be fed to northern grid.

Launch of horticulture mission tomorrow

Shimla, October 7
The Horticulture Technology Mission, aimed at integrated development of horticulture in Himachal would be launched on October 9 and Rs 80-crore would be spent under the mission during the 10th Five-year-plan, an official spokesman here said.

The mission would cover entire gamut of horticultural crops and link the backward and forward areas in a holistic manner.

Aimed at production of horticulture crops by harnessing the potential of different regions, the mission would develop a sustainable, horticulture-based farming system by providing viable and ample oppurtunities for employment and income, especially for women, besides improving productivity of land. — PTI

Vigilance checks samiti records
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, October 7
The Vigilance Department today held the second phase of inquiry into the functioning of the Jagriti Yuva Kalyan Samiti, Samirpur, being run by Mr Arun Thakur (Dhumal), son of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. This samiti works in the Bamsan Assembly segment and helps youths and sportspersons.

Vigilance officials posted here examined the entire record pertaining to the samiti and sought details from Mr Ajay Sharma, the general secretary of the samiti. He was grilled for more than three hours.

Mr Sharma said the samiti had done nothing wrong and its record had been maintained properly.