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Shimla, June 28 With the deadline for downsizing of the 15-member Cabinet drawing near, ministers have started putting in their papers to facilitate the reconstitution of the ministry in accordance with the new law. 43 new AIDS cases
detected
‘Declare’ Kugti habitat brown bear
sanctuary
Sangla Valley attracts
tourists
BJP allotted bus routes indiscriminately:
Bali
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Resident docs threaten
stir
Well water unfit for drinking
IT instructors oppose new
appointments
HC reserves verdict in Diwakar
case
Chauhan to take over on July 1
Rajmata’s
cremation
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7 HP ministers put in
papers
Shimla, June 28 Seven ministers and the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Mukesh Agnihotri, submitted their resignations to Mr Virbhadra Singh today. Mr Ram Lal Thakur, Industries Minister, Ms Asha Kumari, Education Minister, Maj Vijay Mankotia, Tourism Minister, Mr Kuldeep Kumar, Minister for Cooperation, Mr B.B. Butail, Revenue Minister, Mr Singhi Ram, Civil Supplies Minister, and Mr G.S. Bali, Transport Minister, put in their papers. More ministers were expected to follow suit over the next couple of days. The process had started after the return of the Chief Minister from Delhi. He reportedly discussed the issue with Central leaders, including Mr Ashok Gehlot and Mr Ahmed Patel. Ms Vidya Stokes, PCC chief, also met the Central leaders and apprised them of her views on the issue. As the two leaders were busy with the Budget session, the next meeting with the Central leadership would take place after July 2. Mr Virbhadra Singh confirmed that he had received the resignation of some ministers and said they had acted suo motu and he had not issued any direction in this regard so far. Asked if he would have a two-tier ministry as he had hinted earlier, he said it would depend on whether he undertook a reshuffle or limited the exercise to downsizing of the ministry. In case of the latter, the resignations of some ministers would be accepted and those of others rejected. He also said the reconstitution of the PCC should follow the downsizing exercise. Mr Virbhadra Singh and Ms Stokes do not see eye to eye on many issues. While Mr Virbhadra Singh maintained that there was no need for chairpersons of various boards and corporations to resign, Ms Stokes felt that there was no harm if they also put in their papers on the pattern of Punjab and some other states. She said she had suggested to the high command to lay down a criteria for downsizing so that the exercise could be carried out smoothly. She said resignations were a mere formality and she would resign as and when Mr Virbhadra Singh asked her to. She expected the Chief Minister to convene a meeting for the purpose before going to Delhi. The state, which at present has 15 ministers and the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, could have a maximum of 12 ministers as per the new law. |
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43 new AIDS cases
detected
Shimla, June 28 “The fact that the number of AIDS cases has gone up from 143 to 186 during the last one year is a cause of great concern for all of us,” Dr R.P. Kaushal, Project Director, State AIDS Control Society, said. However, he added that it was not that there had been a sudden spurt in the infection rate, but it was due to the growing awareness that more people were going in for voluntary testing. The number of HIV positive cases between March 2003 and March 2004 too had registered a high increase from 531 to 817. The highest number of AIDS cases have been reported from Hamirpur at 48 while there are 212 persons who are HIV positive. Hamirpur is followed by Kulu which has 37 AIDS cases and 173 HIV cases. Despite being one of the smaller distict in the state, Bilaspur is a close third after Kulu with 35 AIDS and 136 HIV cases. “The reason for the AIDS problem being more serious in these places is because large number of persons from these districts are employed in the armed forces and working in metros like Delhi and Mumbai,” Dr Sulakshana Puri, District AIDS Control Programme Officer, explained. Dr Kaushal said efforts were being made to provide all possible information and facilities to patients at their door step but due to the stigma attached with the disease the patients were not willing to come out in the open for treatment. He said a number of target intervention projects had been entrusted to voluntary organisations as per the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) guidelines all over the state. A project was being run in the Barmana area in Bilaspur for truck drivers, while another one was being implemented in the Kulu area for those associated with the tourism industry. Some other target population had been identified, for whom new project would be started. An AIDS awareness camp was organised by the Health and Family Welfare Department today at the Army Cantonment Board, Jutogh. The Chief Medical Officer, Dr Suman Gupta, said the situation in the state was alarming as the number of HIV cases had gone up. |
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‘Declare’ Kugti habitat brown bear
sanctuary
Chandigarh, June 27 Mr Rathore, who conducted a study on the ecology of Himalayan brown bear from 2002 to 2003, says the sanctuary is significant in terms of ecology, botany and zoology. The study report was submitted to the Himachal State Council for Science and Technology and the Forest and Wildlife Department recently. Spread over 379 sq km, the sanctuary has 22 grazing pastures, locally known as dhars. Its rocky cliffs, with heights ranging from 2,200 m to 6,000 m, make it a suitable habitat for brown bear. Natural boundaries prevent bears from shifting their habitat to the nearby areas. The north and northeast parts of the sanctuary have dense Kangru reserve forests. Apart from Himalayan brown bear, the sanctuary is also the habitat of ibex, leopard, monal, wild goat and many other wild species. Included in Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Himalayan brown bear is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ list of vulnerable animals. Of the eight species of bear, four are found in India. They are sloth bear, Asiatic black bear, Himalayan brown bear and sun bear. In this region, Himalayan brown bear is found in Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttaranchal. This species is under threat due to poaching for its gallbladder and skin. It is also killed for protecting crops and livestock. Mr Rathore sighted bears 20 times at various locations during the study. The maximum number of sightings were recorded at the Kinnaur, Dughdhar, Dhamel, Nanaun and Sami ‘dhars’. In May, 2003, he sighted a she bear with two cubs in the Dughdhar area. He says no activity of bear was recorded after the second week of December and though a good number of sightings were recorded in the first week of May. Regarding their habitat, he says it generally depends upon the availability of food and population density. It was not recorded in the sanctuary due to non-availability of radio collar facility. He says the government must conduct a census on bears. As brown bear inhabits high altitudes, the researcher says he was shocked to see the condition of brown bear in Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park in Patiala district. “The park is not ideal for keeping brown bear, and it should, therefore, be shifted to Himalayan Nature Park at Kufri,” he says. He has also recorded 120 species of herbs belonging to 36 families in the sanctuary, apart from 16 species of shrubs and 25 of trees. Regarding the human-bear conflict, he says it is rare. During his study only one incident was reported. The reason is that only one village with a population of nearly 1,200 is located in the vicinity of the sanctuary. Moreover, agricultural fields are located far away from the village. However, the study says bears frequently visit fields. A large number of bear droppings and digging signs were recorded in some fields. |
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Sangla Valley attracts
tourists
Sangla (Kinnaur), June 28 This tourist season, Sangla was one of the most favoured tourist places in Himachal Pradesh as most of the tourists wanting to avoid the overcrowded and highly commercialised places like Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie descended upon this virgin valley. With only a few hotels and government rest houses in Sangla, those arriving here without prior bookings are facing accommodation problems. “All rooms of our hotel have been booked till the end of October by tourists from Gujarat, West Bengal and Maharashtra,” says Mr Bhisham Singh Thakur, the owner of a hotel here. The season this year from April to June has been excellent and the local hoteliers, travel agents and those into adventure tourism are now preparing for the foreigners who mostly visit the area in July and August. Some tourists even take the 74-km trek to Baronet and Kedarnath in Uttaranchal. “Once the proposed tunnel for Badrinath is built, Sangla will become even more popular with those embarking on a pilgrimage towards that side,” says a travel agent. With Mt Kailsh in the backdrop of the valley, tourists take a 45-km drive to Chitkul, the last Indian village bordering Tibet. The owner of a camp site says the concept of luxury camping has caught up with the high-end tourists, majority of them Indian, who are looking for an offbeat holiday, sans five-star facilities. Three such camp resorts have come up along the Sutlej. “We were planning a holiday in India but wanted to avoid overcrowded places like Manali and Shimla. So, we chose Sangla,” say Tamar Yelling and Roid Shaves, students from Kat Saba town in Israel. The local hoteliers and travel agents have urged the state government to take effective steps to ensure regular air service. Another thing that the authorities must ensure is to prevent the construction of concrete structure, they maintain. |
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BJP allotted bus routes indiscriminately:
Bali
Shimla, June 28 The number of buses on the highways increased to such an extent that it became difficult to fix a timetable for them. He said 416 permits were granted in 1998-99, 285 in 1999-2000, 113 in 2000-01, 158 in 2001-02, 323 in 2002-03 and 191 in 2003-04. The present government had to give regular permits to many operators who had been given temporary ones by the previous regime. The government had now decided that no permits would be given using administrative powers as was done during BJP rule. Further, no new permit would be granted for national highways to private operators and it would be ensured that new permits were granted for only those routes which covered 60 per cent of the length in the rural areas. Dr Rajiv Bindal raised the matter under Rule 324. In response to a question he said that the super deluxe buses taken on lease by the state road transport corporation were a success. All three routes on which these were plying had recorded handsome profits. The House also discussed cut motions pertaining to the demands of the Irrigation and Public Health, Police and Urban Development Departments. |
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Resident docs threaten
stir
Shimla, June 28 In a statement issued here today the association said that since postgraduate students were involved in patient care in the hospital, they should be given the enhanced stipend as assured by the government. “There are times when gynaecology, orthopaedics, surgery and medicine PG students perform duty for 60 hours at a stretch but the stipend they get is a pittance,” said Dr Rahul Bhargav, president of the association. They said PG students in Punjab and Delhi got a stipend of Rs 15,000 and Rs 19,000, respectively. The college fees over the past two years had gone up from Rs 3,400 to Rs 26,000 and on an average books for PG courses cost between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000. This made it difficult for the students to meet these expenses, they added. They demanded that the stipend should be fixed at Rs 10,000 for 1st year students, Rs 11,000 for 2nd year students and Rs 12,000 for 3rd year students, as agreed upon during negotiations between members of the association and the Secretary (Health) at a meeting on June 22. They further demanded that the increased stipend should be given to them from January 15, 2001. |
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Well water unfit for drinking
Hamirpur, June 28 The suggestion was made by senior officers of the Department of Health and Family Welfare who visited the village today. The department organised an orientation camp for the villagers. Dr P.R. Katwal, District Health Officer, and Dr Pritam Sharma, BMO, Tonidevi, were among those present here. They advised the people not to drink the well water as the water sample tested was found unfit for human use. In all, 62 persons were found suffering from the infection in the past four days. Dr Katwal claimed that the infection was under control. Chlorine tablets and ORS packets were distributed among all those who took part in the day-long orientation camp. |
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IT instructors oppose new
appointments
Kangra, June 28 Mr Amin Chand, the state president of the Himachal Pradesh Computer Instructors Association, while addressing the demonstrators, said 520 IT teachers were appointed by Hyderabad-based Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) for imparting IT training to the students of 234 government senior secondary schools of the state in 2001. He said as the contract ended after three years, their services were terminated. The state government went in for a new contract with Gurgaon-based Software Technology Group (STG) and the required qualification was also pushed up from class XII with Diploma in Computer Engineering to a postgraduate diploma. They said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had assured them that the IT instructors working since 2001 would continue with the new company too. The instructors even stopped the freshers from entering the interview room. Mr Dinesh Kumar, State Project Officer of STG, said the company was holding interviews as per the agreement reached between the government and the STG the preference would be given to the old IT instructors if their qualification was as per the norms. |
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HC reserves verdict in Diwakar case Shimla, June 28 A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice V.K. Gupta and Mr Justice M.R. Verma heard the arguments of all parties. Contending for the state government, Mr H.S. Mattewal said there was no requisition from the Central Government for the services of Mr Diwakar Prasad, who was posted as the Director-General of Police, (Vigilance) in the state. It was further contended that the letters dated February 27, 2003, and March 4, 2003, were forged. The counsel for the Central Government, on the other hand, maintained that the High Court had no jurisdiction because it was a matter between two governments and could be only challenged before the Supreme Court. |
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Chauhan to take over on July 1
Palampur, June 28 Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University Teachers Association has hailed the appointment of Dr Chauhan as the Vice-Chancellor of the university. Prior to his new assignment, Dr Chauhan was serving as Dean at Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture, Solan. |
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Rajmata’s
cremation
Chamba, June 28 Devendra Kumari died on Saturday evening at King Rashid Hospital in Dubai following a brain haemorrhage. The body was placed on the premises of the Royal Palace here to enable people to pay their tributes. |
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