H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

BJP leaders resent govt action
Shimla, October 21
The state BJP chief, Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, and a former Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, today said the arrest of BJP workers in Lahaul-Spiti was a clear indication of the frustration of the Congress regime after their defeat in the Guler byelection.

Dhumal should quit over petrol station issue: Cong
Shimla, October 21
Taking head-on the BJP on the issue of nepotism and corruption, Mr Singhi Ram, Minister for Civil Supplies, today asked Mr P.K. Dhumal, former Chief Minister, to resign from the Vidhan Sabha in the wake of the Supreme Court judgement upholding the cancellation of petrol stations allotted to his son and nephew.

Supply papers on Wangtu project to people, HPCB urged
Shimla, October 21
The South Asian Network on Dams, Rivers and People has urged the Himachal Pollution Control Board to make available all relevant documents to local tribal people on the 1000-MW Karcham Wangtu project before holding public hearings for the finalisation of the environment management plan.

Dowry victim commits suicide
Kangra, October 21
A 23-year-old housewife hanged herself to death last evening at Barooh village falling under Nurpur police station following alleged torture by her mother-in-law for dowry, the police said here today.

Kulu Dasehra starts on Oct 23
Kulu, October 21
Every arrangement has been made to celebrate the world famous Kulu Dasehra. The week-long celebrations will start from October 23. The festival will be inaugurated by Gangu Ram Musafir, Speaker, Himachal Vidhan Sabha.
In video Fear of death stops people in Baijnath from observing Dasehra. (28k, 56k)

1.5 lakh visit temple during Navratras
Kangra, October 21
More than 1.50 lakh pilgrims from different parts of the country visited the Brajeshwari Temple here during the last eight days of the Sharad Navratras, the temple authorities said here today.

6 health societies merged
Shimla, October 21
As part of sectoral reforms to undertake integration of resources and avoid overlapping, the state government has merged all the six health societies in the state into the State Health and Family Welfare Society

BJP leaders resent govt action
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 21
The state BJP chief, Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, and a former Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, today said the arrest of BJP workers in Lahaul-Spiti was a clear indication of the frustration of the Congress regime after their defeat in the Guler byelection.

In a joint statement issued here today, the BJP leaders expressed resentment over the arrest of the BJP workers at Udaipur in Lahaul who were peacefully protesting against the indifferent attitude of the government towards the problems of the area. “The government, instead of trying to fulfill the genuine demands of the people, is trying to resort to muffle the voice of the common man,” they alleged.

The two leaders said that the schools in the tribal areas had no teachers and the dispensaries were functioning without doctors. “Despite the people of the area bringing the matter to the notice of the government several times, the authorities have not bothered to remove their grievances, which leaves the people with no option but to agitate,” they said.

The BJP leaders said that after the Rohtang Pass closed during winters, there was no alternate provision to transport potato, on which the Lahaul economy depended to a great extent.

Dhumal should quit over petrol station issue: Cong
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 21
Taking head-on the BJP on the issue of nepotism and corruption, Mr Singhi Ram, Minister for Civil Supplies, today asked Mr P.K. Dhumal, former Chief Minister, to resign from the Vidhan Sabha in the wake of the Supreme Court judgement upholding the cancellation of petrol stations allotted to his son and nephew.

In a statement here, he said the verdict of the apex court indicated that Mr Dhumal had misused his official position as the Chief Minister to get undue favour from the BJP-led government at the Centre. He managed to get petrol stations allotted at Jalandhar not only for his son but also a nephew. As such he had no right to remain a legislator and should quit the Assembly forthwith. He was also liable for punishment for misusing his official position.

He said that the BJP leaders indulged in rampant corruption and the NDA regime wrongfully allotted petrol stations and cooking gas agencies to their family members, ignoring the legitimate claims of others. As many as 14 leaders in the state, including the former Chief Minister, former Horticulture Minister and former chairpersons of board and corporations managed to get petrol stations and gas agencies allotted in the names of their family members.

The most damning was the fact that Mr Dhumal, then Chief Minister, was himself the main beneficiary, cornering two petrol stations. 

Supply papers on Wangtu project to people, HPCB urged
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 21
The South Asian Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRAP) has urged the Himachal Pollution Control Board (HPCB) to make available all relevant documents to local tribal people on the 1000-MW Karcham Wangtu project before holding public hearings for the finalisation of the environment management plan (EMP). It has demanded that an independent agency should prepare the EMP.

Mr Vimal, an activist of SANDRAP, who visited the project area in tribal Kinnaur district, said public hearing was being held on November 9 but the people had not been supplied copies of the environment impact assessment (EIA) report, the proposed EMP and other vital documents in Hindi. He said the local Pagramang Vikas Samiti under which local people had organised themselves boycotted the public hearings twice because these documents had not been made available to them. He said the samiti was demanding deferment of the hearing until all necessary documents were made available to the people who would be affected due to the construction of the project.

Moreover, there was no mention of the dissenting views expressed by members of the samiti in the minutes of the public hearing held on October 7, 2003. It was claimed that a socio-economic survey of 14 villages had been carried out and that the views of 78 persons were recorded. However, the names of the villages and the persons had not been given, raising doubts about the authenticity of the survey.

He said proper assessment of the impact of projects on environment had become important not only for the people likely to be affected but also for the long-term viability of the project.

He pointed out that the increasing silt load and decreasing discharge in rivers had started affecting most ongoing projects. The 300 MW Baspa project was generating only 80 MW and the 1500 Nathpa Jhakri project just 500 MW.

Dowry victim commits suicide
Our Correspondent

Kangra, October 21
A 23-year-old housewife hanged herself to death last evening at Barooh village falling under Nurpur police station following alleged torture by her mother-in-law for dowry, the police said here today.

Kangra district police chief S. Zahoor H. Zaidi said Reena, alias Renoo, was married to Sanjay Kumar in October, 2000, and her mother-in-law Chand Rani allegedly started torturing her for want of dowry. He said according to the complaint of Mr Chunni Lal of Rudh village in Kangra, the father of the deceased woman, Renoo was forced to commit suicide and hang herself because of the continuous torture she underwent.

He said the police registered a case under Sections 498-A and 306, IPC, and arrested the mother-in-law of Renoo.

Kulu Dasehra starts on Oct 23
Our Correspondent

Kulu, October 21
Every arrangement has been made to celebrate the world famous Kulu Dasehra. The week-long celebrations will start from October 23. The festival will be inaugurated by Gangu Ram Musafir, Speaker, Himachal Vidhan Sabha. The closing ceremony will be presided over by the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh.

The traditional colourful rath yatra, which will be led by Maheshwar Singh, descendent of Raja Jagat Singh, will start in the afternoon on October 23. The wooden chariot will be pulled by thousands of devotees in the historical Dhalpur Maidan.

More than 200 local deities would grace the occasion.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.D. Nazim, informed that cultural troupes from Russia and Indonesia would participate in the festival besides troupes from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Orissa, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir.

1.5 lakh visit temple during Navratras
Our Correspondent

Kangra, October 21
More than 1.50 lakh pilgrims from different parts of the country visited the Brajeshwari Temple here during the last eight days of the Sharad Navratras, the temple authorities said here today.

Mr Ram Swroop Sharma, Temple Officer, said that on the eve of Ashtami today more than 35,000 pilgrims paid obeisance in the temple. He said that in view of the heavy rush of the pilgrims, the temple was opened at 3 in the morning and long queues were arranged to regulate the pilgrim traffic. He said that rush was so heavy today that pilgrims could not be contained in a regular manner and tension gripped in the temple complex for some time as the smooth and regular traffic of the pilgrims got disrupted. He said that situation was brought under control when additional police forces were deployed on the temple premises. He said that some senior police officers also rushed here to help in regulation of the pilgrim rush.

6 health societies merged
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 21
As part of sectoral reforms to undertake integration of resources and avoid overlapping, the state government has merged all the six health societies in the state into the State Health and Family Welfare Society.

With the merger of the State AIDS Control Society the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP), the Society for Prevention of Blindness, the Leprosy Control Society, the State Tuberculosis Control Society and the Reproductive Child Health Society, with the state Health and Family Welfare Society, the government intends saving resources.

“Each of these societies will now function as an independent cell, having its own technical staff and separate funding as is being done presently,” said Mr P.C. Kapoor, Secretary, Health. He said the merger would in no way affect the performance of the health programmes.