H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Peace talks fine, but hurdles remain: PM
Says no differences with Left
Shimla, May 29
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, today expressed satisfaction over the progress on talks with Pakistan, but cautioned that there were still many difficulties, which had to be overcome.

• PM’s wife visits IIAS
• Virbhadra hails Sonia’s election

16-yr-old raped, accused absconding
Nurpur, May 29
A 16-year-old girl of nearby Jassur village was allegedly abducted, kept in illegal confinement and raped repeatedly. According to the police which had registered an FIR against Ramesh Kumar of Bhugnara village under Sections 363,366,376 and 506 of the IPC, the girl had been missing since February 24 when she was on her way to the school.

‘Invite Pak Chambiyals for millennium fete’
Chamba, May 29
Since the preparations for celebrating Chamba completing 1,000 years of existence, to be held in Chamba town from October 20 to 26, are on, the Chamba Welfare Association, a non-governmental organisation of the district comprising senior citizens, has suggested that the Muslim families hailing from Chamba, who migrated to Pakistan in 1947, be invited to participate in the millennium fete.

Now, heritage walks for tourists
Dharamsala, May 29
Tourists coming to Dharamsala and the adjoining tourist spots will now be taken for heritage walks by the Tourism Department to give them a glimpse of the cultural wealth of the state.

Steps taken to prevent forest fires
Shimla, May 29
The Forest Minister, Mr Ram Lal Thakur, said here today that the Forest Department had taken effective steps to check forest fires. He said the regional forest officers and officials had been directed not to proceed on leave and remain at their place of posting to keep a strict vigil on the situation.

New engineering courses on the anvil
Solan, May 29
With an overwhelming demand for engineering trades in various industrial units in the state, the government is now contemplating introducing new engineering courses.

HP Class XI results tomorrow
Dharamsala, May 29
The results of the Class XI examination conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education will be declared on May 31. The results will be available on the official websites of the board.

Mandi limps back to normalcy
Mandi, May 29
The situation in riot-hit Mandi town is under control and normalcy has been restored, Deputy Commissioner A.R. Rizvi today said.

Move to appoint ex-CMO criticised
Dharamsala, May 29
The Kangra chapter of the Himachal Pradesh Medical Officers Association has criticised the proposed appointment of a retired chief medical officer in the Department of ENT of the Dr Rajindra Prasad Government Medical College and Hospital on contract basis by the state government.

Peace talks fine, but hurdles remain: PM
Says no differences with Left
Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 29
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, today expressed satisfaction over the progress on talks with Pakistan, but cautioned that there were still many difficulties, which had to be overcome.

Talking to mediapersons before leaving for New Delhi after his two-day visit to the state, he said the ongoing dialogue had helped in creating the right environment to thrash out issues, but there were obstacles to surmount. He made these observation when asked about his response to the roadmap for peace proposed by the Pakistan President, Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Regarding the withdrawal of forces from Siachen, he said high-level talks were on and an Indian team, led by the Defence Secretary, was in Pakistan to discuss the issue. He was awaiting a feedback from the team, which would return tonight.

Asked whether the frequency of the Muzaffrabad-Srinagar bus service would be increased, he said nothing could be ruled out. The government would not hesitate in taking whatever confidence-building measures were required to create an environment conducive for resolving issues.

He ruled out the possibility of setting up coordination committees in states on the pattern of the Centre to ensure smooth implementation of the common minimum programme (CMP) and sorting out other issues. He said the political equations differed from state to state and as such the arrangement made at the Centre could not be extended uniformly. For instance, the Congress and the CPM were political rivals in West Bengal and Kerala. The existing arrangement had worked fine so far.

He said there were no differences with the Left parties, though there could be difference of perception on certain issues, but such minor irritants had been thrashed out from time to time. The UPA and the Left parties would work together to achieve the objectives of the CMP.

Regarding maintaining 9.5 per cent rate of interest on the EPF, he said there was need for improving returns from the fund and ways and means to achieve this would have to be discussed. Ultimately, a decision had to be taken by the trustees of the fund. The government would discuss the matter with the trustees.

PM’s wife visits IIAS
Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 29
Mrs Gursharan Kaur, wife of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, visited the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) here today. She was accompanied by Members of Parliament, Dr Dhani Ram Shandil and Mrs Pratibha Singh.

She was taken around the institute library, historical photographic museum and shown the publications of the institute in which she took keen interest. The Director of the Institute, Prof Bhuvan Chandel, presented books in various disciplines to the visiting dignitary.

She appreciated the research work done by the institute.

Virbhadra hails Sonia’s election
Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 29
Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, has congratulated Mrs Sonia Gandhi for being elected President of the All India Congress Committee for third consecutive term.

He said that the Congress had gained strength under the leadership of Mrs Gandhi. By renouncing the office of Prime Minister at the time of formation of the UPA government, she had set a rare example.

He said her election would boost the morale of the party workers and inspire them.

16-yr-old raped, accused absconding
Our Correspondent

Nurpur, May 29
A 16-year-old girl of nearby Jassur village was allegedly abducted, kept in illegal confinement and raped repeatedly. According to the police which had registered an FIR against Ramesh Kumar of Bhugnara village under Sections 363,366,376 and 506 of the IPC, the girl had been missing since February 24 when she was on her way to the school. In the way the accused met and allured her. Both had tea in a shop at Jassur and the accused took her to his home and allegedly raped her by promising to marry her.

Next day both went to Kapurthala in Punjab and spent a few days there. Then they went to Paprola in Kangra district where the accused worked as a labourer. They spent about two months. The victim alleged that the accused raped her repeatedly during this period. The accused brought her to his home at Bhugnara on May 17. After keeping her there for a few days, the accused refused to accept her and later left the house.

The victim, along with her mother, registered a complaint with the local police against the accused yesterday. The police got the girl medically examined. The police conducted raids during the past two days to nab the accused but did not succeed till filing of this report today.

‘Invite Pak Chambiyals for millennium fete’
Our Correspondent

Chamba, May 29
Since the preparations for celebrating Chamba completing 1,000 years of existence, to be held in Chamba town from October 20 to 26, are on, the Chamba Welfare Association, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of the district comprising senior citizens, has suggested that the Muslim families hailing from Chamba, who migrated to Pakistan in 1947, be invited to participate in the millennium fete.

In a letter sent to Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Mr Harish Chandra Sharma, senior vice-president of the association, who is also a member of the State-Level Committee for Chamba millennium celebrations, has requested that now when India and Pakistan are coming closer and a number of important measures have recently been taken to normalise relations, Chambiyals living in Lahore, Islamabad and other places in Pakistan be allowed to visit Chamba during celebrations for which necessary clearance from the Government of India may be obtained.

This will definitely go a long way in creating goodwill, amity and brotherhood in both the countries. A few Muslim families from Chamba town and nearby villages, including Sarol, Bhadiyan and Rajpura migrated to Pakistan in 1947. While some of them have been visiting Chamba but majority of them could not.

There are about 20 such Muslim families presently living in Chowgan and Kashmiri mohallas of the town whose close kin are holding high posts in Lahore, Rawalpindi and other places in Pakistan.

Now, heritage walks for tourists
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 29
Tourists coming to Dharamsala and the adjoining tourist spots will now be taken for heritage walks by the Tourism Department to give them a glimpse of the cultural wealth of the state.

Performances by local artistes are already being organised in McLeodganj, Bhagsunag and Naddi to showcase the art and culture to the tourists. A total of 18 shows will be organised till the end of June.

Deputy Commissioner Bharat Khera said the district administration had decided to highlight the beauty of the snow-capped Dhauladhar range as the key attraction for tourists.

District Tourism Officer Vikas Labru said the walking track at the Khajjiar lake would be revamped and the horse track would also be improved by putting up benches and making provision for parking. He, however, said the desilting of the lake might take some time as recommendations of an expert committee would have to be taken into consideration in this regard.

He said a public park located in the heart of Palampur, which was in a state of neglect, would be spruced up. He said parking areas had been identified behind the sabzi mandi and the government hospital.

“Capacity-building” programmes would be organised for taxi operators and waiters in the state for the next tourist season. “These people are the ambassadors of tourism and they will be given training before the beginning of the next tourist season so that people coming from outside leave with a good impression of the state,” he said.

Steps taken to prevent forest fires
Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 29
The Forest Minister, Mr Ram Lal Thakur, said here today that the Forest Department had taken effective steps to check forest fires.

He said the regional forest officers and officials had been directed not to proceed on leave and remain at their place of posting to keep a strict vigil on the situation.

Special task forces had been deployed in sensitive areas to tackle fires promptly. He said the forest officials had been provided with wireless sets. The situation was being monitored round the clock at the state headquarters.

The minister said he had already held a meeting of senior forest officers and directed them to make foolproof arrangements to check fires.

The forest guards had been directed to report any such incident immediately to the authorities concerned so that the required action could be taken without wasting time.

Mr Thakur also directed the forest officers to educate the people leaving in the periphery of forests about the dangers the fires pose and how to prevent them.

New engineering courses on the anvil
Our Correspondent

Solan, May 29
With an overwhelming demand for engineering trades in various industrial units in the state, the government is now contemplating introducing new engineering courses.

The Director, Technical Education, Mr R.D. Pawar, said today various courses like ayurveda assistants, laboratory assistants, fine arts, etc., introduced by the state council for vocational education and training (SCVT) have drawn a good response.

Addressing students and staff at the Government Polytechnic College at Kandhaghat on the occasion of its 19th annual prize distribution function, he said various courses run by the SCVT had opened wider employment opportunities for the youth, both in the form of direct and indirect employment.

He said though it took a long time to streamline the system but once put in place it had checked mushrooming of commercial shops providing substandard education to the youth.

Earlier, while addressing the students, the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Harbhajan Singh, lauded the achievements of the girls and gave away prizes to the meritorious students. The local MLA, Dr Rajiv Bindal, while speaking on the occasion, congratulated the students for achieving good campus placements.

The Principal, Mr S.C. Mata, while listing the achievements of the college said it was the only institute in the state which had been issued an ISO 9001-2000 certificate.

A grant of Rs 2.5 crore has been sanctioned to the institute under a World Bank aided programme. With an industry institute partnership cell the students are exposed to regular industrial training. 

HP Class XI results tomorrow

Dharamsala, May 29
The results of the Class XI examination conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education will be declared on May 31.

The results will be available on the official websites of the board : hpeducationboard.nic.in and hpeducationboard.gov.in. The students can also call up the following numbers to know their results (0177) 2627651, 2623652, 2620424, 2626382 and 2625112 or by sending SMS messages from their BSNL cell phones or through the R-World on Reliance connections, said a press release issued by the board here today. — TNS

Mandi limps back to normalcy

Mandi, May 29
The situation in riot-hit Mandi town is under control and normalcy has been restored, Deputy Commissioner A.R. Rizvi today said.

Talking to newspersons here, he said no untoward incident had taken place during the past two days.

A decision to revoke the imposition of Section 144, CrPC, would be taken by tomorrow and schools and colleges would open simultaneously, Mr Rizvi said.

Thousands of students sat for the TGT test here today, he said. Earlier, communal tension had flared up in the town when a youth, belonging to the minority community, had thrown acid at a girl in a bus.

Eleven persons, including the girl, were injured in the incident on May 27. The accused was arrested and is in police custody. — UNI

Move to appoint ex-CMO criticised
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 29
The Kangra chapter of the Himachal Pradesh Medical Officers Association has criticised the proposed appointment of a retired chief medical officer (CMO) in the Department of ENT of the Dr Rajindra Prasad Government Medical College and Hospital on contract basis by the state government.

The association has claimed that the CMO has no experience in teaching and remained involved in administrative services. “After retirement, he wants to utilise his good political links.

But many doctors, who have completed MD are agitated over the way a retired doctor is being chosen for the post,” said Dr Ajay Dutta, general secretary of the association.

He urged the state government not to go ahead with it as the pick-and-choose policy would give a wrong signal to the community of doctors in the state. The appointment should be a non-controversial one.