Dharamsala, July 14
The fear of landslides looms large over parts of Kangra and Chamba districts, posing a serious threat to traffic and residential areas. The Public Works Department, however, has virtually no budget provision for prevention of landslides and it is known to wake up only after the damage has been done.

Sources in the PWD said the busy Dharamsala-McLeodganj road, passing through the cantonment area, is dotted with landslide-prone spots. Commuters could be at risk during heavy rains expected in the coming weeks. Last year, there were at least three instances of landslides on this stretch.

Besides, the Sidhbari-Khaniara road also has landslide-prone spots. The total sinking region spreads to nearly 300 hectares in Dharamsala division. The massive construction activity in McLeodganj is also leading to erosion.

When contacted, Mr R.S. Kanwar, Chief Engineer, PWD, admitted that the department did only repairs and no special drive was carried out to prevent landslides, even during heavy rains when the probability of such incidents was high.

“The Dharamsala-McLeodganj road is one stretch which has many landslide-prone spots,” he said.

The landslides pose a threat to traffic on a host of other key roads in Kangra and Chamba districts. For instance, the 24-km long Nurpur-Malkwari-Chowari road is witnessing erosion. The main landslide-prone spots are the 500-metre high Tikkar Ghar and the 250-metre high Kali Ghar.

Similarly, the 65-km long Baklor-Shahpur road has three spots prone to landslides. These include the 200-metre high Kankira Ghar, the 350-metre high Hobardi Ghari and the 400-metre high Nangada Ghar.

The residence of the Deputy Commissioner, the Kangra Art Gallery and the road behind the office of the Superintendent of Police are also prone to landslide. The heavy rains during the last few days has led to minor landslides in Dharamsala, bringing traffic to a halt.

Even though repair work has been done on these spots, there is still a need for more budget sanctions. As of now, the department focuses on damage control measures alone after every incident, said an official of the PWD, on condition of anonymity.

Dharamsala, July 14
The HP Police has arrested three persons accused of blackmailing a businessman and a woman after forcing them into compromising position and filming them with a mobile phone and a video camera.

According to Kangra SP A.K. Yadav, the businessman was forced into compromising position with a neighbour after one of the accused had invited him to his house on the pretext of returning his money on June 26.

The businessman and the woman were first beaten into submission and threatened with a pistol-like object wrapped in a piece of cloth before their obscene pictures were taken, he said.

The next day, three — Sunil, Shammi and Balbir — demanded a sum of Rs 2 lakh from businessman, threatening to release pictures if their demand was not met.

The businessman struck a deal with them and handed them a sum of Rs 40,000, following which some of the pictures in the mobile phone were deleted and a few printouts torn, he said.

The accused, however, again demand money. Fed up with their threats, the woman and the businessman approached the district police, which laid a trap and arrested the three, while a fourth man managed to escape, he added.

A case has been registered against the accused under Sections 384, 452, 357 and 120 B, IPC.

The police has also confiscated the mobile phone and some other material from the accused, he said. — UNI

Nurpur, July 14
Himachal Pradesh BJP joint media in charge Rajinder Rana has asked the Virbhadra Singh government to issue a White Paper on the number of promises fulfilled by it which had been listed in the Congress manifesto before the last Assembly elections held in March, 2003. In a statement issued here yesterday, Mr Rana said the Congress government had adopted the election manifesto as its official document and the people of the state must know the truth by means of a White Paper.

He alleged that under the leadership of the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Congress governments had failed to take any initiative to formulate any policy to strengthen the economic condition of the hill state. “But during the one spell of a non-Congress government under Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, the state had ushered in a golden era of development which launched long-term projects to strengthen the economy of the state,” he added.

Mr Rana alleged the government was adopting double standards in its drive against encroachment on government and forest lands in the state. “Only poor farmers, workers and small vendors have become victims of this drive, whereas influential land encroachers have remained untouched”, he added. He alleged the influential people had grabbed forest land and grown orchards on it with impunity.

Kulu, July 14
Waking up to the increasing number of road accident cases taking place mainly on the Bilaspur-Mandi-Kullu-Manali stretch of National Highway-21 and other trauma cases, the state government is setting up a Rs 1.50-crore 20-bedded trauma centre at the Regional Hospital, Kullu. The centre will have trained staff and other facilities.

Talking to The Tribune, the Chief Medical Officer, Kullu, Dr Vijay Kapur, said the trauma centre had been approved and a grant worth Rs 1.50 crore had been sanctioned for it. “The trauma centre will be set up in the old building of the Regional Hospital here as the present departments will be shifted to the new building which is almost ready,” he added.

Dr Kapur said the trauma centre would be equipped with an intensive care unit (ICU), a nine-bedded burn ward, an operation theatre, X-ray facilities and ventilators. “Two air-conditioned ambulance vans will be dedicated to ferry trauma patients from the spots to meet the emergency in the region,” he revealed.

Shimla, July 14
The evidence found by the three-member police investigating committee which inquired into the alleged leakage of question paper of state entrance test for admission to medical colleges would not only result in cancellation of the examination but could also lead to registration of a criminal against those involved the scam.

The committee has not looked into the criminal aspect of the leakage as it was only asked to ascertain if there was any truth behind the allegations made by aggrieved students.

According to sources, the team found enough evidence to conclude that the leakage was “comprehensive” and on “large-scale”.

The findings of the committee has come as big embarrassment to Himachal Pradesh University as the one-member committee set up by it to probe the alleged leakage had given a clean chit to it.

The intervention of high court may help some deserving students to get admission in medical colleges but in the process the credibility of the university has been severely dented.

The most striking evidence was that the candidates who knew the question paper had not done any rough work. They had solved questions of Physics and Mathematics, which involved lengthy calculations, without doing any rough work. There were others who had done partial rough work.

The team examined the answer sheets of the candidates who bagged the first 60 ranks in the test and found evidence to establish that as many as 38 candidates knew the question paper. It was enough to draw the conclusion that the leakage was on large-scale Further, the pattern of answers also indicated that some candidates had been tutored to solve the paper. All of them had wrongly answered certain questions.

The real dimensions of the scam and the identity of the culprits could be ascertained only after in depth investigations after registration of a criminal case. 

Shimla, July 14
After ensuring that all houses here have a fresh coat of red or green paint on the roofs as part of a beautification campaign, the government has focused attention towards the strict implementation of the regulation which makes sloping roofs mandatory.

With old and rusted tin roofs looking bright and new, flat roofs are much more conspicuous, becoming an eyesore.

Having a flat roof is in violation of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Regulations, which make it mandatory for all houses to have sloping roofs.

There are a large number of houses, a majority of those incomplete, which still have flat roofs as the total storeys approved under TCP Regulations have not been built yet.

It allows a maximum period of three years for completing the house as per the map approved, but going beyond this period is a violation of regulations.

Though there is a provision for the extension of this period by two years, the owner has to fix the roof beyond this period of extension even if the house is incomplete, explains a senior official.

He says with the tin roofs getting a fresh coat of paint, the department will take steps to ensure the strict implementation of the sloping-roof regulation.

Sloping roofs are mandatory not just to ensure that there is uniformity, which makes the town look beautiful, but also because of snowfall.

Sloping roofs ensure that the snow slides down roofs and melts, whereas it accumulates on flat roofs.

TCP officials explain that a regular water and electricity connection is given to a house only once the completion report is submitted by the house owner.

Nahan, July 14
The Himachal branch of the Anti-Terrorist Front India organised a state-level protest march against Mumbai blasts under the leadership of Mr Vikas Verma, state president of the front here today.

Raising anti-Pakistan slogans, the protesters went up to the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur, and burnt the Pakistani flag in front of the DC office.

The protesters hold a meeting in front of the DC office and called up on the Indian nationals to keep a sharp surveillane on the people with doubtful conduct and inform the police regarding their activities.

Front leaders criticised the “open” policy of the Government of India with Pakistan and concluded that it was just benifiting the terrorist groups operating from Pakistan. They demanded that the bus service to Pakistan should be stopped immediately as it had become an easy means for the terrorists to enter India.

A deputation of the front also handed over a memorandum addressed to the President of India to the ADM Sirmaur, Mrs Rakhil Kahlon.

Nalagarh, July 14
District and Sessions Judge P.C.Sharma today sentenced one Vijender Singh, a resident of Bhogpur village in Nalagarh tehsil to five-years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000. He further announced a sentence of one-year simple imprisonment in case of default of fine. The sentence was made during his Nalagarh camp here today.

According to the case history, Neeta Devi , hailing from Bhogpur village, was cutting grass in the fields on July 17, 2003. She had an altercation with the family members of Ratti Ram, who own the adjoining fields.

Hearing the heated arguments, Reeta Devi’s grandmother Sunheru Devi came there to pacify them. But she was brutally attacked with sticks and stones by Vijender son of Ratti Ram. She was taken to the Civil Hospital, Nalagarh, in a critical condition from where she was referred to PGI, Chandigarh. She finally succumbed to her injuries after five days.

A case under Sections 447, 323, 307, 304(2) of the IPC was registered against Vijender Singh and his three family members. The two other accused, Satya Devi and Ashwani Kumar, were let off by the court for want of sufficient evidence. Ratti Ram had died during the course of the trail.