Shimla, October 15
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has stepped up its campaign to build pressure against the grant of clemency to Mohammed Afzal Guru sentenced to death for his role in the attack on Parliament by submitting a memorandum to Governor, V.S. Kokje here today.

A deputation led by Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, state’s party chief, went to Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum addressed to the President of India. It said the attack was masterminded by those who wanted to eliminate political leadership of India and it was an attack on country’s sovereignty.

But for the timely action by security guards loss to human lives would had been immense. The Delhi police had prosecuted the accused, some of whom eventually were acquitted by giving them the benefit of doubt and some others convicted Mohammed Afzal Guru had been given the extreme punishment of the death penalty. The Delhi high court and eventually the Supreme Court had reconsidered the entire matter in criminal appeals filed and come to conclusive evidence to uphold of his conviction. The case could not be reopened as the verdict against the accused had been uniform and clear.

There are no grounds for clemency and he had not even submitted the clemency petition himself. The plea of fair trial could be entertained by the courts and not the executive. It did not sit in judgement on the judiciary.

The Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code dealt with a criminal conspiracy. Those, who mastermind ‘Fidayeen’ attacks were as guilty if not more than those who were indoctrinated with religious faith either to kill or be killed themselves. There was a threat to civil society.

Moreover, if clemency was shown the government would be legitimately accused of being sympathetic to terror.

Dharamsala, October 15
As part of a global alliance to save earth’s natural environment, 13 ‘grandmothers’ from different countries yesterday shared their vision with the locals and prayed for world peace in McLeodganj, near here, and emphasised on protection of the diverse cultural heritage in the form of different languages, medicine and ceremonies.

Members of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, say it was in 2004 that a prophesy told them that they must come together at this critical time in the history of the human species. “It is a critical time because we have made mother earth angry by breaking its laws. That is why we are witnessing earthquakes and floods. The time has come to heal the earth by praying for world peace,” said Flordamsyo from Amazonia Rainforest, Brazil.

Tsering Dolma Gyaltong, Tibetan, said, “Like the way a grandmother plays a crucial role in the lives of her grandchildren, we are here to share our fundamental education with the upcoming generation. We may have any number of degrees but first of all we need to think as humans and like a mother inculcates the values of peace in her children, we are doing it for different communities.”

Chipped in Beatrice Long Visitor, South Dakota, USA, “We have to keep repeating the prayers over and over again. When I reflect on my life of 79 years, I see a flat road of destruction. Youths are dying of drugs and ozone layer is depleting. The most powerful tool with us is to pray and pray with other communities for world peace.”

The 13 Indigenous Grandmothers from around the world—the Amazon, Asia, Africa, Mexico, the Artic Circle, and the United States, gathered at Menla Mountain Retreat in upstate New York in 2004. They did not know one another, but each of them had heard a prophecy that called them forth.

By way of a prophecy, they had been asked to speak out to the world in one united voice that would carry their age-old and sacred wisdom forward into this pivotal new millennium.

The council represents a global alliance of prayer for the mankind and the next seven generations. The 13 grandmothers said they were deeply concerned at the unprecedented destruction all around and believe that the teachings of our ancestors will light our way, said an organiser.

Shimla, October 15
Mr Raj Krishan Gaur, Agriculture Minister, and Mr Satya Prakash Thakur, chairperson of the State Marketing Board, have accused the BJP of distorting facts to mislead the people and said the government had created an endowment fund only to provide financial assistance to temples which had lost landed properties following implementation of the Tenancy and Land Reforms Act.

In a joint statement here on Friday, they said the government was concerned about the proper maintenance and upkeep of temples and local devtas. A Rs 12.50 crore endowment fund had been created to help meet the requirements of such temples for “pooja archana”.

The grants would be released to those temples whose income was less and the quantum would depend upon the importance of the temple, its size and income lost due to land reforms.

In addition, the government would also provide funds for generating income to the temple management by creating facilities like sarais, guest houses, parking lots and public toilets. It would give incentives to temples for making efforts to increase their income.

The government had asked Deputy Commissioners to provide information about all those temples whose land had been transferred to the tenants. They said the details of the scheme would be published for public information. The managers of the temples were also being asked to submit their proposals to the Deputy Commissioners and District Language Officers.

Shimla, October 15
The Rs 27.10-crore project implemented for the development of sericulture has started yielding results with the hill state exporting 6.24 tonnes of raw silk to Karnataka and West Bengal over the past three years.

An additional area of 25 hectares has been brought under mulberry plantation to help boost the production of silk cocoons to 4.93 lakh kg. Under the scheme the government has created sericulture-related infrastructure, developed nurseries and farms, besides providing technical know-how to the silk worm rearers in production, marketing and reeling of cocoons.

As many as 8,055 families are engaged in sericulture in the state and the average income of the rearers ranges from Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per annum. The government plans to increase the number of families to 30,000 and the annual income to Rs 20,000 per annum.

In all 73 Chowki Rearing Centres, one silk seed production centre and 89 mulberry farms and nurseries have been set up. The sericulture-related activities generate about five lakh mandays per year.

The government is also providing assistance of 50 per cent to farmers for building rearing sheds and during this period, 2,270 rearing sheds have been constructed. Under the Scheduled Caste component plan 8,500 rearing mud houses are being constructed for which 100 per cent grant-in-aid was available to the beneficiaries. Already two multiend reeling units have been set up in Kangra district at Palampur and Gaggal and five more such units are being set up in Mandi, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Kangra districts.

For the past three and a half year, 6.24 tonnes of raw silk has been produced and sold in the silk markets of Karnataka and West Bengal by the reelers of state.

Kangra, October 15
Members of the Himachal Pradesh Pensioners Sangh today asked the state government to revoke its “unjustified” decision of withdrawing the facility of medical reimbursement for the treatment of dependent parents and children of the pensioners.

Mr Jeevanand Jeevan, a retired IAS officer, and president of the sangh, while addressing the pensioners at Tandon Club here, said the issue was raised in the meeting of the joint consultative committee on October 6, but nothing was done as yet despite assurance by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Mr Jeevan said the Chief Minister had told the pensioners that he was unaware of any such decision. The pensioners were told that it was a bureaucratic level decision and an inquiry would be ordered into this matter, but nothing concrete happened.

The pensioners also sought an increase of 5 per cent of basic pension after the attainment of 65 years of age and 10 per cent after the age of 75 years.

It was also decided that pensioners’ day would be observed on December 17 either at Kangra or Dharamsala when the winter session would be held at Dharamsala. The Chief Minister would be invited to attend the function to look into their demands and grievances, Mr Jeevan said, adding that pensioners above the age of 80 years would be honoured on the occasion.

Shimla, October 15
Residents of the town may get some respite from the maze of mobile communication towers at various places in the town as the government intends disallowing these in residential areas and heritage buildings.

The government has finally come out with a policy for setting up of mobile communication towers, which clearly states that as far as possible, residential areas should be avoided for setting up of these towers as their appropriate place is in commercial or other public areas. The policy for setting up of mobile communication towers has been prepared by the Information Technology Department duly approved by the Cabinet.

It has been clearly pointed out in the policy that since these towers are governed by radio frequency system, cellular operators must, as far as possible, avoid setting them up in residential areas. It has been pointed out that erection of these towers on heritage buildings will not be allowed at all. The government has also fixed the rates for installation of these towers, which will vary in municipal, special and rural areas.

A large number of organisations, including NGOs, have objected to the manner in which clusters of these towers were coming up in parts of the town, posing a health hazard for residents of the area. The framing of the policy might provide some relief to the people as there will be restriction on their concentration in residential areas.

In places where it is not possible to find a suitable location in commercial areas, efforts should be made to locate them in an open space or a community building. The policy states that sufficient open space must be left on all sides of the tower to ensure that damage in not caused in case the tower falls. In case there is not enough space third party insurance must be done. The height of the tower and high tension lines in the vicinity will also have to be clearly indicated by the cellular company.

The Department of Town and Country Planning has been entrusted the task of ensuring that proper procedure is followed in terms of structural safety. With the framing of the policy for these mobile towers there will now be a complete ban on their subletting as permission from the local body or Special Area Development Authority (SADA) will have to be taken.

In the Shimla municipal area the rent has been fixed at Rs 20,000 per tower and Rs 10,000 renewal fee per annum. In other urban and SADA areas the installation fee shall be Rs 10,000 with Rs 5,000 as renewal charges.

In rural areas and the MC and SADA areas in tribal belts the installation fee shall be Rs 4,000 while the renewal charges will be Rs 2,000 per annum. An option for lump sum payment has also been laid down in blocks of five years, which will entitle one to 40 per cent discount.

Kangra, October 15
On the occasion of the 31st birth anniversary of martyr Captain Sailesh Rialech of Mallan village of this subdivision, who had laid down his life at Anantnag while fighting militants on November 24, 1999, a memorial was inaugurated and a free heart camp was organised.

Six students were adopted and free education will be provided to them to up to Class XII.

Saheed Captain Shailesh Rialch Education Society (SCSRES) yesterday observed the 31st birth anniversary of a great son of Himachal Pradesh Captain Shailesh Rialech in his home village of Mallan.

On this occasion, a memorial was inaugurated by Lt Gen Rampal, GOC, 9 Corps. A computer centre, besides a library and a photo exhibition of Shailesh, was also inaugurated by Lt Gen Rampal.

Reeta Sandhu, sister of the martyr, told The Tribune that the society has adopted six students from the economically weaker sections of the society — four of Government High School, Hatwas, and two from Government School, Mallan. She said SCSRES would bear all the educational expenses, including books, uniforms, school and tuition fees till they pass their Class XII examination.

Vikram Singh Rialech and Susheela, parents of Sialesh, feeling proud of the great sacrifice of their son, also got a two-day free heart camp organised at Hatwas.

A medical team from Escort Heart institute, Delhi, which included four cardiologists, including Dr Sanjay and Dr Rajesh examined more than 200 heart patients on the first day of the camp today.

“We are ready to bear the full expenses of an open heart surgery of a child who is in need of it,” said Vikram Singh.

Captain Sailesh was born on October 14, 1975, and was commissioned in the Army on December 7, 1997.

Reckong Peo, October 15
Punjabi pop singer Mica Singh will entertain the tribal people of Kinnaur at the four-day tribal festival being organised here from October 30.

Vinod Rathore, a Bollywood singer, and Karnail Rana, a Pahari singer, are among other prominent singers who will enthrall the audience. As many as 800 artistes from the North Zone Cultural Centre Patiala, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh are likely to participate in the festival.

A special competition for upcoming folk singers and dancers of Kinnaur will also be organised.

Talking to The Tribune, Dr Amandeep Garg, District Magistrate, Kinnaur, said the festival would also provide an opportunity to the local people to sell or exhibit their horticulture/agriculture produce, handicrafts and artifacts.