The BSNL had failed to handle eight lakh subscribers. It was expanding services without effecting a commensurate expansion of its systems, subscribers said.

Dharamsala, April 5
India should lead the world in starting a movement to promote global peace and harmony. India’s rich and ancient tradition of non-violence and peace that has persisted for centuries should be adopted by the entire world.

The Dalai Lama said this while delivering an address at a conference of religious leaders of various faiths that started at McLeodganj today.

The theme of the conference was: “The Indian view for global peace and reciprocity: Base for universal interconnectedness”.

Eminent religious leaders representing Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism participated in the conference to discuss the promotion of universal responsibility and India’s role in guiding the world towards peace and non-violence.

The Dalai Lama said India had a tremendous potential to lead and start a worldwide movement to promote global peace and harmony. He lauded India for unity among different religious faiths.

Speaking about his vision to make a demilitarised world, the Dalai Lama said, “We need to bring internal disarmament by treading on the path of non-violence. Peace cannot be achieved through military strength. Mere reciting of religious texts will not help to promote peace and non-violence. It can only be achieved if we take practical steps with sincerity and commitment for the welfare of humanity and all species living on this planet.”

Spiritual heads from different faiths expressed concern over the growing violence in today’s world.

“In order to bring peace and harmony in the world, we will have to create an era of interconnectedness based on love and compassion,” they opined. Gyalwa Karmapa Rinpoche was honoured as the symbol of “non-violence and compassion”.

Besides the Dalai Lama, Jagadguru Shankaracharya, Divyanand Teerthji Maharaj of Bhanpura Peeth, 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Rinpoche, Chidanand Saraswati, Jain Muni Acharya, Roopchandra, DS Uchida and Parmanand Saraswati and Ven Lama Chosphel Zotpa took part in the event.

Palampur, April 5
The large-scale sale of tea gardens in Kangra valley has virtually become a big scam. It has posed a threat to the existence of tea industry.

The back door sale of tea gardens in connivance with revenue officials is going on unchecked and causing a huge loss to the state exchequer.

Today the tea industry of Kangra valley is on the verge of extinction as most of the tea gardens in the valley are being sold to the big industrial houses of adjoining states and Tibetans who are converting these tea estates into concrete jungles.

One wonders how the state government is granting permission for the sale of big holdings of tea gardens day after day, despite the fact that there is complete ban on its sale in the valley.

Besides this, those tea garden owners who had availed benefits under the HP Land Sealing Act cannot sell their holdings as they have to retain excess land because as per the law they are the custodians of the land under tea and the state government is the owner. Section 7 of the Act prohibits the sale of tea gardens in such cases.

Tea is cultivated and manufactured in the valley since the mid 19th century. The Nissan Tea Company first introduced it between 1830 and 1840.

The valley grows hybrid variety of China tea, which has the best flavor and is compared favourably with the tea grown in other parts of the world.

The tea gardens of Kangra valley are 100 to 130 years old and situated at the height of 900 to 1,500 m above the sea level.

Recent decision of the state government to grant permission for the sale of 700 kanals of tea gardens to a private party has caused widespread resentment among the residents here.

Earlier, the Congress government had also allowed sale of 500 kanals of tea garden to the Tibetans. In many cases the land under tea was sold without permission of the state government.

The tea growers in the valley are worried that if all big holdings of land under tea
continued to be disposed off in this way, tomorrow there would be no land under
tea in the region.

Instead of providing incentives for the development of tea industry in the valley
the government was reducing the land under tea year after year merely to please
some politicians.

It is revealed that the state government was likely to grant permission for selling 12 more tea gardens in the valley after the Lok Sabha elections as these cases are awaiting sanction from the Chief Minister’s Office and the Revenue Department.

Shimla, April 5
Groundwater resources in some highly stressed areas are being overexploited even after the enactment of the Himachal Pradesh Groundwater (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Act because of the failure of the government to notify such areas.

Last year, a study was conducted to ascertain the existing status of groundwater availability. It revealed that percentage of groundwater utilisation exceeded 90 per cent in 15 out of total 55 micro-watersheds covered.

As per safe exploitation norms, the “drawl” of groundwater has to be less than 90 per cent. The stressed watersheds mostly comprised the industrial areas of Solan, Sirmaur, Una and Kangra districts.

The biggest industrial hub of the state in Baddi and adjoining areas of Majra-Lehi, Sandholi, Haripur, Chhoti Bhatoli, Gularwala, Narangpur and Kondhi, which fell under Ratta watershed, were among the severely stressed.

Similarly, Bhadarwala, Kala Amb, Khairi, Jattnwala, Ogli and Johron areas in Kala Amb watershed were also overexploited.

The maximum number (10) of overexploited watersheds is in Una district where a large number of tubewells have been installed for irrigation.

These included Garla, Amb, Busdehra, Tahliwal, Badhera, Bhadsali, Nagnoli, Badoh, Ambota and Una. In Kangra, excessive groundwater “drawl” was observed in Lodhwan and Chhounchh watersheds.

The first meeting of the state groundwater authority was held in August last year. The members were of the view that merely notifying overstressed 15 micro-watersheds would not serve any purpose as the other areas where excessive groundwater exploitation was being resorted to would remain unchecked.

Control measures to regulate extraction of groundwater should come into force as soon as the level of exploitation reaches around 70 per cent.

The authority advised that groundwater extraction should be regulated in the
valley areas of Una, Solan, Sirmaur and Kangra, where most of the industrial
activity was taking place.

Accordingly, it was proposed that civil subdivisions of Paonta, Nahan, Nalagarh, Solan, Una, Amb, Jwali and Nurpur be notified for the purpose of the said Act. However, no progress has been made in the matter.

Engineer-in-Chief of the Irrigation and Public Health Department RN Sharma said the proposal had been sent to the government.

Once the stressed areas are notified, the provisions of the Himachal Pradesh
Groundwater (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Act will
become applicable.

It will be mandatory to seek prior permission of the authority for extraction of groundwater. The authority will take a decision after examining each case on the basis of the status of groundwater exploitation in the area concerned and the use. Extraction of water for drinking purposes will get top priority in the matter.

Shimla, April 5
The internationally famous for adventure activities Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports at Manali will soon emerge as a centre of natural heritage showcasing the rich art and culture of the hill state.

The government proposes to set up a mega museum at the institute with the assistance of the World Bank. It will provide a chronological account of the origin and history of the Himalayas its flora and fauna and the culture of the inhabitants.

It will also focus on major river basins from the environment point of view and scope for adventure activists.

Besides, an artificial rock climbing structure will also be developed in the premises to provide training to mountaineers.

The institute has already established eight training centres all over the state to provide adventure tourism training to youth from all over the country and abroad.

It has trained 96,000 persons till date under the guidance of 22 professionally trained and experienced instructors, including three Everest climbers, Dicky Dolma, Radha and Rajeev Sharma. On average 7,000 to 10,000 persons are trained annually.

Located at Aleo Bihal in Manali in Kullu district and established in 1961 as Western Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (WHMI), it is the second largest adventure sports institute in the country, imparting training in mountaineering, rock climbing, trekking, skiing, water sports, outbound adventure activities and mountain rescue.

It was renamed after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2008. The institute had sprawling lawns, with a modern auditorium, lecture rooms, library, hostel accommodation for 300 persons and teenage accommodation for 250 participants with multi-facility adventure lodge, added recently.

A similar adventure lodge is being constructed at an expenditure of Rs 1.2 crore. There is also a meteorological observatory and a fitness-training centre.

The annual budget of around Rs 2 crore has been earmarked for the institute for
this financial year.

Winter Sports Centre, Solang (Manali), is the ski centre with 100-bedded capacity and imparts outbound adventure and snow skiing courses. There is also a 325 m long ski lift on the training slope.

Minor mountaineering expeditions and few outbound adventure activities are also conducted at the Regional Mountaineering Centre, Dharamsala in Kangra district, and water sports at Pong Dam and Gobind Sagar.

River rafting and kayaking in the Pabbar river is conducted at Rohru and high altitude trekking-cum-skiing centre is functional at Narkanda.

Shimla, April 5
The Election Commission of India has withdrawn the instruction issued in connection with the restriction on the number of vehicles to be used in the convoy for the election campaign by political leaders.

An official communiqué received from the commission here recently, said it had been decided to issue guidelines instead with partial modifications.

A spokesperson of the commission clarified that there was no restriction on the number of vehicles moving in a convoy and would be applicable to all concerned political parties, candidates and all election related officials during the elections.

He further said the commission had also reconsidered the use of bulletproof vehicles in election campaign provided for security reasons.

Hamirpur, April 5
Hamirpur Congress nominee Narinder Thakur said corruption would be his main campaign plank during the coming elections in this constituency and he would expose the corruption prevailing in the state.

Addressing a press conference here last night, he said, “Since the present regime in the state is busy in amassing wealth and has done no credible work for the people of the state, exposing corruption will be my election plank during my campaign since I have joined politics to weed out corruption.”

He urged the people to ask the CM and his son during the campaign that from where they have generated so much wealth as they had no big source of income before coming to power in the state.

Thakur said, “The Congress is also collecting information on alleged violation of the election code of conduct by BJP candidate Anurag Thakur during the campaign and would soon make a formal complaint to the Election Commission of India.”

He said, “The BJP candidate recently held an election meeting in the Pahlu temple violating poll code.”

Thakur claimed, “After his nomination by the Congress party the Chief Minister has become nervous and now allegedly changed his programme and would be devoting more time in the Hamirpur constituency but people are quite aware now and would give proper reply in the elections.”

Hamirpur, April 5
State spokesperson of the BJP Rajinder Rana has ridiculed the claim of Congress leaders of exposing corruption.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said “The people of the state are aware about the incidents of corruption which took place during the previous Congress regime in the state and even during the term of former Transport Minister Thakur Jagdev Chand.”

He said, “It is a common knowledge that how bags full of currency went missing from the CM’s office during the last term of the Congress and how the engines of HRTC buses were sold during the tenure of then Transport Minister Thakur Jagdev Chand.”

He said, “The tone and tenor of Congress candidate Narinder Thakur is not decent he seems to be speaking more in anger than raising any genuine issue.”

Rana said, “Narinder Thakur has always been raising a banner of revolt against his own people; first he revolted against his own family and sister-in-law and now he has even allegedly divided the Congress leadership in the district and people know his capacity to win elections since he has lost five elections in the past.”

He said, “Chief Minister PK Dhumal would undertake the campaign in the Hamirpur constituency from April 10 to 13 and address meetings at Dharampur, Una, Jhanduta, Badsar and Nadaun etc.”

Manali, April 5
An International Symposium on Snow and Avalanches (ISSA-2009), jointly organised by the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) and International Glaciological Society (IGS), Cambridge, UK, which will begin from April 6 to 10 at the Siachen Auditorium, SASE complex, about 4 km from here.

The five-day symposium is sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Indo-US Science and Technology Forum and ISRO.

As many as 175 scientists from all over the country, including 35 foreign scientists, are participating in the ISSA-2009.

SASE Director Dr RN Sarwade said this is for the first time that an International Symposium on Snow and Avalanches in association with Cambridge is being organised by the SASE at Manali.

He said the SASE had already organised various international and national symposiums and this symposium would definitely provide opportunity to the young Indian scientists to interact with scientists from other countries. He said four scientists have also completed their PhD in snow and avalanches.

He was arrested and produced before the JMIC, Dehra, who remanded him in police custody for three days.

Shimla, April 5
The police was granted one-day transit remand of controversial IPS officer BS Thind by Judicial Magistrate Neeraj Goyal here today.

Thind was arrested yesterday in connection with the a case registered by the Parwnoo police on the complaint of a local businessmen alleging that he had accepted money for getting his commercial premises vacated.

The transit remand has been obtained for shifting Thind, who is under medical observation at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and Hospital, to Parwanoo.

The doctors will examine him tomorrow morning and decide whether or not he was fit to be discharged.

An additional director-general of police, Thind was placed under suspension sometime back after charges were framed against him in a CBI court in another case pertaining to shady land transactions.

In the instant case, complainant Ashok Mittal had alleged that Thind had taken Rs 6 lakh from him for getting his shops vacated.

He had also handed over a CD, in which conversations pertaining to the deal were recorded, as proof to the police.

Shimla, April 5
A special drive will be launched to unearth and seize unlicensed arms and ammunitions to ensure free, fair and peaceful polls in the hill state.

Chief Electoral Officer Anil Khachi said here today that the Election Commission (EC) of India had issued directions for carrying out such drives as part of exercise to prevent possibility of violence during polling.

A very thorough search and seizure of unlicensed arms and places of illegal manufacture of arms and ammunition would be carried by the state police.

Khachi further informed that the EC had also asked the district magistrates to make a detailed and individual review and assessment in accordance with the prevalent state laws of all license holders.

In case they considered it essential to impound the weapons for maintenance of law and order and ensuring free and fair elections, they could do it. He said these arms should be deposited with the district authorities.

The cases which needed to be reviewed included source of illegal arms, arms licenses of persons having a history of criminal offences and arms licenses of persons previously involved in rioting at any time, especially during the election period.

He said after a review of all such license-holders the district administration could pass necessary order for depositing arms with it without delay.

He said as per the directions of the commission no individual or group of persons could be allowed to display arms during a procession or any meeting in support of candidate under any circumstances.

Khachi said the EC had also been directed that election meetings and processions
taken out during campaigning of a party should be video-graphed by the district
election officer.

The Director-General of Police would obtain a special report from the Superintendent of Police on arms display during a meeting or procession in support of the candidate.

Shimla, April 5
Property worth over Rs 3 crore was destroyed in a major fire in Brua village of Kinnaur district last night.

Over 35 houses were gutted in the incident, rendering around 150 persons homeless. The villagers were able to save only a few houses.

ADC Priyanka Basu said a sum of Rs 16 lakh had been distributed as immediate relief to the victims.

MPPratibha Singh, local legislator Tejwant Negi and former MLA Jagat Singh Negi visited the spot and expressed their sympathies with the affected families.

CM PK Dhumal has directed the administration to provide all possible help for the rehabilitation of the affected families.

Bilaspur, April 5
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum here, presided by DD Sharma and with members SL Thakur and Manorama Chauhan, has ordered New India Assurance Company Ltd, here in the town, to pay Rs 38,000 to complainant Prabhu Ram, son of Piyalu Ram of Rohal village, Jhundutta tehsil of this district, with interest at the rate of 9 per cent from the date of filing of the complaint (December 7, 2006) till the final realisation, with additional cost of litigation of Rs 2,000.

Earlier, Rakesh Kutal, the counsel for the petitioner, had pleaded with the forum that vehicle No HP-01M-3610 was insured with the company and it met with an accident on May 21, 2004, in which driver of the vehicle, Thakur Dass, lost his life and the complainant had spent an amount of Rs 1.25 lakh on repairs of the vehicle, which amount was not being paid by the company, despite repeated requests and applications to the company.

The company pleaded that the petitioner could not provide the required details of the license of the driver, who died in the accident.

The forum decided that Sandip Sharma, surveyor and loss assessor had assessed the loss of Rs 39,307, along with the salvage value of Rs 1,307.

Mandi, April 5
Liquor mafias are having a free run under the nose of excise and police agencies, smuggling “cheaper liquor from Chandigarh or border towns of Punjab in private vehicles or tourist buses” through porous barriers into the state, where “demand for cheaper liquor has shot up thanks to the increasing flow of tourists and elections”.

Though the police has launched a drive to nab local illicit liquor smugglers only, the liquor mafias continue to get a free run under the nose of law enforcers, as they smuggle “cheap liquor procured from Chandigarh through the porous barriers in the state”, revealed sources.

The Chief Election Commissioner of India has banned the use of liquor in campaigns and enforced 48 hours long dry days before the polls.

But the liquor finds free flow during the elections and party workers indulge freely in distributing liquor of local brands from outside to influence voters.

The police and the Excise Department are engaged in the blame game passing the buck to each other.

The Excise Department has made not even a single big seizure and compounded
local illegal breweries so far as the field staff is allegedly bribed by the smugglers,
the sources revealed.

The police had arrested 25 persons, including a woman, under the Excise Act in 10 police stations in the district in the last two days, but most of them are poor smugglers involved in local smuggling of local illicit brew.

Central Range DIG Anurag Garg said the police had launched a drive to check illicit liquor and smuggling in the region and had put up nakas at the barriers.

“But we have limited manpower and it is not possible to check each and every vehicle as inflow of traffic has increased manifold in the state”.

Excise and Taxation commissioner RD Dhiman admitted that liquor smuggling has become a big problem in the state and blamed it on the “wrong liquor pricing policies” being run by Chandigarh and Punjab where liquor is cheap.

However, we have also geared up the staff to check the menace and are taking up the issue with the UT,” he added.