Dharamsala, January 20
About 50 residents of Bara Bhangal, a remote tribal area of Kangra district, have been trapped after heavy snow.

Sources here told The Tribune that the area had received about 7-ft snow that had made life difficult for residents at Bara Bhangal. They were now at the mercy of nature. The area had received so much snow that even helicopter services could not be provided there. The area had snow even today.

Bara Bhangal that was an independent state between Kangra and Kullu has now been reduced to a remote village. The village is located at a height of 8500 feet from the sea level. There are about 650 permanent residents in the village. It is the only apple growing area of Kangra district.

Though most of the residents returned to the Bir area of Kangra district during winters, about 50 old, children and women, who could not come down through difficult mountain passes, have stayed back. Though the state government has provided a dispensary in village, in winters even a pharmacist is not available for people staying back in Chota Bhangal.

Last year during winters, the district administration sent a team of doctors and veterinarians to treat the old persons and animals in the village through helicopter. However, this year even that was not possible due to heavy snow.

The deputy commissioner, Kangra, RS Gupta said about 600 quintal ration had been sent to the Bara Bhangal area before the onset of winters. The people had stayed back in Bara Bhangal area out of their own choice. “Till date I have not received any information that they are facing any kind of trouble. However, if distress information is received every possible step will be taken to provide relief to them”, he said.

The sources, however, told The Tribune that there was no mode of communication through which the residents, trapped in Bara Bhangal, could convey distress message to the authorities here. The only mode of communication available with the people there was mobile phone. However, since there was no power, there was no source to charge mobiles.

Bara Bhangal village is located near the source of the Ravi. Though it falls within the revenue jurisdiction of Kangra district, one has to trek through the Thumsar pass located at an approximate height of about 4800 metres to reach the village.

Mandi, January 20
More than 500 persons led by the Hindu Taili Sabha (HTS) and the Kisan Sabha today gheraoed the Balh police station at Rati and raised anti-police and anti-government slogans demanding immediate solution to the mysterious death of Om Parkash, a resident of Chaprol village in the Balh valley.

The protest call, given by the HTS, was joined by panchayat pradhans of Kumi, Salvahan, Nalsar and Dadour. The protesters raised slogans against the police as it had failed to solve the murder mystery of Om Prakash whose body was found at Khanta on the Mandi-Gagal road on December 14 under mysterious circumstances.

President, HTS, Kishan Bushairi and Kisan Sabha president Paras Ram said they had sent a memorandum to the Chief Minister and the DGP few days ago, but the police did nothing to solve the murder mystery.

The post-mortem report on the victim’s body revealed that he had died due to injuries to his spleen, liver and head and also suffered injuries on other parts of the body, they added.

Tulsi Ram, victim’s uncle, accused that the police had recovered a stick stained with blood from the spot. They had received a call from Om Parkash’s mobile at 5.30 am on December 14, but there was no voice. But the mobile was recovered from a pocket of the victim, he added.

His shoes were found near the body as if they were kept there and his scooter was lying about 70 ft away from the body that raised their suspicion.

Tulsi Ram filed an FIR in the Balh police station on December 19 stating that Om Prakash had gone to drop a TV mechanic on December 13 at 8 pm and was on his way back home on his scooter. Three persons were spotted by some passersby engaged in a scuffle that time at the spot and they suspected that Om Parkash was murdered by the two persons, he had charged.

Mandi SP DP Prasad said the police investigation and preliminary forensic examination had found that it was a case a scooter accident. But the final forensic report is still awaited, he added.

Prasad said the police had registered a case of murder under 302 IPC after the family members lodged the FIR.

Shimla, January 20
Faced with the acute shortage of space to house its offices in view of the proposed restoration of the historical Town Hall building, the local Municipal Corporation (MC) has sought the government to take over the prime property of Bentony on the Mall for which acquisition proceedings have already been set into motion.

It is reliably learnt that the deputy commissioner, Shimla, has already issued the inescapability certificate which will pave the way for initiating acquisition proceedings on the request of the MC. The MC on its part is faced with the problem of shifting its offices temporarily out of the historical Town Hall building as it will undergo conservation and restoration under the Asian Development Bank-funded project.

Bentony, the property of the erstwhile rulers of Sirmour, is located on the Mall and at present houses the office of the Inspector General of Police (South). The police too has to vacate the property as the court verdict in the case has gone in favour of private owners.

“Since we have been asked to vacate the Town Hall building which houses the office of the mayor, commissioner and other public service offices, we have sought acquisition of the Bentony as it is centrally located and has vast expanse of land with it,” confirmed A.N. Sharma, MC commissioner. He said the property was so huge that it would be able to house all offices of the MC which were scattered all over the city, besides the main office in the Town Hall.

Sources said the MC move to seek the acquisition of the Bentony was also prompted by the fact that after restoration of the Town Hall building, conservationists might not allow its rough use. Under heritage norms, the use of mezzanine, the portion between two floors, was not permissible.

At present, almost 150 employees of the MC occupy this space, which might become out of bounds for the MC staff.

The tourism department had sought funding from the ADB for undertaking the restoration of the Town Hall building, which is in urgent need of repair. The conservation project will be somewhat on the lines of the Gaiety Theatre project and it could take a few years, as it is a technical and exhaustive procedure.

Now it remains to be seen whether Bentony, which was under dispute for the past some time, will finally pass into the hands of the government. The wooden building at present is in a dilapidated condition and some of its portions are virtually crumbling.

Dharamsala, January 20
The district witnessed hectic political parleys just a day before the zila parishad (ZP) elections. The most interesting political development which surfaced today was the unscheduled visit of Chief Minister PK Dhumal to Palampur.

The Chief Minister reportedly met national vice-president of the BJP and Rajya Sabha member Shanta Kumar at Palampur.

Sources told The Tribune that the seniormost leaders of the party in the state discussed the upcoming Cabinet expansion and reshuffle before the Budget session. One post of a Cabinet Minister has been lying vacant in the state since former minister JP Nadda resigned and after being given the charge of the national general secretary of the BJP last year.

Meanwhile, Congress and BJP leaders held hectic parleys ahead of the zila parishad polls tomorrow. Both parties are claiming majority in the zila parishad.

Congress leaders, including Chander Kumar, who has been made coordinator by the party for zila parishad elections, and GS Bali, have claimed that they have the support of 29 members in the House of 56. BJP leaders on the other hand are claiming support of 33 members.

BJP leaders, including the ministers from the district, held a meeting at the Gia Rest House today to discuss their strategy for the elections.

The sources said besides the strength in the House, party leaders also tried to evolve consensus regarding candidates for the posts of president and vice-president in the parishad.

The post of president in the Kangra zila parishad is reserved for OBC woman candidate. There are six OBC women candidates in the BJP camp who are vying for the post. Four of them are from the Jawalamukhi area, which is represented by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhawala.

The sources said till late in the evening no consensus could be evolved regarding the candidate for the post of president of the Kangra zila parishad within the BJP.

The party is taking extra caution during the zila parishad poll after a miscalculation in the Dehra BDC elections. In Dehra, though the majority was with the BJP inside the House during elections, some candidate cross-voted towards the Congress. The BJP later won the election through a toss.

Hamirpur, January 20
The Hamirpur nagar parishad that has been facing a financial crunch for quite some time is looking towards the state government for liberal financial grant.

Though the authorities are somehow managing the day-to-day affairs of the parishad, they are finding it difficult to clear its outstanding bills.

The biggest worry of the parishad is to clear its outstanding electricity bills of about Rs 80 lakh, for which Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited officials have been persistently asking it to make the payment. This bill pertains to electricity charges for providing street lights in and around the town.

Though nagar parishad officials have not been able to make this payment, to avoid disconnection of the electricity they have now started paying power bill every month amounting to about Rs 70,000.

The parishad also owes nearly Rs 5 lakh to the Irrigation and Public Health Department towards water charges, which is also pending for quite some time.

However, the parishad at present is managing a monthly salary bill of about Rs 11 lakh from its own resources, besides meeting other expenses. The house tax collection and recovery of rent from its properties is also not very encouraging.

For carrying development works, it depends on grant received under government projects. A few payments towards development works of contractors are also pending due to the financial crunch.

The parishad had received a big jolt last year when the project allocation under the small town development project was curtailed from Rs 12 crore to Rs 5 crore by the Union Ministry of Urban Development.

In the present circumstances, liberal grant is required from the state government to the Hamirpur nagar parishad for expanding its developmental activities and to make the payment of its outstanding bills.

Executive officer of Hamirpur nagar parishad Vijay Sharma said: “We have been meeting our salary bill and paying the present electricity and water charges but for clearing our outstanding bills of about Rs 85 lakh, a grant from the state government is required and the new House would discuss the matter.”

Hamirpur, January 20
Officials of the state wildlife department have spotted a new migratory bird named pied avocet in the famous Pong Dam wetlands this season, for the first time. This bird was spotted on January 17 by range forest officer DS Dadwal of the department located at the Pong Dam.

Divisional forest officer (DFO), Hamirpur, Satish Gupta, under whose jurisdiction the Pong Dam falls, has told The Tribune, “Eight pied avocet had been spotted by our officials three days back in the Pong Dam for the first time near Guglara.”

Describing this bird, he said, “Pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) is a large black and white wader from the avocet and stilt family which breed in temperate zones of Europe, Africa and western and central Asia. It is a migratory species and some of the birds migrate to South Africa and Asia during winter, however, some of these stay during winter in southern Spain and England”.

The bird became extinct in 1840 in Great Britain and is on the logo of the Royal Society for Bird Protection as it was saved from extinction with great effort in 1940.

“The birds spotted in Pong Dam have sharp black and white marking” tells DFO.

He said, “Spotting of a new species of migratory bird is another feather in the cap of Pong Dam wetlands as it speaks of good health of the wetlands.”

The Pong Dam wetlands attract a large number of migratory birds every year and about 1,40,000 migratory birds were counted last year during the bird’s census undertaken by the wildlife department.

Chandigarh, January 20
The Himachal Pradesh government has agreed to notify the field firing ranges at Naraingarh near here to enable the Army to carry out firing exercises. The ranges in the Shivalik foothills will be available for four-day training a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

This was announced by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal at the annual Civil-Military Liaison Conference between top officials of the state government and the Western Command at Chandimandir Military Station today.

The notification of field firing ranges by the state government is a major issue as it had adversely affected training schedules of Army units. Environmental clearances, unavailability of land and local socio-politico pressures are among factors affecting the notification. These ranges will be used by formations based in the adjoining areas of Himachal, Punjab and Haryana.

The notification by the state government is required as the land earmarked for such training activities by the armed forces belongs to the state. Very few ranges are owned by the Defence Ministry or the armed forces. The Army has to depend on a large number of notified ranges across the country that are used for routine firing of weapons like mortars, grenades, rockets and light artillery.

The Chief Minister also announced the enhancement of old-age pension of ex-servicemen, war veterans and distress grant to ex-servicemen. Monetary assistance to the distinguished service award winners to be paid on the lines of gallantry awards had also been increased.

Earlier, Dhumal lauded the role of the armed forces and stated that he was proud of the traditional bond that existed between the services, the people of Himachal and the state government. He assured them that the government and the people of the state would never be found wanting in providing any possible assistance to the armed forces.

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt-Gen SR Gosh lauded the role played by the state administration for improving the welfare of serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and the next of the kin of the martyrs.

Shimla, January 20
The state government will extend the ambulance services under the Atal Swasthya Sewa to three more districts of the state by June, thereby covering 10 of the 12 districts.

Stating this here today while presiding over the State Advisory Committee on Health, Health Minister Rajiv Bindal said 21 more ambulances would be added to the existing fleet of 50 taking the total number to 71.

“Three more districts will be brought under the aegis of this scheme so that more people can avail the medical facilities, especially in times of emergency,” he said.

He said two seats each in MD, cardiology and cardio thoracic vascular surgery had been approved by the Medical Council of India in Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC). He further said with these, now, postgraduation on all courses was available at the IGMC. — TNS

Shimla, January 20
Entrusted with the task of checking corruption, an inspector in the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau himself fell victim when he was arrested and suspended from service today for allegedly accepting a bribe to hush up a vigilance inquiry.

Mal Dutt Sharma, an inspector in the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau at Nahan, allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 13,000 from Vinod Kumar of Rajgarh in Sirmour district. The inspector had demanded the money for hushing up an inquiry that was being held into the B.Ed admission sought by Vinod’s wife on the basis of a Scheduled Caste certificate.

Sharma has been arrested and placed under suspension. His bank account has been seized and raids have been conducted on his residence and office in Nahan.

Details of all his bank accounts and properties would be looked into to find out if he had accepted money in other cases as well, said ADGP (Vigilance) KC Sadyal. He added as part of the government’s policy of zero tolerance towards corruption, nobody would be spared howsoever powerful he might be.

Sharma, who had been entrusted the inquiry demanded Rs 15,000 to settle the case by giving a favourable report. Vinod got in touch with senior officers of the Vigilance Bureau who asked him to speak with the inspector in their presence on the telephone.

The inspector asked Vinod to deposit the money online in his bank account in the SBI at Parwanoo. When Vinod told him that he could only manage Rs 13,000, the inspector reportedly said he would not accept anything less than Rs 15,000 and the remaining Rs 2,000 could be deposited within a month’s time.

After the money was transferred into the account of the inspector, the police swung into action and nabbed him. A case has been registered against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Bilaspur, January 20
After having failed to follow the strict instructions of the government that only cheaper medicines based on their generic names, and not on costly brand names, should be prescribed to patients, two specialist doctors of Government Regional Hospital here have come under scanner of the medical and health department.

Confirmed reports here today said deputy director of health services Dr K K Rattan had arrived here from Shimla on orders of the Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to inquire the complaint forwarded to him by four citizens here, State Kisan Morcha general secretary Subhash Sharma, nagar parishad member Kamal Gauttam and Bhupesh Chandel and Kranti Kumar.

The inquiry officer is armed with the complaint accompanied by documentary evidence of 41 prescription slips of a doctor and 16 prescription slips of another doctor, in which only costly medicines of brand names of only one company has been prescribed to the patients.

The complainants have even doubted the genuineness of the company and termed its medicines as “substandard” and alleged connivance between these doctors and the only shop of chemist where these medicines are available in the entire market.

They also said one of the doctors had been giving such costly prescriptions even to the “Below Poverty Line” (BPL) patients and had been forcing them to purchase costly medicines from that chemist, though the government had ordered that they should be provided all medicines free from the hospital.

Dr Rattan was here yesterday and met the four complainants and also noted the statements of the doctors and other members of the staff and patients and is now expected to present his report to the department for suitable action in this matter.

Mandi, January 20
The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Mandi, has registered a case against Gopal Sharma, in charge of civil works-cum-lecturer at Government Polytechnic College, Sundernagar, after a four-member committee constituted by the director, Technical Education, in the case detected financial irregularities against him.

The committee has found that the accused showed some undue favour to certain contractors involved in maintenance, repair and construction of residential and non-residential buildings of the college. The committee has handed over the case to the Vigilance for further action.

After scrutinising the documents and reports of the committee, the Vigilance registered a case against Gopal Sharma under Sections 420 and 120B of the IPC and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Though the accused denied the charges, the Vigilance has yet to nab the official in the case saying that they will establish the charges before they arrest the accused in the case.

SP (Vigilance) Virender Sharma said the case was registered after the four-member committee detected misappropriation of funds and irregularities committed by Gopal Sharma. The Vigilance probe is still on and misappropriation to the tune of Rs 17 lakh has been found so far, he added.

According to the inquiry report, Gopal Sharma did not even fulfil the codal formalities and forged bills in a bid to favour some contractors engaged by the college in various works.

The inquiry found that Sharma was executing works worth lakhs of rupees. He was in charge of all civil works being executed in the college, the report revealed.

College principal Onkar Singh Sen said the college would cooperate with the Vigilance Bureau in the case.

Nurpur, January 20
PL Thakur, IG, Police (north zone), after inspecting the local police station said today that keeping in view of any terrorist activities, the Himachal Pradesh Police had strengthened security on interstate borders.

Talking to mediapersons, he said a number of steps had been taken in this connection like setting up of special police nakas, checking of vehicles coming to the state and keeping a strict vigil on the border.

Expressing concern over increase in road mishaps in the north police zone, Thakur exhorted the people to co-operate in curbing this menace.

“The police is organising awareness camps with the assistance of road safety clubs and also making concerted efforts to reduce the menace of domestic violence. The women wing of the Kangra police has succeeded in making compromises in families affected with domestic violence in the district,” he asserted.

Thakur added that earlier, an IG-level inspection was conducted in the police station at the district headquarters but for the first time the Nurpur police station had been selected for the purpose. — OC