Shimla, March 8
The state government has decided to institute five state-level awards to honour women for their outstanding contributions in the fields of education, health, empowerment, sports, culture and social services sectors annually.

Announcing this while presiding over a state-level International Women's Day function here today, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the ‘Himachal Mahila Awards’ would encourage and inspire women to excel in various spheres of life and also help accord recognition to those who make outstanding contribution.

He said the state government would establish ‘mahila ashrams’ in every district in order to provide shelter to destitute women and efforts would be made to open more anganwari centres in the state. He said female literacy rate of the state was 76.60 per cent and sex ratio was 974, which were much higher than the national average.

He said women were excelling in all the fields like education, sports, science and politics and had made their presence felt. Their economic and social conditions had improved and they were more aware of their rights and were contributing significantly to the development of society and the nation, the Chief Minister added.

However, it was a matter of great concern that still they were not enjoying full freedom and protection and facing various social crimes and discrimination, he added.

Expressing concern over the recent incidents of crime against women, he said though effective steps were being taken at the national and state level to check these incidents, cooperation of society was also needed to ensure their safety.

The Chief Minister also inaugurated an exhibition put up by various departments, banks and self-help groups and honoured Arjun Awardee Suman Rawat, Joint Director, Youth Services and Sports, and Priyanka Negi, international kabaddi player, who had won three gold medals at the international level.

He also presented state awards to 17 anganwari workers for their exemplary services under the Integrated Child Development Scheme for 2011-12.

Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes said women represented half of the population and they were contributing in every sphere.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil said women had made significant contribution in the development of the state and the nation. Kinkri Devi of Sirmour had raised environment issues and Ghambri Devi of Bilaspur had made significant contribution in promoting Pahari folk music.

Hamirpur: Several programmes were organised to observe International Women’s Day today in Hamirpur district. The Social Justice and Women Empowerment Department organised a programme for women, which was presided over by Ashish Singhmar, Deputy Commissioner.

Members of the Janwadi Mahila Samiti (JMS) assembled at the Gandhi Chowk to celebrate the day and later submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through the Hamirpur DC. Satya Galoda, district president of the JMS, said through the memorandum, the JMS had demanded 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state Assemblies, complete check on female foeticide, stringent law for crime against women, speedy trial in rape cases and increase in number of subsidised LPG refills.

Kangra: Women from the district, who had contributed towards women empowerment, were felicitated with the 'Prerna Samman' at a function organised to mark International Women’s Day at Gandhi Ground, Nagrota Bagwan, today. Minister for Transport, Food and Civil Supplies and Technical Education GS Bali was the chief guest on the occasion.

Sureshta Devi from Palampur was honoured for her services for the HIV positive community. Bimla Vishavapremi of ‘Ekal Beti Parivar Sangathan’ was honoured for her exemplary feminist work. Archna Phull was recognised under the category of women empowerment advocacy by women journalists.

A health camp was also organised. On the occasion, free HIV STI testing service was provided by integrated counselling testing centres under the National AIDS Control Programme, where counsellors advised women about various health issues.

A self-defence show by police women and cultural presentations were the highlights of the event. In a tug-of-war event, Pathiar team was declared the winner.

In another event, the Department of Social Work, EduCARE India, and Young Women’s IDEA at Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) jointly celebrated International Women’s Day. Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof Furqan Qamar was the chief guest on the occasion. A skit was also performed by the Social Work Society on the occasion.

Nurpur: International Women’s Day was celebrated here at Bachat Bhavan under the auspices of the State Woman and Child Development Department. Aanganwari workers performed a play on the evils of dowry system and female foeticide.

Shimla, March 8
A day after taking over as the acting Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice RB Misra today made it clear that filling vacancies in the judiciary would be one of his top priorities.

In an interview with The Tribune, acting Chief Justice Misra said he would make efforts to fill the vacancies not just in the High Court, but also in the lower judiciary.

“The Chief Justice of India, Justice Altamas Kabir, has urged Chief Justices across the country to initiate steps for filling vacancies both in the subordinate judiciary and in High Courts,” said Justice Misra.

“My efforts as the acting Chief Justice will be to ensure complete compliance of his wishes. He is the head of the judicial fraternity and it is our solemn duty to carry forward his efforts.”

Justice Misra’s assertion came about two months after Chief Justice Kabir told Chief Justices to take steps for filling up 3,670 vacancies in the subordinate judiciary as well as vacancies in High Courts.

Chief Justice Kabir had also urged High Court Chief Justices to take steps for setting up fast-track courts to exclusively deal with offences against women.

They were told to calculate the number of posts required to be created at the level of sessions judges and magistrates, along with the support staff.

Justice Misra’s assertion on filling up vacancies also assumes significance as the Himachal Pradesh High Court is heading for a crisis of sorts.

More than 70 per cent of its Judges are either moving out or are nearing the age of superannuation. After about a year, the High Court will be left with three Judges.

As of now, there are 10 Judges in the High Court. So far, the names of lawyers have not been recommended for elevation to the Bench.

Available information suggests that former High Court Chief Justice Kurian Joseph had initiated the process of making the recommendations, but could not complete it following his elevation as an apex court Judge.

Giving details of other priorities, Justice Misra said he would cut short the travelling time a litigant takes to reach justice. “My emphasis will be on expeditious disposal of cases,” he said.

Justice Misra concluded by saying he would also make efforts for promotion of legal literacy and ensuring that the common man’s faith in the judiciary and the judicial system continued to be maintained.

Shimla, March 8
The inquiry conducted by the Labour Department into the mishap at the plant of Ambuja Cements Limited at Darlaghat about two months ago, in which a worker was killed and seven others injured, has pointed to safety lapses and called for a fresh risk assessment to improve the safety environment.

The incident took place when workers were trying to locate a snag in a cyclone pre-heater which had blocked the pipeline. They lacked the requisite thermal clothing for personal safety and training for handling such an exigency.

They were caught in a splash of extremely hot powdered material, with temperature ranging from 400 degree Celsius to 450 degree Celsius, while they trying to open a flap using air pressure. The flap came off suddenly even as the air pressure was being adjusted and the hot powdered material was released in a burst.

The problem was aggravated as the synthetic clothing of workers was not suitable for handling such hot material. The management had not visualised such a situation while palling safety measures. They were also not trained in handling such exigencies, otherwise they would not have been caught in the hot splash.

The indication about the snag was provided by the computerised control system installed for monitoring the functioning of the plant, after which the management deployed a team of engineers and worker to locate the fault.

The company paid Rs 4.76 lakh as compensation to the dependants of Jagdish Kumar, the victim who succumbed to his injuries at the Fortis Hospital at Mohali, and promised to provide jobs to his two sons.

The Labour Department has decided to issue a notice to the company for the lapses and direct it to the pay the agreed amount of Rs 10 lakh immediately. It has also sought more technical details from the company so that adequate safety measures could be taken.

Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said the inquiry report had brought out chinks in the safety mechanism and underlined the need for more comprehensive hazard assessment at cement plants, more so because there were three big cement plants in the state and five more were in the pipeline.

The government had taken the mishap seriously and besides making the company accountable, proposed to have a fresh hazard assessment in the light of the incident so that the safety environment at all cement plants could be improved further.

Shimla, March 8
Kewal Singh Pathania, vice-chairman of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), today met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in Dehradun and urged him to open a separate inter-state counter for HRTC buses at the Hardwar bus stand for the convenience of the people of the state, who had to cover a lot of distance from the Hardwar bypass or its outskirts to reach Har-ki-Pauri for performing rituals.

He said since a large number of people travel everyday to and from Hardwar, opening of a counter and providing facilities like rest room for the drivers and conductors of HRTC buses would be of great help. He pointed out that earlier the HRTC counter existed at the Hardwar bus stand, but subsequently this facility was withdrawn.

He also advocated providing land on lease for setting up a ‘sarai’ for boarding and lodging of the people of the state visiting Hardwar.

Chamba, March 8
Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank Chairman Harsh Mahajan has supported the demand of people of the district for a new bus terminus at Chamba and has assured them that the demand will be met.

He gave this assurance to a delegation led by Himachal Pradesh Congress Kisan Cell vice-president Sudarshan Thakur which met him in Shimla recently. — OC

Shimla, March 8
The Railway and Traffic Police today arrested Vinay Kumar, a resident of Ludhiana, who had allegedly drugged many passengers travelling on the Shimla-Kalka route and took away their belongings.

Param Dev Thakur, SHO of the Railway and Traffic Police, Shimla-Kalka section, said Vinay was arrested from Kalka today. “His modus operandi was to befriend the passengers and offer them juice laced with drugs, make them unconscious and steal their money and belongings,” he said.

Thakur said an elderly British couple had become victim of Vinay last month. He offered them juice at Barog and they immediately fell unconscious. Another victim was Ishwar Dutt Setia, a resident of Delhi, who owns a flat in Solan. “The accused drugged him and took his credit card, which he used at two shops in Shimla to purchase gold ornaments worth Rs 1.75 lakh,” he said.

He said he tried to gather information about the appearance of the accused from the various victims and flashed it everywhere. It was then that the police was able to nab Vinay. The accused is a resident of Ludhiana, but has been residing at Sector 45 in Chandigarh.

Shimla, March 8
Accusing the Congress regime of giving conflicting statements about the alleged phone tapping, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal today said he had never ordered surveillance of any phone either in writing or verbally and the government was free to get an inquiry conducted by any agency.

In a press note, he said varying figures about the number of phones tapped were being given. “We want to know to whom the investigating agency is reporting in this case. If it is the Home Minister, how did the Irrigation and Public Health Minister and party functionaries issue statements before Virbhadra Singh’s reaction,” he asked.

He lamented that the Congress had been harping on the phone tapping issue since it had come to power and its leaders had been making all sorts of contradictory reports. “Right from Day One, I have said we welcome a probe by any agency, including a sitting High Court Judge,” he said.

He said he had issued neither written nor verbal orders for tapping any phone. He also said the basis of figures of alleged phones tapped must be made clear.

“Every government grants funds for purchase of sophisticated equipment to enable surveillance of activities of anti-social elements and smugglers and those involved in heinous crimes. If there has been a misuse of this facility, strict action must be taken against the culprits,” he added.

He raised questions about making public secret documents which was a crime. He added that levelling false allegations would not benefit anyone. Wanting to know whether phones were being tapped even these days, he said the government must be aware that some anti-social elements could take benefit of this.

Shimla, March 8
The government today shifted eight Himachal Administrative Service officers. Rakesh Sharma, Managing Director, HIMFED, was posted as Additional Secretary to the Chief Minister. He would continue to hold existing charge.

Chaman Dilta, Additional Director, Panchayati Raj, was made Controller, Printing and Stationery. Jitender Sanjta, Director, Rural Development, was given additional charge as Joint Director, Panchayati Raj.

KK Sharma, Joint Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Headquarters, would hold additional charge as Joint Director, IGMC and Medical Education and Research. Vijay Puri, Under Secretary, Finance, was posted as Under Secretary to the Chief Minister. Uttam Singh, Under Secretary, Education, was made Under Secretary, Finance.

Pushpa Chaudhary, Under Secretary, RPG, is Under Secretary, Education. Madhu Bala Khanna, Under Secretary, Technical Education, would hold additional charge as Under Secretary, RPG.

Nurpur, March 8
A three-member special police team arrested Ranjit, alias Kalu, of Rapper village from Mukerian bus stand in Punjab last evening. He was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) on December 15 last year by a local court.

DSP Rajinder Jaswal said a case under Sections 451 and 506 of the IPC had been registered against him in 2007 on the charge of trespassing and thrashing a man of his own village.

He said the accused had remained absent during court hearings for a long time and finally, the court declared him a proclaimed offender. He said the police had launched a special drive to arrest POs.