Solan, April 6
As a step towards zero tolerance against corruption, Sukhvinder Singh, president, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), today warned officials sitting on sensitive posts to desist from corrupt practices or face action.

Addressing party men during his maiden visit to the district here after assuming charge as the HPCC president, Sukhvinder said transparent governance was their key endeavour and any complaint about corruption would be dealt with sternly. Earlier, he received a rousing welcome by the District Congress Committee (DCC) at various places in the district while coming from Shimla.

He said tough action would be taken against those practising politics of convenience for individual gains.

He said though the immediate concern of the party was to win maximum seats in the next year parliamentary poll, it would largely depend on the performance of the government and he would help foster better coordination between the organisation and the government.

He urged party men to address grievances of people at various party platforms, including Block Congress Committees, and District Congress Committees and not use the media as a tool to air their complaints. The Congress government had announced unemployment allowance to youth as promised in the manifesto and addressing unemployment was its key concern, he said.

Sukhvinder said former Chief Minister PK Dhumal, his son Anurag Thakur and Dr Rajeev Bindal had commercialised politics and they made gains by buying land from poor peasants and selling it to private universities that were free to initiate real estate ventures after 15 years.

He said the government had now amended this norm to 50 years to ensure that such land was not used for commercial gains. Earlier, DR Shandil, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Rahul Thakur, DCC president, and various leaders from five blocks, Vinod Sultanpuri, Sanjay Awasthy, Lakhwinder Rana, Sikender Singh and Ramesh Thakur spoke. They asserted the need to take action against party men who had worked against official candidates and led to the Congress losing three of the five seats in Solan.

Shimla, April 6
The Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) will be issuing show-cause notices to 150 Congress leaders against whom complaints have been received for having worked against the party’s official nominees during the recent Assembly elections.

Though the number of complaints that the party had received from across the state was over 200, it is after scrutiny that the number has been brought down to 150.

The initial date for making complaints before the HPCC in this regard was March 15 which was extended to March 31.

It is expected that with the recommendations from District Congress Committees and Block Congress Committees having been received in these complaints, show-cause notices to 150 party leaders and workers would be issued shortly.

It is after getting reply from these leaders that the final decision with regard to disciplinary action will be taken against them.

More complaints came after HPCC chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expelled 24 leaders and suspended 18 after assuming charge as the HPCC chief.

As far as the status of the 28 expulsions ordered by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh as the state party chief is concerned, the matter is still pending before the party high command.

The high command had ordered a stay on these expulsions but a final decision is yet to be taken by the Central leadership.

Those who had been expelled at that time included former minister Singhi Ram from Rampur, Manoj Kumar from Dharamsala, Sanjeev Kuthiala (Shimla) and six party men from the Rohru Assembly segment.

This action had been taken after the polling and before the results were declared.

Though complaints have been received from across the state, maximum objections have come in from Mandi, Bilaspur, Solan and Dalhousie.

It is the disciplinary committee of the HPCC, to be constituted by Sukhu, which will look into the replies filed by these party men and take a final decision with regard to the action to be taken against them.

AICC general secretary and in charge of Congress affairs in Himachal Birender Chaudhary had earlier constituted a three-member committee headed by Vidya Stokes to look into complaints of anti-party activities during the poll.

Its other members included Viplove Thakur and Kuldeep Kumar.

However, the committee held only one meeting and there was little progress. As such, the committee has become in-fructuous.

Solan, April 6
The murder of a barrier employee at the Bagheri inter-state barrier on Wednesday night has exposed the vulnerability of the state’s industrial hub of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) where inter-state gangs appear to be operating with ease.

This has been corroborated by the fact that the deceased was not only a known criminal who was involved in at least 15 cases in Ropar district of Punjab, but was also an accused in a recent case of dacoity that had taken place at the Gara Mora area of Bilaspur district on April 1. The Bagheri incident appears to be a repercussion of the Gara Mora incident, according to the police investigations where members of the other gang had murdered him as a retaliatory action.

With those involved in the case being known criminals whose involvement has been found in several cases in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal, a question mark has been put over the staff deployed by contractors at various inter-state barriers.

Heated arguments and disputes have become the order of the day at various barriers where the credentials of those deployed appear to be ambiguous.

Not only was the presence of country-made pistols a common practice in the BBN area but its easy availability had put a question mark on the security of residents.

While the police had directed all labour contractors to verify the antecedents of all migrant labourers, no such practice was adopted for the barrier staff, most of whom included outsiders.

With neither uniform nor identity cards, the barrier staff had no identification.

SP, Baddi, S Arul Kumar said they had instructed the barrier staff to wear uniform and the matter had been taken up with the Excise and Taxation Department.

He said they had also taken up the matter of posting additional policemen in the BBN area with the higher authorities. The barrier staff would also be directed to carry identity cards issued by the Excise and Taxation Department in future.

Mandi, April 6
The national debate within the BJP over “LK Advani versus Narendra Modi” seems to have boiled down to the grassroot level in the rank and file of the saffron party in the state as the party celebrated its foundation day today.

The Dhumal-Shanta factions have snowballed into a now Advani-Modi struggle for supremacy in the party at the national level, marginalising the state factional divide in the party, commented BJP workers.

This was so because the BJP had more stakes in the Lok Sabha poll as the state Assembly poll were over last year, they added.

Party men celebrated the foundation day that lacked enthusiasm and punch that marked Modi’s Gujarat as the BJP suffered political defeat in the 2013 Assembly elections in the state, admitted insiders.

Though none of the celebrations had a direct discussion on the national leadership issue, the party men remained divided on their choice for the prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 general elections.

Both Advani and Modi are well-known faces among the electorate in the state. Modi has done what no BJP leader could do as the Chief Minister of Gujarat by scoring a hat-trick in the state, commented party workers.

But as far as Himachal is concerned, the pro-Modi and pro-Advani supporters were divided along the Dhumal-Shanta factions, though the Shanta cult has declined significantly in the state, said insiders.

“Most of his hard-nosed supporters have deserted the party and joined the Himachal Lokhit Party,” they admitted.

The foundation day this time was a different one as the BJP has carved out new mandals in Mandi, Kangra and Shimla districts for the first time in the state to rave up its organisational set up.

Though top leaders in these three bigger districts have opposed the new “organisational districts”, but they later gave in and supported the party move. The party has still dominated by Dhumal men in the state, who has been Modi’s supporter down the line, admitted party men.

Kangra, April 6
The Media Society in the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) organised a workshop on “news writing and reporting techniques” which was inaugurated today at the temporary academic block of the university at Shahpur by Pro-Vice-Chancellor, CUHP, Yoginder S Verma.

Additional Director-General (News), All-India Radio, New Delhi, PJ Sudhakar delivered a lecture on news writing and reporting techniques with a focus on the RTI Act, media and constitution, media ethics, media and human rights and trends in the media.

Dr PJ Sudhakar, a multi-faceted personality who cleared civil services in 1987 and entered the Indian Information Service, said: “While reporting, the media should be careful about the ethical issues, truth and objectivity.”

Talking on provisions for the freedom of the press in the Indian Constitution, Dr Sudhakar said the Right to Information Act was the strongest weapon with journalists and the public in the country to maintain democracy.

“Journalists should have deep knowledge about the provisions in the law, so that they can make sure that the rights of the media and the common man are not violated,” he added.

Dr Rabindranath Manukonda, Dean, School of Journalism, Mass Communication and News Media, Harikrishnan B, Assitant Professor, and students from the school were among those present.

Later, Dr Archna Katoch, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and Creative Writing, proposed the vote of thanks.

Shimla, April 6
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anil Sharma said the state had submitted a long-term strategic plan of Rs 4,668.71 crore for the Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) to the Centre for bringing 31.12 lakh hectares of land under it here today.

He was speaking at a workshop on ‘Strengthening of integrated watershed management programme’ organised by the Rural Development Department.

He said under the project, the state had been sanctioned Rs 1,035.16 crore for 131 such projects, covering 6,90,112 hectares.

Sharma said works related to livelihood generation had been given priority so that the people living in such areas could be benefited. He said due to the efforts of the state government, the World Bank had sanctioned a Development Policy Loan of Rs 1,100 crore for the Inclusive Green Growth and Sustainable Development in various fields like industries and tourism.

He said the aim of the workshop was to strengthen and enhance the existing guidelines of the IWMP, so that the beneficiaries could easily avail the Development Policy Loan. He urged the people to give suggestions so as to strengthen the policy. He said the main objectives of the project were to restore the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water.

JC Chauhan, Director, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, representatives of various NGOs and senior officials were present.

Shimla, April 6
The Home Department has finally handed over the probe into the alleged phone-tapping issue to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau for investigation.

“A reference from the Home Department has been received to probe into the phone- tapping issue and the information is being analysed,” said DIG, Vigilance Bureau. He added that the information provided by the Home Department was being analysed.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has earlier said the probe by the Vigilance Bureau was likely to be complete within the next two months. Forensic experts had found a list of over 1,200 telephone numbers that had been intercepted.

It was immediately after assuming office that Virbhadra Singh had ordered that the hard discs of the computers of the technical cell of the CID and Vigilance be handed over for examination to forensic experts.

Kangra, April 6
The second trial flight of the Spicejet airlines was cancelled yesterday by the authorities without assigning any reason. With it hopes for the Kangra airport witnessing regular flights have been shattered. People, including foreigners, were inconvenienced as there was no regular flight from Kangra to Delhi from October 1 last.

Kangra Airport Director Kuldeep Kumar Sharma had informed mediapersons on Thursday that a 70-seater aircraft of the Spicejet airlines would land at the local airport for its second trial landing on April 5 along with Director-General Civil Aviation officials at 12.05 pm.

The trial was cancelled by Spicejet without assigning any reason.

The Director said yesterday that the AAI had received a communication at 6.30 on Thursday that the trial flight was cancelled and no reason for the cancellation was assigned.

He said there were negotiations going on between the DGCA and Spicejet and hoped that regular flights might start from this month.

The DGCA office in New Delhi, when contacted, told this correspondent yesterday that there was no such meeting held between the DGCA and Spicejet authorities regarding regular flights of the airlines between Delhi and Kangra.

The DGCA office said there was no communication of any trial landing flight of the Spicejet airlines scheduled to be held at the Kangra airport on April 5.

Recently, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma had said regular flights would start from March 31 this year, which, however, did not happen.

The airport Director on February 9, 2013, had told the media that there would be three regular flights from Delhi to Kangra from March 31, which he said included two flights of Spicejet and one of Alliance Airways. The Kangra airport would witness three flights for the first time after it was declared operational.

Earlier, the summer schedule issued by the DGCA and received by the AAI at Kangra had mentioned that there would be three daily flights connecting Delhi with Kangra from March 31.

But on March 31 there was no flight from Kangra. It was from October 1 last that the two flights of Kingfisher Airlines were discontinued.

During the past over six months, the airport has been without any regular daily flight, thus adversely affecting tourism in the region.

Hoteliers and taxi operators have expressed resentment over the prevailing affairs.

Kangra, April 6
The two-day Himspark-13, being organised by the Central University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP), concluded here today.

The students got a chance to showcase their managerial, professional and creative skills during the fest.

Pro Vice-Chancellor of the CUHP Yoginder Verma spoke on the valedictory function of Himspark-13, a national-level management fest, and called upon management students to development leadership and entrepreneurial skills for achieving success in their lives.

Dr Ashish Nag, Assistant Professor, Department of Management, said more than 250 students from different universities and colleges from Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh participated in the fest.

Among those who bagged the first prizes were Komal Rawal of NIFT (Kangra) in the salesperson’s position, Ankit Bhardwaj, Ankit Mahajan, Sahil, Akash of the CUHP in talk show, Akash Mahajan and Yanvir Kaur of the SMVDU in the financial case study contest, Abha, Munish, Vishal, Abhinav, Medhavi, Vipul, Manisha of the HPU in role-play, Kuljinder Singh, Manish Garg of the CUHP in ‘pehchaan kaun’ and Raghav Manocha of the CUHP in photography.

The first prize in the ad-mad show was bagged by Raghav Gupta of the SMVDU and his team members. In the marketing madness contest, Varsha of the SMVDU and her team got the first position.

Convener of the fest Aditi Sharma said the Management Society also organised ‘Skoolmate’ for special participants from schools.

Prof HR Sharam, DSW, Dr Roshanlal Sharma, Proctor, Dr Bhagwan Singh, head of the marketing department, Dr Sanjeev Gupta, head of the accounting and finance department, Prof IV Malhan, Dean of library science, were present on the occasion.

Bilaspur, April 6
Three village women, working in their fields, became victims of wild bees in two separate incidents in the district during the past 24 hours.

Reports said wild bees raided agriculture fields at Nichli Marhana village near Ghumarwin and attacked two women Asha Kumari and Meena Devi leaving them seriously injured. They were being treated at nearby Bharadi Community Health Centre.

The reports also said in another incident wild bees attacked Shiv Devi at Chilardu village under Bharadi gram panchayat. Now she was recovering at the CHC.