Dharamsala, October 24
Supporters of Anurag Thakur, HPCA president and BJP MP from Hamirpur, today stormed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau office at Dharamsala and raised slogans against the Congress government and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

The supporters of Anurag also burst crackers in the office to celebrate his birthday.

Anurag, who was summoned by the Vigilance, arrived in the office of Bimal Gupta, SP, this afternoon, along with other BJP leaders, including MLA Kutlehar, Varinder Kanwar, MLA, Paragpur, Vikram Singh, MLA, Nadaun, Vijay Agnihotri and BJP spokesperson Parveen Sharma.

When Anurag asked the SP to pose queries to him, the SP said he had not summoned Anurag. "You have been summoned by the SHO and his office is located on the first floor. I had already clarified this to you," said the SP.

Anurag said, "The SHO was not present in his office. I had cancelled all my programmes for a date with the Vigilance.”

The SP said, "We had summoned you on October 31 as the SHO, who is the investigating officer, is busy with some other case. If you have some important assignment on October 31 you can give in writing and we can fix another date for your questioning," said the SP.

Anurag said since the elections were scheduled in five states, he, as the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, had many programmes there and so he might not be available on October 31.

Earlier in the day, Anurag arrived at Dharamsala along with his supporters. He was given a reception at the Kachehri crossing near the Deputy Commissioner’s office. The supporters weighed Anurag against ladoos and later distributed these among the crowd that had gathered there.

Addressing his supporters, Anurag alleged that Virbhadra was targeting him and his family. He said the HPCA was the only sports organisation in the state that had catapulted players from Himachal to international level.

Launching an attack on Virbhadra Singh, Anurag said during his stint as Chief Minister for six times, he had not been able to create even a single cricket stadium in the state.

"Virbhadra wants to capture the HPCA and I challenge him to take control over the organisation,” Anurag said.

Earlier in the day, the police had made arrangements outside the Vigilance office to stop Anurag’s supporters. However, later the police was removed and supporters were allowed to protest. The police restricted its activity to just making videos of activities of the supporters.

A senior Vigilance official said the protest was aimed at pressurising the investigating officers.

Nirmand (Kullu), October 24
Nirmand will be promoted as a model rural tourist destination in the state, which will have a helipad, 50-bed hospital, a modern bus stand, a pavilion, broad streets, three-storey houses and other amenities, said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh here today.

Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of the bus stand and the rural tourist information centre here, Virbhadra said Nirmand should be protected from builders. Its architectural beauty should be preserved and promoted to make it an ideal destination for rural tourism in the state, he added.

The Chief Minister and his wife and Mandi MP Pratibha Singh were here as chief guests at the 15th Rajmata Shanti Devi National Volleyball Tourney to commemorate the memory of his mother and got a warm reception from the gathering. “People of Nirmand continue to have special ties with our families down the ages,” Virbhadra recalled.

While Pratibha thanked the gathering for the support for the Congress in the last Mandi Lok Sabha poll, Virbhadra announced the bonanza for Nirmand.

The Chief Minister announced that the Nirmand Community Health Centre would have a 50-bed hospital which would be built at Rs 2.38 crore. The 126-m-long bridge across the Sutlej was ready and so was the Ghato bridge, he added.

He said Nirmand had produced great scholars and astrologers and was known for its arts and architecture and tradition as it was one of the biggest villages. If the gram panchayat passed a resolution, Nirmand would be upgraded into a Nagar Panchayat, which will have all facilities, he said.

He said 34 villages in the outer Seraj lacked the road connectivity and all of these would be linked to the roads.

The Chief Minister upgraded three schools, Guchair, Ladar, Ladaigi to senior secondary schools and announced a middle school for a village.

The organising committee also honoured Prof ADN Bajpayee, vice-chancellor, HP University, and two others on the occasion.

Shimla, October 24
The police has registered an FIR against four police officers, including a retired Inspector General of Police (IGP), in a case of alleged theft and wrongful entry into Raj Bhawan staff quarters.

The FIR pertaining to July 4, 2002, was registered today in the Chotta Shimla police station under Sections 380 and 454 of the IPC. Those named in the FIR are Pradeep Kumar, then SP, Shimla, and now retired as IG, Arvind Digvijay Negi, then serving as Additional SP and now SP in the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and DSP Badri Singh and SHO Keshav Ram. Army officer Inderveer Singh Rana, then posted as ADC to the Governor, has also been named in the FIR.

Police officers confirmed that the FIR was registered on the complaint of Ramesh Chauhan, who had then been posted as in charge of guards at Raj Bhawan.

He had alleged that on July 4, 2002, some cash, loan documents and medical records of his mother had gone missing from his residence in the staff quarters of Raj Bhawan.

Bir (Dharamsala), October 24
The Pre-World Cup Paragliding Championship started today after inauguration by Minister for Housing and Urban Development Sudhir Sharma.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister, who is also president of the Billing Paragliding Association, said a permanent school for training in paragliding would be opened at Bir.

Today only practice tasks of 48.7 km were given to participating pilots. However, the tasks were cancelled as cloudy conditions prevailed over the area and warm currents were not available. In the afternoon many paragliders, took flights adding colour to the skies in the Bir area.

Sudhir Sharma, talking to The Tribune, said the Billing paragliding site was among the best in the world and would be promoted by the state government for adventure sports. “It is for first time that we have hired a helicopter that will remain standby at Billing for any kind of emergency during the championship,” he said.

“Besides we have publicised the event at the international level to attract the best talent in paragliding sport. The event will also be covered by international sports channels like Star Sports,” Sharma said.

He further said sky diving from helicopter, handgliding and air acrobatics would be star attractions during the tournament.

The vice-president of the paragliding association said 180 pilots, including 75 international pilots, had registered for the tournament. After screening we would allow 107 pilots to participate in the championship. These include eight women pilots, including Indian Meenu Yadav. 

Shimla, October 24
A police team today swooped down on Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) and caught students smoking publicly.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Shimla, Soumya seized packs of cigarettes being sold openly to students in violation of the Control of Tobacco Products Act, banning the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in the vicinity of educational institutions.

“We had been receiving reports that students were indulging in smoking and shopkeepers on Summer Hill Chowk made it easy by selling such tobacco products,” said Soumya.

She said action had been taken against five students who were smoking publicly despite the ban and high court directives. The shopkeepers had been booked.

Such incidents not only cast doubts on claims of Shimla being a smoke-free town, but also indicate the fact that there is easy availability of cigarettes and other tobacco products near educational institutions.

A state-wide survey, conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Voluntary Health Association (HPVHA) on consumption of tobacco and its other products among schoolchildren up to the age of 17, indicated that 50 per cent of the schoolchildren smoke.

“The situation is grave and there is need to take some major initiatives immediately to arrest the problem,” said Narender Sharma, Executive Director, HPVHA.

Soumya said 50 per cent students, including 22 per cent girls, were into smoking or consuming tobacco.

The Health Department too has decided to launch a school health programme to educate students jointly with the help of teachers and parents to stay away from smoking and drugs.

Shimla, October 24
The high court (HC) has quashed the addendum issued by the state public service commission wherein it had notified one post of Block Development Officer reserved for ward of freedom fighter (WFF) category.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice Kuldip Singh passed this order on a petition challenging the action of the public service commission to notify the reservation of one post for the WFF category by way of addendum after the last date of submission of the applications, pursuant to the advertisement issued on January 5, 2013.

It was further alleged in the petition that the advertisement did not mention that one post of Block Development Officer for WFF category had been reserved. The last date for submitting applications pursuant to the advertisement was fixed as February 4, 2013, and all forms were to be submitted only online.

But later on an addendum was issued by the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission on May 27, 2013, notifying that among the post already notified vide advertisement dated January 5, 2013, one post of Block Development Officer pertains to the category of WFF.

According to petitioners, after the addendum was issued, they tried to submit applications for the post for the WFF category. However, their applications were turned down.

Shimla, October 24
Himachal is among the four states selected for the implementation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded innovative pilot project under the new global mechanism of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation of Forests (REDD) Plus to combat climate change.

Under the REDD Plus plan, financial incentives will be offered for the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable management of forests, livelihood improvements and enhancement of carbon stocks. The project is being implemented in different climatic zones of the country to help evolve a policy framework for sustainable management of forests. The other three states are Madhya Pradesh, Karnatka and Sikkim.

Experts from the Union Ministry of Environment and the USAID have in consultation with the Forest Survey of India selected three sites in Kotgarh, Ani and Rampur representing the moist-temperate forest zone for the project.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RK Gupta said the five-year project involved a carbon-centric approach but the focus would be on carbon in the soil and not only on the biomass above the ground. Research had shown that soil in the degraded forest areas had higher carbon content. It provided the basis for creating a financial value for the carbon stored and enhanced in biomass and soil of standing forests.

The focus of the five-year project will be on capacity building and creating awareness and develop environmentally and economically sound models through innovative approach for protecting biodiversity along with sustainable livelihoods. The forestry aspect will be taken care of by evolving best "silvicultural" practices to enhance carbon stock in biomass so that growing stock serves as a carbon sink through effective sequestration.

To begin with, a baseline survey would be carried out in the project to generate basic data and training workshops would be organised for capacity building. Thereafter various monitoring tools would be developed. The Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, was already carrying out the valuation of eco-services being made available by the forests.

The innovative policies and practices, thus, evolved would be adopted by the Centre as part of reforms and put into practice in the National Mission for a Green India being implemented as part of the National Action Plan for Climate Change.

Shimla, October 24
The Revenue Department has directed all the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to expedite the collection of information pertaining to the non-payment of lease money by hydropower companies over the last few years to the government.

The government has already constituted committees, headed by the three Divisional Commissioners, to look into the aspect as this was resulting in loss to the state exchequer. The government has also extended the one-month deadline to two months as details have to be collected from all over the state.

While 90 per cent of such cases pertains to the hydropower sector, there are only a handful of cases where the industrial units too have not paid the lease amount.

"The department has asked all Deputy Commissioners to pursue the matter so that we can arrive at an exact figure of the estimated revenue loss till date," said Kaul Singh Thakur, Revenue and Health and Family Welfare Minister. He added that the lease money due from power companies could be between Rs 80 crore and Rs 100 crore.

Sources said the penalty or action to be taken against such companies would be decided only once the task of compiling the information is complete.

The issue had been raised by the Congress while in the Opposition and some BJP members too had raised it in the Assembly after the formation of the Virbhadra regime. 

Shimla, October 24
The University Grants Commission (UGC) seems to be unconcerned about enforcing its regulations pertaining to establishment and operation of private universities. So far, it has conducted inspections of only five out of 16 private universities in the state.

The regulations framed to safeguard the interests of students make it mandatory for a private university to provide all relevant informations relating to the first degree and postgraduate degree or diploma programmes. Thereafter, the commission is required to make an assessment to ascertain any deficiencies in infrastructure and the faculty and whether or not its regulations were being complied with.

If a university fails to rectify the deficiencies pointed out by it within the specified time, the commission could pass an order prohibiting the private university from offering any course for the award of the first degree.

However, most of the private universities have not even been inspected and assessed by the UGC and these are already awarding graduate, postgraduate and other degrees. This is the main reason that these institutions have been violating norms and granting admissions to ineligible candidates, including matriculates, even though these are mandated to admit students only after Plus II as per the State Private Universities Act and the UGC norms.

Besides ensuring the requisite infrastructure and faculty, the UGC is required to examine the curriculum structure, contents, teaching and learning process, examination and evaluation system and the eligibility criteria for admission of students for which information is sought on a prescribed proforma prior to starting of these programmes.

As per the regulation, the UGC is empowered to take necessary action against a private university awarding a first degree or a postgraduate degree or diploma which are not specified by it and inform the public through a public notification.

A private university continuing such programmes and awarding unspecified degrees is also liable for penalty under Section 24 of the UGC Act.

However, the commission has miserably failed in discharging its regulatory function and it has not initiated any action against any university despite gross violation of norms.

With the high court striking down the State Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Act, the state government had been reduced to a silent spectator.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has asserted that a regulatory body was needed to maintain quality of education and that the government was considering filing an appeal against the high court verdict and a final decision will be taken after seeking advice from legal experts. It will take the required action in the matter and ensure that private universities do not have a free run.

Chamba, October 24
Taking a strong cue from the blanket ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal recently, officials of the Forest Department carried out a series of raids in all the nullahs and banks of the Ravi and its tributaries and detected a number of lawbreakers and imposed suitable penalties in the last month.

The Tribunal has observed that "we restrain any person, company and authority to carry out any mining activity or removal of sand from river beds anywhere in the country without obtaining environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and a licence from competent authorities."

A total of 24 cases have been detected and various vehicles apprehended which were found extracting sand and gravel and released by forest officials of Masroond and Sundla forest blocks after compounding them under Section 68 of the Indian forest Act. A total fine of Rs 45,093 has been realised in Chamba forest circle during the last month from the offenders, ARM Reddy, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Chamba forest circle, disclosed here on Tuesday.

The process of raids would continue on commercial extractions carried out in contravention of the directions of the Tribunal, the CCF said.

While inspecting the forest check-post at Baroh in Masroond range, Reddy directed the check-post officials and all the field staff to examine the M-Form or any other valid document issued by the Mining Department before permitting it to pass through the check-post else suitable action would be taken against the illegal transporters of the mining material.

Nurpur, October 24
Following the direction of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Indora, the local police registered a forgery case under Sections 406, 417, 418, 420 and 120 (B), IPC, last evening against Gandharv Singh and his son Rakesh Kumar of Pabbar (Shahpur Kandi) in Pathankot district for allegedly cheating 10 unemployed youths of Nurpur area by alluring them to with a promise of jobs in foreign countries through a job providing company.

DSP, Nurpur, Rajiv Atre said Chaman Singh of Makrolli-Chhatar, who had been duped of Rs 4 lakh, in his complaint alleged that the accused had cheated as many as 10 youths of the area of Rs 22 lakh. The complainant had also named Ajay Singh of Makrolli, Susheel of Salhana, Neeraj, Ajay, Navdeep of Rehan, Mohan of Surdwan, Prashant of Ram Nagar and Arvind of Lunj as forgery victims in his complaint.

The complainant had alleged that the accused after taking money from the victims had made several false promises of issuing interview call letters to them, but finally they realised that they had been duped.

Bilaspur, October 24
A labourer Subhash Kumar (22), son of Shyam Lal, resident of Sarad village near Deoli, died when he fell from the third floor of the JP Bagha cement factory here last night.

Reports said the seriously injured labourer was rushed to a nearby hospital, but was declared brought dead.

A large number of labourers staged a dharna at Shalu Ghat. They were protesting against the callous and negligent attitude of the factory management.

Later, the police registered a case and sent the body for postmortem. The police is investigating in the matter.