• ‘Use education for social betterment’
• Furniture makers' plea to govt
• Five held for stealing wires

Plea to use modern irrigation methods
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 16 — Mr Gulab Singh, Speaker HP Vidhan Sabha, has stressed the need for using modern irrigation methods like drip irrigation, micro sprinkler besides effective cross pollination of orchards for increasing crop production.

Participating in the seminar on "50 years of Himachal horticulture" in the Directorate of Horticulture here today, Mr Gulab Singh said that there was need to give new orientation to the horticulture industry by way of diversifying the crop and varietal mix of plantations by introducing new fruits and varieties in suitable areas. Crops like pear, cherry, olive, mango, aonla, pomegranate, strawberry, kiwi fruit, floriculture, cultivation of exotic vegetables etc needed to be promoted in suitable areas for the exploitation of the available agro-climatic potentials.

The Speaker said that favourable atmosphere should be created for attracting direct foreign investment in getting state-of-art technologies in value addition of horticulture crops. He appreciated the contribution of the Horticulture Department, the University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, for taking initiatives in the development of horticulture in the state.

Mr Narinder Bragta, Minister of State for Horticulture, speaking on the occasion said that state government had submitted a number of schemes worth about Rs 28 crore to the Centre for further improvement in horticulture and added that these schemes included the provision of subsidy on power sprayers, assistance for creation of water harvesting structures in the orchards, revolving fund of Rs 5 crore for the procurement and distribution of improved horticulture tools, implements, machinery etc to fruit growers, creation of improved germplasm bank for streamlining nursery production to ensure availability of quality and virus-free planting material to fruit growers, setting up of a chain of community canning centres in the rural areas.

The demand of fruit growers for setting up of a farmer's education and training centre at fruit and vegetables market of Azadpur, Delhi, had been taken up on priority and the funds amounting to Rs 1.05 crore had been provided by the government during the current year.

BJP 'ignoring' gram panchayats
From Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Nov 16 — Former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today accused the BJP government of trying to weaken the Panchayati Raj institutions by constituting a new Finance Commission.

Addressing an election meeting at Keori village in the Baijnath Assembly constituency, he said by appointing a new Finance Commission the government was weakening the Panchayati Raj institutions, both administratively as well as financially. The only motive behind constituting the Finance Commission was to benefit the BJP men by ignoring the duly elected gram panchayats," he alleged. He said since a majority of the panchayat elections had been won by Congressmen the BJP government was giving funds to local development committees in the villages to give benefit to its own men.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said the earlier Finance Commission had allocated Rs 7.5 crore for the Panchayati Raj institutions and Rs 20 crore was to be given during this year. He added the new Finance Commission had been constituted only to scuttle the recommendations made by the previous commission.

"By ignoring the duly elected bodies and giving money to other local committees, the government has violated constitutional norms, which can be challenged in a court of law," he said.

The former Chief Minister regretted that Panchayati Raj institutions, which were the foundation of our democracy, were being weakened by the BJP. He said the appointment of the Deputy Commissioner as the Chairman of the DRDA and not the zila parishad chairman was a clear indication of the motive of the BJP government.

The campaign of the Congress party finally picked up with the former Chief Minister addressing a series of meetings in the remote tribal belt of Chotta Bhangal yesterday. He addressed three election meetings at Lhoardi, Multhan and Kothi Kad.

It is only with the arrival of Mr Virbhadra Singh that all senior Congress leaders from the entire state turned up to campaign for the Congress candidate, Mr Sudhir Sharma, who is a son of former PCC chief Sant Ram, who represented the Baijnath constituency for many years.

Those who were present at the meetings included former Speaker, Mr Kaul Singh, former ministers Mr Rangila Ram Rao, Mr Vijai Singh Mankotia, Mrs Asha Kumari, Mr Kewal Singh Pathania and Mr Satya Prakash Thakur.

Launching a scathing attack on the BJP government, Mr Virbhadra Singh said all development work in the state had come to a standstill as Mr Dhumal's efforts were focused at trying to save his government and make HVC chief Sukh Ram happy.

He added the government was at the mercy of the HVC chief and was acting according to his whims and fancies. He disclosed that within a period of months the government had ordered 75,000 transfers of employees, solely on political considerations. He said the Congress party was strictly opposed to victimisation of employees and if it came in power it would put an end to this kind of practice.

Regarding the price rise, Mr Virbhadra Singh said the BJP government was not making use of the Essential Commodities Act and as such the poor had come on the brink of starvation.

BJP misusing official machinery: Mahajan
From Our Correspondent

PALAMPUR, Nov 16 — Mr Sat Mahajan, President, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, today alleged that the ruling BJP was misusing government machinery for electioneering in the Baijnath byelection scheduled to be held on November 25. Addressing mediapersons here, Mr Mahajan said that despite specific instructions from the Election Commission of India a number of ministers and chairmen of the corporations and boards had been using their government vehicles for attending election meetings. He gave the registration numbers of such vehicles to the newsmen.

Mr Mahajan released a copy of his complaint faxed to the Election Commission of India to the mediapersons. He had written in his complaint that government rest houses at Baijnath, Bir, Palampur and Jogindernagar had been forcibly occupied by the BJP ministers and MLAs and no accommodation was made available to the Congress party. He had sought the immediate intervention of Chief Election Commissioner.

Mr Mahajan had also alleged that during a visit to Palampur and Baijnath, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal announced a number of concessions to the public with the motive to get political mileage in the coming byelection. He quoted the example of meeting of the Chief Minister with private transporters at Palampur yesterday where he announced to reduce the passenger tax to 30 per cent from the existing 44 per cent. Mr Mahajan said such action of the Chief Minister was in complete violation of the model code of conduct and the Election Commission should immediately restrain the state government.

He also alleged that the BJP workers were creating law and order situation in the Baijnath area and terrorising the Congress workers. He disclosed that in Chobin village, a BJP MLA had created panic and was forcing the Congress workers not to come out of their houses for electioneering. He urged the Election Commission that besides the state police, the CRPF should also be deployed in all sensitive polling booths to avoid rigging and booth-capturing. He said he had submitted the list of such booths to the returning officer but no action had been taken in this regard.

Meanwhile, six associations belonging to the Scheduled Caste and three associations of the OBC of Kangra district have decided to support the Congress party in the Baijnath byelection. In different statements issued here, Mr Ram Singh and Mr Budhi Ram, presidents of the associations, respectively, announced that only the Congress had done justice with the weaker section of society during the past 50 years.

Fellows allege ‘saffronisation’
From S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 16 — Fellows of the prestigious Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) here are allegedly angry over the efforts of the authorities to "saffronise" the institute by inviting the Human Resource Development Minister. Mr Murli Manohar Joshi, to deliver the Radhakrishnan memorial lecture next year.

The "saffronisation" controversy comes close on the heels of the one about Saraswati vandana at the Education Ministers’ conference at Delhi recently.

Many renowned Fellows have taken exception to the invitation to Mr Joshi which was a departure from the tradition of the institute. No politician has ever been invited to deliver the lecture so far.

Noted writer and national Fellow Krishna Sobti has fired an "open protest letter" to Prof G.C. Pandey, Chairman of the IIAS governing body, saying that so far only eminent scholars were invited to deliver the lecture.

The national Fellow has urged the IIAS Chairman not to entangle the institute’s non-political character with the politics of the moment, "whatever your compulsions might be".

A place like the institute is undoubtedly larger than parties and ideologies. It will not be worthwhile to set an undesirable precedent. Scholars, writers and thinkers are all very sensitive about this, she has written.

When contacted on telephone, the Director of the IIAS, Dr Mrinal Miri, refused to comment on the issue. He said he would say something only during the meeting of the governing body.

He, however, confirmed that the governing body had decided to invite Mr Joshi to deliver the 1999 Radhakrishnan memorial lecture.

So far, the prestigious lecture has been delivered by Prof K.N. Raj, Prof Simon Blackburn, Prof Richard Sorabji, Prof Andre Betteille and Prof M.G.K. Menon.

The Fellows were annoyed over the interference in their academic work and have made it clear that if the institute’s academic direction is to be radically changed it is too important a matter to be left to the wisdom of the five members of the governing body. It requires serious debate. Until that happens, it must be allowed to continue in the fashion that it has done so far.

Ms Sobti has also taken strong objection to the alleged attempt of the IIAS Chairman to humiliate her at a recent formal meeting with Fellows of the institute here.

In her open protest letter, she has told Professor Pandey, his statements meant to "undermine in a subtle way the very soul of the institute which we all treasure and cherish ".

'Need for international market for produce'
From Our Correspondent

SHIMLA, Nov 16 — The Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, Mr Gulab Singh Thakur, inaugurated a two-day seminar on "Fifty years of Himachal horticulture" here today. The seminar is being jointly organised by the Department of Horticulture and an NGO, Himalayan Agro Systems. A number of farmers from the horticulture belt, which mainly comprises upper Shimla, took part.

Mr Thakur emphasised the need for creating an international market for the horticultural produce. He narrated in detail his recent New Zealand experiences in the field of fruit and vegetable marketing and the plight of Indian produce in the international market.

Mr Narendra Bragta, Minister of State for Horticulture, emphasised the need to take research to the fields. He also announced the opening of kisan bhavan in Delhi by next year for farmers who go to Delhi to market their produce.

Mr K.C. Azad of Himalayan Agro Systems emphasised the need for more horticultural avenues for the state as these suit the people economically, ecologically and technically. He also demanded setting up of a research laboratory for testing spurious pesticides and insecticides in the state.

A book, "Trees and Environment" written by Dr U.K. Sharma, a retired professor, was also released by the Speaker.

Meanwhile, Mr Sanjay Chauhan, a farmer representing the Kotkhai Kisan Sabha, said there was a need to involve farmers at the grassroots level. Their suggestions and priorities should be taken into consideration.

Panchtantra remix mixes well
Tribune News Service

PARWANOO, Nov 16 —Innocent reflections of crude realities of life were mirrored though staging of a play "Panchtantra remix" by the senior wing of Eicher School here today.

The spirit of the classical text was kept intact but the flavour was modern. Children not merely impressed the audience by their delightful performance but also gave them considerable food-for-thought over the current scenario. The intended digressions from the original text still carried an underlying message.

The satire on the nation's political mess assumed myriad colours through varied incidents, be it the fodder scam, state of the Indian press, Salman Khan's hunting episode or the nuclear tests. The effect however was of a rainbow echoing a uniformity of thought.

Children showed how ingenuity could transform a simple shed into a stage with a professional touch and alive with youthful vigour. Sticking to the Vishnu Sharma tradition of telling a story through narrators, the play unfolds with children dressed as animals, kings and vegetables to tell "tales full of moral values".

All scenes kept the audiences in splits by the topicality of the issues handled. A lawyer arguing for a king accused of the fodder scam says "the king cannot be guilty as the medical report said he had not eaten anything for the past four days?". His opponent replies that the king had submitted the report of the buffalo instead.

The director duo of Munna Dhiman and Harmeet Basur, activists of the Centre for Education and Voluntary Action, deserve credit for successfully handling such a large cast.

The evening began with Mrs Shama Gupta, mother of the school-topper Gaurav Gupta, lighting the lamp. Mr H.D.S. Malhotra, chairman of the group of schools, while welcoming the guests stressed the need for the private sector to come forward for mass education.

Ms Latha Vaidyanathan, principal, read the school report and highlighted the activities of the school in the past one year. She asked parents to spend more time with their children.

Mr Hari Jaisingh, The Editor of The Tribune, who was the chief guest on the occasion while appreciating the performance said good theatre had an inherent power to strike an instant rapport with the audience and always left a lasting impact.

Coop movement to be strengthened: CM
From Our Correspondent

NADAUN (Hamirpur), Nov 16 — The Himachal Pradesh Government is examining a proposal to hand over a part of the business of the HP State Civil Supplies Corporation to the district federations to make these viable and to provide essential commodities to the people at concessional rates.

Stating this here today at the 45th state level function of the all-India co-operative week celebrations, the Chief Minister said the government was committed for strengthening the co-operative movement in the state. He said the movement was a mass movement and efforts should be made to take it to all people.

The Chief Minister said the report of the committee constituted to look into the pay structure and other benefits to the co-operative secretaries would be received soon and decision taken accordingly.

He said the government would look into the cases of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds in various co-operative institutions of the state. The guilty would be punished, he added.

He thanked the Chairman of the Kangra Central Cooperative Bank for giving an offer to the state government that it would give a loan of Rs 100 crore to the state every year for starting new power projects.

Mr Rikhi Ram Kaundel, Co-operation Minister, Mrs Urmila Thakur, Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Babu Ram Mandyall, MLA were present on the occasion.

The Chief Minister gave away prizes to Bhira (Hamirpur), Ravi Harizan (Bilaspur) and Banoori (Kangra) co-operative societies of the state for securing first, second and third positions, respectively, in the fields of co-operative working during the year 1996-97.

‘Invite’ union to discuss demands
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, Nov 16 — The Himachal Pradesh Employees Confederation has urged the government to invite its leaders for discussions concerning the long-pending demands of the employees at an early date.

The secretary-general of the confederation, Mr O.P. Sharma, yesterday said he was hopeful of a positive response from the government, adding the present government had already demonstrated its goodwill towards the confederation by accepting some demands soon after taking charge.

He said the main demands of the employees include scrapping of the HP Administrative Tribunal and a CBI inquiry into the alleged transfer scam during the period January, 1994, to the end of February, 1998.

Employees' other demands include grant of all allowances as per the revised pay scales, which became effective from January, 1996, grant of ration money to police personnel on the Punjab pattern, bonus to regular employees and pension to public sector and state boards' employees.

Minister flayed for not keeping promises
From Our Correspondent

JAWALAMUKHI, Nov 16 — Former Transport Minister Kewal Singh Pathania today criticised state Irrigation and Public Health Minister Ramesh Dhawala for his "unkept promises" regarding getting district status for Dehra, 27 per cent reservation for the OBC category and setting up a college for girls at Jawalamukhi.

Talking to mediapersons here, Mr Pathania said it was very strange that Mr Dhawala who had all those demands as part of his agenda a few months ago had never talked about this while enjoying a Cabinet berth in the BJP-led government.

He said Mr Dhawala had tried to cheat the masses by echoing his "extra concern" for this constituency at a time when he was the most important factor to make any party form a government in Himachal.

The Congress leader called the Dhumal government a "private company" which, he alleged, was catering to the needs of the RSS and its ministers at the cost of state funds. He lashed out at the BJP-HVC combine and alleged that persons like Mr Sukh Ram had no moral authority to point a finger at others, much less at a person like Mr Virbhadra Singh who, he said, was known for his honesty and integrity. The charges levelled against Mr Virbhadra Singh were nothing more than a campaign of disinformation, character assassination and deception, he added.

Furniture makers' plea to govt
From Our Correspondent

MANDI, Nov 16 — The Himachal Pradesh Furniture Manufacturers Association has urged the government that the purchase of furniture under Operation Black Board should be made at the directorate-level from all small-scale units of the state from the units nearest to schools in order to avoid transportation cost and breakage.

Mr Ashok Sethi and Mr R.S. Sharma, president and general secretary of the association, respectively, today expressed apprehension that the purchase at school-level would not only deprive many units of purchase order, but also encourage unfair competition among the manufacturers. All small-scale units of the state, which had been hit by the ban on the purchase of furniture would be benefited by the centralised purchase, they added.

A delegation of the manufacturers had recently met the Chief Minister and had pressed for centralised purchase of furniture worth over Rs 4 crore.

‘Use education for social betterment’
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, Nov 16 — Governor V.S. Ramadevi today emphasised the need for making education an effective vehicle of social betterment by combining science and ethical values.

She was the chief guest of the annual prize distribution function of the local DAV Senior Secondary School here today.

"Education should cut across all narrow barriers that divide people and must imbibe time-tested human values like simplicity, honesty, tolerance and compassion for the needy and disadvantaged."

The Governor gave away prizes and announced a grant of Rs 5,000 to school students who participated in today’s programme.

Ms Mrinalini Solanki, Principal of the school, welcomed the chief guest.

Five held for stealing wires
From Our Correspondent

UNA, Nov 16 — The Una police arrested Bimla, Babo, Rani Devi, Raksha and Pompa Devi — all residents of Nangal — on November 14 at Rakkar Colony, 4 km from here, for allegedly stealing some aluminium wires from HPSEB store.

Mr K.K. Indoria, ASP, Una, said about 1.59 quintal wires in five bundles were seized from these women. He said the police had registered an FIR against the women.