Norwegian's body found at Nalagarh
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, Nov 17 — The body of a Norwegian national, identified as Lindstrom Tormod a student aged 24 years, was found from a secluded spot in the forests near Gujjar Ghatti village on the Nalagarh-Swarghat road, by the police on Sunday, according to delayed information received here.

The post-mortem report indicated that the death occurred due to asphyxia caused by strangulation. There were neither any ligature marks nor any external injuries on the body.

The SP, Mr M.L. Negi, said it appeared Mr Tormod was murdered somewhere else and his body was disposed of in the Gujjar Ghatti forests. He said the place where the body was recovered did not show any sign of struggle or of murder having been committed there.

The deceased carried a worn-out bag containing some old clothes and a toothbrush besides $ 15 only. His identity was established from the passport and an air ticket recovered from his body.

The air ticket showed Mr Tormod had flown into New Delhi on November 14 after boarding an Aeroflot flight via Moscow, which left Oslo, the Norwegian capital on November 13.

Mr Negi said he informed the Royal Norwegian Embassy soon after the recovery of the body for confirming the deceased's identity and relaying the information concerning his demise to his next of kin.

The embassy faxed a message to Mr Negi yesterday confirming that the body was indeed of Mr Tormod and that the latter's parents were being contacted. Mr Negi received another fax today from the embassy informing him that Mr Tormod's parents had expressed the desire that he be cremated as per local customs and the urn containing his ashes be sent back to them in Norway.

The Second Secretary of the Norwegian Embassy, Mr Bjorn Midthum, reached Nalagarh today to cremate the body and take over the urn containing the ashes. He was full of praise for the Nalagarh police, "who had done their best to ensure that the body remained in a well-preserved state despite the lack of embalming facilities". The embassy also praised the Solan police chief for the promptness in relaying the information to them.
Meanwhile, an investigating team had been despatched to New Delhi for further inquiries.

Regional airline mooted
From S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 17 — The five northern states are toying with the idea of setting up a regional airline to meet their local requirement of linking various areas on the air map.

These states are Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

It is learnt that the initiative in this direction has been taken by the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, who recently discussed the matter with the other Chief Ministers.

The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, is also learnt to have okayed the idea. He discussed the proposal with the Rajasthan and Punjab Chief Ministers.

Sources said that the airline might be floated as a joint venture of the five states with equity in the private sector also.

The Additional Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir recently visited here to discuss the issue in detail with officers of Himachal Pradesh. A preliminary project report is being prepared for taking up the matter with the Centre.

Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh were particularly in favour of the regional airline being floated because the Indian Airlines and other private airlines have failed to provide air services in the interior areas of these hill states. Moreover, these airlines were interested to operate only on economically viable routes.

The Kangra airport in Himachal Pradesh is lying virtually closed for the past two years for want of air traffic. There is hardly any air traffic at the Jubbarhatti airport in Shimla.

Only a skeleton service of 16-seater private aircrafts is operating between Delhi-Shimla and Kulu. Alliance Airlines, a subsidiary of Indian Airlines, has said that it would operate its 50-seater aircrafts in Himachal Pradesh only when the runways at the three airfields were further stretched.

Jammu and Kashmir has for the past many years been asking for linking Rajouri, Poonch, Kargil and various other destinations with air services. However, the commercial and security aspects have reportedly been a hurdle so far.

Himachal Pradesh is expecting a significant increase in the inflow of tourists with enhanced air traffic. This would boost the inflow of foreign tourists, particularly in the tribal areas which are a rich treasure of art and culture. McLeodganj in Kangra district has become a destination for foreigners because of the presence of the Dalai Lama there.

Himachal Pradesh is learnt to have offered the civil aviation sector for investment in the recently held Indo-British partnership promotional event here. Two airports at Sundernagar and Poanta Sahib have also been offered to the private sector for construction.

CPM stages dharna
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 17 — Workers of the CPM today staged a dharna to protest against the failure of the government in controlling spiralling prices. Led by Mr Rakesh Singha, a former legislator, the protestors blocked the government for the unprecedented rise in the prices of various commodities. Hoarders and black marketeers, they alleged, were having a field day under BJP rule, which was largely dependent on the trading community for electoral support.

The plea that unfavourable weather conditions had caused the prices to spiral was ridiculous. It was a ploy of the government to escape responsibility. As per government statistics the shortfall in production was only 15 per cent whereas the price rise was over 700 per cent in the case of some commodities.

The BJP government was also planning to scrap the Essential Commodities Act and curtail quantum punishment from seven years imprisonment to two years. All this clearly indicated the soft attitude of the government towards the traders.

Mr Singha said that the party would intensify stir and court arrest on November 28. He demanded that 14 essential items be made available through the public distribution system besides onion and potato be supplied through the cooperative network.

Death of accused raises controversy
From Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Nov 17 — The death of Maheshi, prime accused in a murder case, has become controversial with the police contesting the fact that he was in police custody at the time of his death.

Maheshi, alias Ramesh, who was a resident of Nehla village under the Harsi panchayat in Jaisinghpur subdivision, was the prime accused for the murder of 35-year-old Panno Devi. The murder took place on November 4. The police had registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC against him, while two others, Veena and her husband Chatanku, had already been arrested for criminal conspiracy and booked under Section 120-B of the IPC.

Maheshi, who was a proclaimed offender, and terror in the entire area, had been missing after the murder of Panno Devi. It was last morning that certain villagers along with the panchayat pradhan handed over Maheshi to the police at Lambagaon at about 6 a.m. After he was shifted to Palampur hospital he died within four hours.

On a visit to Nehla, the panchayat pradhan, Mr Jagdish Chand, said it was on the night of November 15 that Vinod and Vijay, relatives of Panno Devi, came to his house at 2 a.m. and said they had caught hold of Maheshi.

"Along with the four policemen who had been in the village to look for Maheshi, I went to the van in which they had brought Maheshi. He was writing in pain and there was blood all over his clothes," he disclosed. Mr Jagdish Chand said since Maheshi's condition was critical "I thought it wise to take him to the police station immediately." The pradhan along with Vijay and Vinod brought Maheshi to the Lambagaon police station.

According to the villagers, Maheshi had gone to Jalandhar after murdering Panno Devi and met Vijay who is working there in a private company. After Maheshi left, Vijay got to know from Vinod, who was also working there, that Maheshi was wanted for the murder of Panno Devi. The two of them, who are related to Panno Devi, followed Maheshi in a bus and nabbed him at Dera Beas, near Amritsar. Later, they handed him over to the pradhan and the police.

The DSP, Palampur Mr S.R. Rana, said Maheshi was not in police custody and he was only taken to the Palampur hospital under police supervision. "Since the doctor at Lambagaon was not available early in the morning, it was only at 10 a.m. that the doctor referred him to the Palampur hospital where he died at about 2 p.m.", he added. Police has arrested Vinod, Vijay and Pyar Singh, brother of Panno Devi, under Section 302 of the IPC.

However, the possibility of the accused, Maheshi, being beaten up by the police seems bleak as the post-mortem report indicates the multiple fractures and other injuries he was suffering from were at least 24 to 48 hours' old.

Villagers, including the womenfolk, said Maheshi was a terror in the entire area as he would indulge in thefts and beating up of innocent persons. "Ever since the murder of Panno Devi, the villagers had been living in so much fear that they did not venture out of their homes in the evening for fear of being attacked by Maheshi," disclosed an elderly man of the village.

The death of Maheshi has come as a relief to the villagers who say that every second day he used to create problems in the village. He was also wanted in some cases by the Chandigarh police. The police will be sending the video-recording and the report of the post-mortem examination of Maheshi to the Human Rights Commission.

The Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, Mr B. K. Aggarwal, has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the death of Maheshi and the cause behind it.

Setting up of finance panel justified
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 17 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has justified the setting up of a fresh state finance commission for panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies.

Reacting to the allegation of the Congress Legislature Party leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, that the BJP government was trying to weaken panchayati raj institutions, a spokesman of the government said here today that the government had constituted the first state finance commission in April, 1994. According to the provisions contained in the Constitution of India, it was mandatory to constitute a state finance commission once every five years to deliberate on the finances of local government institutions like panchayati raj and urban local bodies. Accordingly, the Second State Finance Commission had to be constituted under all circumstances before April, 1999.

In the meantime, the government of India requested the state government to constitute a commission in such a manner that the recommendations of the commission could become available to the 11th National Finance Commission. Such an arrangement, the Government of India indicated, would enable proper devolution of resources to the local government institutions.

The spokesman clarified that the state commission was a constitutional body and had been provided for in the Constitution to safeguard the interests of local government institutions rather than harming their interests in any manner.

Cheni Pass — trekkers' delight
By Balkrishan Prashar

DEVIKOTHI (Chamba): The Cheni Pass of the North-West Himalayas lying east of the Churah valley in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh is immensely charming. The pass, a trekkers' paradise, is just as fascinating as the glaciers. The sight of these surrounded by snow-clad peaks and resplendent in alpine pastures is enough to remove the strain of the toil required to reach them.

Going along the banks of the Baira stream, a tributary of the river Ravi through thick forests the cool highland of the Cheni Pass in Devikothi dale in Chamba district is quite a serene route for the trekkers and mountaineers both Indian and foreign. The Cheni Pass at an altitude of 4,423 metres crossing from Chamba district to the Pangi valley is virtually a trekkers' delight.

The itinerary for trekkers is from Tissa to Devikothi. The route is steep and passes through woody hillsides and then drops over to the Baira stream. The itinerary is easy-going up to Hail, but later becomes arduous till Mindh Cave at an altitude of 2,745 metres, about 15 km-trek from Devikothi. Now comes the 16-km, Mindh Cave to Alyas route at an altitude of 3,450 metres which is steep and difficult to tread, but the few kilometres access to the Cheni Pass at an altitude of 4,423 metres is somewhat easy. After crossing the pass, one has to descend towards the Pangi valley through an easy trek.

Alyas to Mindhal village at an altitude of 2,380 metres is 12 km. Mindhal has a famous temple of goddess Kali where a fair is held in August every year. Mindhal to Kilar (the subdivisional headquarters of the Pangi valley) is about 18 km of an easy-going trek. Killar is the junction of Pangi and Kishtwar valleys. One can go to Jammu, Zanskar, Lahaul and Kulu valleys from there.

Though the state government has proposed to construct a 1.6 km-long tunnel underneath the Cheni Pass to connect the Pangi valley with the Chamba valley, as it is one of the subdivisions of Chamba district, the plan appears to be a dead duck.

For the trekkers who cross the Cheni Pass over to the Pangi valley, the trekking itinerary is a fight for life and needs a lot of grit. But simultaneously, they experience great joy, pain and callousness of a particular nature of terrain that a tragedy and sorrow can inspire.

The grassy slopes between the rocky cliffs that start beyond the alpine meadows are the most rewarding sight for the trekkers in summers.

The charms and glories of the Cheni Pass are indescribable. But sadly, the state government has so far failed to provide even a few facilities to the trekking expeditions. It has also not been popularised by the state Department of Tourism.

The attention of the state government is very much required to promote trekking as tourism in the varied hilly terrains and snowy massifs of Chamba.