"Dera" shelter for ITBP jawans
MAHADWAR (Chamba): Snow in the upper areas and an order of the district authorities have forced the Gujjars to advance their annual migration towards greener pastures downhill. The "deras" left behind by them in the upper reaches of the Churah valley have now been occupied by the ITBP jawans deployed along the Himachal Pradesh and J&K border after the Kalaban-Sathrundi massacre.

HC stays proceedings
SHIMLA, Oct 23 — Mr Justice S. Palli of the Himachal Pradesh High Court today passed an interim order staying the arbitration proceedings in the on-line lottery case.

Centre to execute Parbati project
NEW DELHI, Oct 23 — The Union Government has decided to execute the 2051 MW Parbati Power Project in Himachal Pradesh in the central sector.

Congress MLA's threat on water supply
SOLAN, Oct 23 — Sitting Congress MLA, Ms Krishna Mohini has in a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, threatened to sit in a dharna in front of his office in case normal water supplies were not restored in certain areas of the town immediately.

'No relief' for HP fire victims
SHIMLA, Oct 23 — A former Chief Minister and Legislature Congress Party leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, has criticised the state government for not providing relief to several families affected in the recent devastating fires in Chamba town and Gharot village in Rohru tehsil of Shimla district.

Facility of calling party identification
SHIMLA, Oct 23 — The Himachal telecom circle has decided to introduce display of the number of the calling party on the subscriber's telephone.

Medical education fiasco to be probed
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 23 — The Himachal Government will come out with a comprehensive document on medical education to expose the acts of omission and commission of the Virbhadra Singh government which have now jeopardised the future of the students of Tanda Medical College and the dental college.

Presiding over a function organised to mark the first anniversary of "Sanchaika Mail", a local eveninger, here today. Mr Dhumal came down heavily on former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, for not offering a public apology for opening medical institutions without providing basic infrastructural facilities or obtaining the mandatory approval from the Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India.

He said the president of the MCI had informed him that we had made it very clear to the state government that it could not grant recognition to the Tanda college as it lacked requisite facilities and staff. However, instead of removing the deficiencies pointed out by the council, the government moved the High Court and after obtaining an order, it admitted students overnight on a weekend and in a hush-hush manner. He said all this was done with an eye on the assembly elections.

Similarly, the dental college was opened without the approval of the dental council. These actions of Mr Virbhadra Singh had put the careers of many students in jeopardy.

His government, he said, was doing it best to get recognition for these institutions. A sum of Rs 9 crore had been allocated for creating the required infrastructural facilities for Tanda college. The local tuberculosis hospital had been shifted and its buildings handed over to the college and the zonal hospital at Dharamsala attached to it.

Mr Dhumal said apart from rectifying such wrong actions of the Congress regime, the BJP-HVC government was also trying to undo the injustice perpetrated in the matter of development. Citing an example he said out of the Rs 112 crore sanctioned by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Rs 41 crore was spent in select areas of Shimla district while districts like Hamirpur got only Rs 89 lakh.

He said his government would not discriminate with any area on political or regional considerations. The BJP, which was dubbed anti-apple growers had demonstrated its good intentions by increasing the support price for apple and procuring a record 65,000 tonnes of the fruit under its market intervention scheme. Thus, despite a bumper crop, the growers did not face any problem in disposing of their produce.

Congress to finalise candidate on Monday
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 23 — The Pradesh Election Committee of the Congress party will meet here on Monday to finalise candidate for the Baijnath Assembly seat for which byelection will be held on November 25.

The ruling BJP leaders are also meeting in Delhi on Sunday to discuss party's candidate for the seat. However, they are likely to face an uphill task because of the flogging being done by their alliance partner, Mr Sukh Ram, who is claiming the seat for his Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC).

All major parties are worried over the byelection which will set the future course of politics in Himachal because of the hung Assembly.

It is learnt that the Congress has shortlisted seven aspirants for the seat out of 16 initially in race for party ticket.

BJP circles indicate that the traditional party candidate, Mr Dulo Ram, might not be given ticket this time not only because he had lost the election many times, but also because he belonged to the Shanta Kumar camp. The candidature of Ms Indu Goswami, a supporter of Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, was being considered actively.

However, Mr Dulo Ram might not take the things lying down and was likely to jump in the fray as an independent. Mr Shanta Kumar has already announced him as the BJP candidate and also addressed a series of election rallies in his favour.

Mr Sukh Ram has been hitting the BJP right and left to claim the seat for the HVC. His nominee, Mr Kishori Lal, who unsuccessfully contested the last Assembly election against Mr Sant Ram of the Congress is again a hot aspirant.

The PCC chief, Mr Sat Mahajan, has been trying to persuade Mrs Nirmala Sharma, widow of Mr Sant Ram, to accept candidature of the Congress to encash sympathy vote. However, she has so far declined the offer and was in favour of the ticket being given to her son, Sudhir Sharma.

Among others being seriously considered for the party ticket are, Mr Baldev Rana, Mr Kuldeep Rana, Dr Anand Banwal, Mr Suresh Kumar and Mr Lokinder.

Mr Baldev Rana has claimed the ticket on the basis of his influence over Rajput electorate and also because of his position as president of the district unit of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), he has also advantage of being an ex-serviceman.

The byelection for the seat is crucial for the ruling BJP, its alliance partner the HVC and as well as for the Congress as their importance is involved in this.

Although Mr Dhumal and various other senior BJP leaders have said that they would not break their alliance with Mr Sukh Ram even after gaining a majority of their own by winning the Baijnath seat, but HVC leaders take this with a pinch of salt. The BJP will have a strength of 35 in the house of 68 if it wins the seat.

Middle rung BJP leaders visualise the byelection for the seat as the only opportunity to get themselves freed from influence of Mr Sukh Ram who has, so far, been dictating terms to Mr Dhumal for continuing his support for the survival of the BJP government.

Certain Congress leaders also feel that their present strength of 29 in the Assembly will improve by winning the byelection and help them come out of the wilderness.

On the other hand, the HVC has been asking the BJP to leave the seat for them to contest. All this is being done so as to retain the balance of power in the hands of Mr Sukh Ram , political circles point out.

Corporates must be 'accountable'
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 23 — The Speaker of the Himachal Vidhan Sabha Thakur Gulab Singh, has stressed the need for maintaining accountability in an era of privatisation.

Thakur Gulab Singh was speaking today during the concluding session of the 44th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference being held at Wellington in New Zealand.

In a parliamentary polity the legislature embodies the will of the people. It must therefore, be able to oversee the way in which public policies are carried out so as to ensure that it keeps in tune with the objectives of socio-economic progress, efficient administration and the aspirations of the people as a whole.

Mr Gulab Singh said that in recent times, in the background of globalisation and integration of the world economy there was an increased presence of the private sector and multinational corporations in our country. The major question was how to make the corporate sector accountable.

In the changed economic scenario it is an important aspect of parliamentary democracy that all economic and other activities conform to the law of the land. Though Parliament does not exercise any direct control over private corporations, it is important to ensure that these corporations act according to the provisions of their terms and conditions.

"Dera" shelter for ITBP jawans
By Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

MAHADWAR (Chamba): Snow in the upper areas and an order of the district authorities have forced the Gujjars to advance their annual migration towards greener pastures downhill. The "deras" left behind by them in the upper reaches of the Churah valley have now been occupied by the ITBP jawans deployed along the Himachal Pradesh and J&K border after the Kalaban-Sathrundi massacre.

These "deras" (large halls made of stones, mud and wood) are mostly situated at heights ranging between 8000 and 12000 feet and serve as summer homes for Gujjars. They normally leave these "deras" in the first week of October for grazing their cattle.

However, this time they had to leave early. The district administration's order was an outcome of the apprehension of the locals that the Gujjars were sympathetic towards the militants and had been providing them food and shelter.

The ITBP personnel instead of pitching tents in the tough terrain have set up almost all of their nine posts falling in the Tissa and Kehar sectors in these "deras".

The Assistant Commandant of the 15th battalion of the ITBP, Mr S.C. Bharadwaj, said two factors were responsible for the decision to go in the "deras" in place of tents. "Firstly, these "deras" were lying abandoned and there was every possibility that the militants could use them for enhancement of their activities in the area. Moreover, after shifting to this place, our immediate priority was to provide shelter to our jawans, which is not as easy in such an inaccessible and rough place." He maintained that a number of Gujjars or Gaddis had themselves handed over their "deras" to the ITBP before proceeding to the lower areas or plains.

During our two day stay at the ITBP posts at Mahadwar and Dhapun, we observed that these "deras" were an epitome of the Gujjar craftsmanship. One was left to wonder how such heavy logs of Deodar trees and planks used for making roof of a "dera", would have been transported to such an inaccessible place with a steep gradient of about 75 degrees. What made these houses durable was the use of heavy slates for making walls of the house, which have further been insulated with coats of mud plaster and cowdung.

Though the "dera" served as shelter to both humans and animals, a higher platform is made inside to enable the family members to sleep besides animals like buffaloes, goats and sheep. Another corner of the typical Gujjar house is used as a kitchen and a part of it as a store for dry grass for use of animals during winters.

While talking to TNS, a number of jawans said the "deras" were far more cozy than tents, which were normally used by the ITBP on the Indo-Tibetan border. Mr Charhat Singh, a jawan posted at Madhwar post, which is housed in three of such "deras", said good insulation on the roof and walls protected them from the biting cold. "Had there been no such deras, we would have died of cold." There was no dearth of fuel wood owing to the presence of a number of dry trees around.

Mr Shankar Singh, another jawan, said initially they had to face a lot of problems as the "deras" were full of cowdung, snakes and other insects but now there was no such thing except leaking roofs during incessant rains. He said what saved them from the biting cold were the 'bistars' made by them from grass leaves and a 'chullah' which kept burning in one corner of the smoke-filled "deras", which had become nothing short of a 'second home' for a number of jawans like him.

The Deputy Commandant (Operations), Mr B.S. Routela, was however, of the view that these structures were good for the timebeing but not suitable for the snow. He said the ITBP had taken up the matter with the district administration for providing prefabricated posts in these areas to protect the jawans properly from rain and snow.

He felt if such an arrangement was not made, there was every possibility that the posts would have to be shifted to lower areas after the upper areas received heavy snowfall during December and January.

HC stays proceedings
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 23 — Mr Justice S. Palli of the Himachal Pradesh High Court today passed an interim order staying the arbitration proceedings in the on-line lottery case.

The stay was granted on an appeal filed by the Director, Lotteries, against the interim award of the arbitrator, Mr Sushil Jain, who held the termination of a contract given to Ms D.P. Communications for operating the on-line lottery as illegal. The company had claimed Rs 9938 crore as damages from the government and the arbitrator was in the process of quantifying the damages.

Under the contract, awarded on January 31, 1995, the company was to set up 1,000 terminals by February 1, 1996, and the number was to be raised to 2,500 by August 1, 1996, which it failed to do.

On the request on the company, the government granted six month’s extension for starting the operation, but later terminated the contract without notice.

In his appeal, the Director, Lotteries, pleaded that the extension granted was not valid as under Article 299 of the Constitution, the term of the contract could be extended only by amending the agreement of behalf of the Governor.

Further, the company had even failed to secure the necessary permission of various state governments and approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Reserve Bank of India within the stipulated period. As such the contract as per the agreement automatically stood cancelled and there was no need to give notice.

The claim of the company that it had already spent crores of rupees on starting the on-line lottery was also contested on the ground that it had a share capital of just Rs 25 lakh and paid up capital of Rs 75,000.

It also pleaded for lifting the corporate veil of the company, which was registered in Amritsar but had been holding its meeting in Malaysia. Besides, the company was not authorised to undertake operation of the on-line lottery as it had incorporated this function in its Article of Association without taking the mandatory approval of the state government or the Centre which illegal.

Centre to execute Parbati project
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Oct 23 — The Union Government has decided to execute the 2051 MW Parbati Power Project in Himachal Pradesh in the central sector.

At a meeting with the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, the Union Power Minister, Mr P.R. Kumaramangalam, said the Centre would give 12 per cent free power supply to Himachal Pradesh and also the 20 per cent remaining power at Busbar, a Himachal Government press release said.

The Union Government has also agreed to reserve 30 per cent jobs in the gazetted category and 80 per cent in the non-gazetted category in Parbati project for Himachalis, the release added.

The foundation stone of the project is expected to be laid next month.

The Union Government has also agreed to waive and refund the surcharge of Rs 38 crore of Baira-Suel project which was deducted from the central plan assistance of the state from 1994-95 to 1997-98, the release said.

Congress MLA's threat on water supply
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, Oct 23 — Sitting Congress MLA, Ms Krishna Mohini has in a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, threatened to sit in a dharna in front of his office in case normal water supplies were not restored in certain areas of the town immediately.

Releasing copies of the letter to local reporters here yesterday Ms Mohini said that water supply had remained suspend ranging from three to eight days in parts of Saproon, Housing Board Colony Phase II, Officers Colony and Rajgarh road areas for the past several days.

She said that hundreds of affected household did not get any water even on the Divali day when every Hindu went for a thorough cleaning of his home, prior to performing the puja rituals.

The MLA demanded that the Deputy Commissioner should convene a joint meeting of leading citizens and officers concerned with water supply as first step to sort out the problem. This should be followed by a strict monitoring of water supply on daily basis.

'No relief' for HP fire victims
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 23 — A former Chief Minister and Legislature Congress Party leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, has criticised the state government for not providing relief to several families affected in the recent devastating fires in Chamba town and Gharot village in Rohru tehsil of Shimla district.

In a statement here today, he said that little had been done by the state government to mitigate the sufferings of these people. Several families were rendered homeless due to the fires.

He said the state government should give liberal financial assistance to the affected.

Mr Harsh Mahajan, MLA from Chamba and vice-president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, said the Dhumal Government had failed to rise to the occasion to help the five victims. He said only a pittance had been paid to victims who lost all their belongings.

Mr Mahajan said none of the decisions taken at a high-level meeting after the fire at Chamba had been implemented.

Facility of calling party identification
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 23 — The Himachal telecom circle has decided to introduce display of the number of the calling party on the subscriber's telephone.

This was announced by Mr R. Madavan, Chief General Manager of the telecom circle, at a meeting of the telecom advisory committee here today.

He said that the subscribers who wanted the facility would have to pay a monthly fee of Rs 50 and would have to install their own telephone instrument with the display window.

It had also been planned to provide the facility of a consolidated telephone directory enquiry of the entire state in each telephone district area.

A separate telecom district has been created for Kulu after bifurcating it from Mandi. A separate general manager has been appointed at Dharamsala.

Internet service had been extended to the entire HP circle. ISDN facility, video-conferencing and many other facilities had been started in Shimla, Solan, Dharamsala, Mandi and nearby areas.