Congress infighting continues
SHIMLA, Sept 20 — The controversy over the leakage of a confidential letter of the Congress to Mr P.K. Dhumal, took a serious turn today with the PCC secretary, Mr G.S. Bali, accusing the state party chief, Mr Sat Mahajan, of being "directly involved" in the issue.

Mining aggravates degradation
KULU: The Kulu valley faces ecological degradation consequent to the haphazard and unregulated quarrying and mining on the bed of the Beas and its tributaries.

Mulayam rules out mid-term poll
JAWALAMUKHI, Sept 19 — The president of the Samajwadi Party, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, has ruled out the possibility of a mid-term poll in the country and said his party was not in favour of a snap poll.

No rift with HVC on poll: Dhumal
HAMIRPUR, Sept 19 — The Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, has said that his government is solid like a rock and no force on earth can break it.

BJP committed to poll promises
JWALAMUKHI, Sept 19 — The Himachal Government is committed to fulfil its poll promises according to the state BJP chief, Mr Suresh Chandel.

• Plan to make people health conscious
• Arrangements made for Navratra fair
• Probe into students' death sought
• Search for talent in literature

Congress infighting continues
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 20 — The controversy over the leakage of a confidential letter of the Congress to Mr P.K. Dhumal, who heads the BJP-HVC combine government in Himachal, took a serious turn today with the PCC secretary, Mr G.S. Bali, accusing the state party chief, Mr Sat Mahajan, of being "directly involved" in the issue.

Certain senior PCC leaders have been trying to put the needle of suspicion about the leakage on Mr Bali.

Talking to newsmen here today, Mr Bali said he had offered to resign from the post, but the party high command had asked him to wait and discuss the issue with the AICC general secretary, Mr R.K. Dhawan, who is scheduled to address the newly-nominated PCC here on September 24.

Mr Bali alleged that Mr Mahajan had intentionally raked up the issue of "leakage of the letter with a view to "muggling my voice". This was because of the personal vendetta Mr Mahajan had against "me", he claimed.

Mr Bali said he had walked out of the first meeting of the office-bearers here on Tuesday because of the dictatorial attitude of Mr Mahajan.

He said the letter in question was written to Ms Sonia Gandhi, AICC chief, for appointing a young PCC chief after the death of Mr Sant Ram. It was signed by senior legislators including, Mr Ram Lal Thakur, Mr Chander Kumar, Mrs Viplove Thakur, Mrs Asha Kumari, Mr Dharampal, Mr Kuldeep Kumar and Mr Bali himself. However, Mr Mahajan was appointed PCC chief even before the letter was despatched to Ms Gandhi.

Mr Bali said the matter was closed with the appointment of Mr Mahajan as the PCC chief. However, the controversy was raked up over a dead issue.

He said Mr Mahajan also felt offended when he asked him to identify the 14 Congress legislators, who the PCC chief had been claiming were going to leave the party and support the BJP, but had put off the plan because of his intervention.

Mr Bali said it was unfortunate that the internal affairs of the party were leaked out to the Chief Minister. Whoever had done so had damaged the interests of the party.

He challenged that he would quit politics if the Chief Minister or any Congress leader proved that he had leaked out the information to Mr Dhumal.

Mr Bali said Mr Mahajan was unable to spell out his strategy of pulling down the Dhumal government about which he had been speaking publicly.

The Cong leader made it clear that he did not support the policy of Mr Mahajan to destabilise the BJP-HVC combine government in the state. The performance of the government should be watched for sometime.

Mr Bali denied that he was hobnobbing with the Chief Minister on any issue.

Mr Bali virtually announced a "no trust" against Mr Mahajan by saying that he did not trust Mr Mahajan if the PCC chief (Mr Mahajan) had no faith in him.

He said certain partymen were trying to create the impression that the CLP leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, had been isolated and only two legislators were with him. Mr Virbhadra Singh enjoyed the overwhelming support of the party, he added.

6 killed as truck falls into khud

SOLAN, Sept 19 — Six persons were killed and 14 injured, two of them seriously, when the truck in which they were travelling fell into Gumber rivulet, near Okhu, about 40 km from Nalagarh, on the Manlog Kalan-Nalagarh road last night. Those killed have been identified as Mr Surjeet of Baddal, Mr Ram Gopal and Jagat Pal, both of Malaun, Ram Lal of Balag, Ram Ditta of Panjli Jor and Des Raj of Machaun.

While Surjeet and Ram Lal died on the sport, two others Des Raj and Ram Gopal, were declared brought dead at the Rural Hospital, Nalagarh. Jagat Pal and Ram Ditta died on the way to the PGI, Chandigarh.

14 persons were admitted to the hospital at Nalagarh and two of them were referred to the PGI this morning. The condition of the remaining 12 is described as stable.

Shopkeepers of Nalagarh downed their shutters for well over two hours in protest against alleged negligence on the part of the hospital staff on duty (at the time the patients were brought there) in providing medical aid to the victims.

The Chief Medical Officer, Dr Sareen was mobbed by a nearly 200-strong mob when he visited the Nalagarh hospital today.

The accident occurred at 9 p.m. yesterday but the police reached the spot at only 4 a.m. today morning from nearby Ramshahar Police Station, by which time the injured had already been removed to hospitals.

The SDM, Nalagarh, Mr Bharat Khera said that as per information provided to him by the tehsildar today, the Ramshahar police came to know of the accident at only 3 a.m.

The dead and the injured were taken to the Nalagarh hospital in truck which reached the accident spot minutes after the accident. According to the injured persons they reached the hospital around 10 p.m. Both the SDM and DSP Nalagarh were camping in the town.

The accident occurred when the ill-fated truck driver was negotiating a hair pin bend and lost control, according to eyewitnesses.

The S.D.M. has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5000 to the next of kin of the deceased. Sitting MLA, Hari Narain Saini and former MLA Mr Vijendra Singh condoled the deaths and expressed sympathies with the bereaved families.

Mining aggravates degradation
From Subhash Sharma

KULU: The Kulu valley faces ecological degradation consequent to the haphazard and unregulated quarrying and mining on the bed of the Beas and its tributaries.

The river had played havoc in 1995 and since then the river has been changing course, thereby causing loss and damage to life and property. Though the government agencies have carried out flood protection works on a war-footing but did not care for the consequences of large-scale quarrying along the river. The PWD and IPH departments have virtually made the river bed barren as big stones and boulders, which used to be natural protectors, have been removed.

The pace of extraction of sand and stones can lead to disaster in the near future. One can see more than 100 tractors illegally collecting building materials from the Beas river bed from Bajaura to Rahala.

The Himachal Pradesh Government, without considering the practicability had announced a blanket ban on the extraction of the building material from the river and its tributaries in 1995. The ban on mining was treated just like the ban on transfers of employees. The government announces a ban and later violates the order because it can never be enforced.

It is well known that without building materials the developmental works would come to a standstill. In spite of suggestions that the government should earmark areas where extraction could be done (as areas along the road had become more prone to floods), the government did not heed the advice. The government had, instead, turned a blind eye to the large-scale mining and did not bother to listen to public grievances.

The mining is done under the very nose of the district administration and executing agencies. The department found itself helpless because of shortage of vigilance staff and a lenient law. It is learnt that there are only four watchmen for the entire district, which stretches about 100 km from the foot of Rohtang pass to Pajaura and about 1,000 km covering the valleys that include Outer Seraj, Manikaran and Sarwari.

The authorities stated that no licences were issued or were being issued due to the ban on extraction. It is also learnt that the rules have no provision for strong deterrents like heavy fines.

There are many spots on the national highway which have become dangerous after the 1995 floods.

The department can earn revenue by allowing restricted mining, which would help the general public as the cost of the sand and stones would come down. The current rates are very high because the material has to be brought from distant places. Despite a ban, construction of government and private buildings goes on while haphazard mining on the river banks continues.

Mulayam rules out mid-term poll
From Our Correspondent

JAWALAMUKHI, Sept 19 — The president of the Samajwadi Party, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, has ruled out the possibility of a mid-term poll in the country and said his party was not in favour of a snap poll. He said his party will continue to support the coalition government at the Centre in the larger interest of the country.

Talking to newspersons here today Mr Mulayam Singh said that there was an air of uncertainty in the political scenario due to lack of mutual understanding between the coalition partners.

Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav said the biggest malady afflicting the country was the rampant corruption in politics and administration.

To a question Mr Yadav said his party was not averse to the Indo-Pak talks if the focus was on the Pak-sponsored subversive activities in Indian territory.

Talking about the CTBT Mr Yadav said, the government should realise the ground realities as the time for signing was running out. Moreover, the pressure on India was mounting.

Mr Mulayam Singh opposed the move to create Uttaranchal state and said his party would oppose the inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar and Hardwar districts in Uttaranchal. He was of the opinion that the creation of smaller states was no solution to the progress and development of the region.

The Samajwadi Party chief said the women's quota Bill in its present form was against the interests of the backward classes and the minorities and his party always opposed the measure.

The Bill providing 33 per cent seats to women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, must include sub quota for the backward classes and the minorities, he demanded.

He said his party's main priority would be to eliminate corruption from public life and make India strong and self-reliant. The party was also committed to the uplift of the backward classes and the Dalits.

Mr Mulayam Singh, along with Amar Singh and Phoolan Devi visited the Jawalamukhi temple in Dehra sub division.

Mr Mulayam Singh during his 35-minute stay at the temple, offered prayers and performed havan.

No rift with HVC on poll: Dhumal
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Sept 19 — The Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, has said that his government is solid like a rock and no force on earth can break it.

While talking to this correspondent last night, the Chief Minister claimed that the Congress was a divided house and its leaders were trying to hide their differences by making false claims about his government.

He said his party would contest the Baijnath Vidhan Sabha byelections with the full support of the HVC. There were no differences between leaders of both parties over the seat and this issue would be decided once the election dates were announced by the Election Commission.

About the rift in the BJP over the candidate for this seat, the Chief Minister clarified that every body had the right to stake his claim. But once the official nomince was announced by the party high command, all BJP workers and leaders would support him.

On the raids on various government officers in Shimla recently, he said the step was aimed at bringing efficiency in the administration and streamlining the working of the offices.

The Chief Minister said his government would formulate a new sports policy for the state shortly. A committee for this purpose would be constituted in a fortnight.

BJP committed to poll promises
From Our Correspondent

JWALAMUKHI, Sept 19 — The Himachal Government is committed to fulfil its poll promises according to the state BJP chief, Mr Suresh Chandel.

Talking to newspersons at Paragpur rest house today, he said that difference of opinion among alliance partners in any coalition was natural. Expressing satisfaction over the functioning of HVC-BJP combine government in the state, he said there were no major irritatnts between the two parties.

Answering a question Mr Chandel said: "I don't think there is any need to revise the policies and programmes. They are very clear. They are decided by the organisation and are a continuous process. It is our endeavour to see that we achieve our objectives".

He said since the party was in power at the Centre, it was its responsibility to deliver the goods. There could not be any slackness on this part.

Denying reports that the BJP was remote controlled by the RSS, Mr Chandel said the party took its own decisions and was not dependant on the RSS.

Dhumal's dinner diplomacy
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 19 — To mend fences with the bureaucracy in Himachal Pradesh, the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, hosted a dinner for the secretary-level officers here yesterday.

It is being said that the Chief Minister's exercise was aimed at removing the impression that he was surrounded by a coterie of middle-ranking IAS officers who were influencing the decisions of the government.

The impression had gone home in the official circles because of the apparent overdependence of Mr Dhumal on these officers.

Senior bureaucrats had been complaining in private that even important files remained unattended in the Chief Minister's office. Sometimes it took more than a month or two for the file to return with the Chief Minister's comments.

An officer said that Chief Minister's dinner provided an excellent opportunity for interacting with him in an informal atmosphere.

Plan to make people health conscious
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 19 — The Himachal Government has decided to observe one day in every month as health day to create awareness and educate the people about the preventive and curative aspects of main diseases.

The emphasis will be to involve both government and non-government institutions in information, education and communication activities. According to Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister, this was key to success of health programmes in a hill state like Himachal Pradesh where people lived in far-flung areas.

The Government had already launched the "reproductive and child health" programme through two externally aided projects. While the Rs 2.66 crore reproductive health project for Sirmaur district was funded by UNFPA, the World Bank provided funds for the programme for Kinnaur district. The total allocation was Rs 3.65 crore and these projects were to be implemented in five years.

An action plan on the modified leprosy elimination campaign had been submitted to the Government of India and the State hoped to implement it from the last week of October.

He said malaria incidence had come down drastically during the past decade and the immunisation programme had made a visible impact in the State.

Probe into students' death sought
From Our Correspondent

NURPUR, Sept 19 — The mysterious death of two schoolgirls, Pooja (6) and Deep Kumari (8), of Kopra village has created resentment among the villagers.

According to reports received here, Pooja, a student of Class I, disappeared from the school during the recess on August 29. After two hours of search, the villagers found her body from a "bauli", 40 km from the school.

On September 14, Deep, a student of Class II of the same school, was also found missing during the recess. Her body was found from another "bauli".

The villagers suspect foul play and have demanded a probe into the incidents.

Search for talent in literature
From Our Correspondent

KANGRA, Sept 19 — The Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad in order to search talent in literature in Himachal Pradesh has decided to constitute a committee to give prizes to the outstanding writers, poets and other literary figures.

Dr C.L. Gupta, organiser of the parishad, said in a press conference at Dharamsala yesterday that the parishad under its "Nai pratibha ki khoj" programme would select short stories, essays, fiction and poems from all over the state for giving awards every year.

A selection committee headed by the parishad president, Mr Raya Krishen Vijay Virgese, had been set up for the purpose.

Arrangements made for Navratra fair
From Our Correspondent

JWALAMUKHI, Sept 19 — The 10-day Navratra fair will be held from September 21 at the Jwalamukhi shrine here. Arrangements for the same have been completed by the Jwalamukhi Temple Trust Authorities who expect over five lakh pilgrims from Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

According to the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, Mr B.K. Aggarwal, security arrangements have been made to maintain law and order. The police and Home Guards will be put on duty to check theft and pickpocketing.

Mr Aggarwal said to maintain sanitation during the fair, the city had been divided into sectors, besides the regular staff, 50 safai sewaks would be recruited for the work. Medical facilities would be provided round the clock.

Special buses would be plied for the benefit of pilgrims, Mr Aggarwal, who holds the charge of Transport Commissioner, said.