"Journalist" caught extorting money
SOLAN, Sept 22 — Mystery surrounds the identity of a person, who described himself as the correspondent of a New Delhi-based newspaper, and allegedly tried to extort a large sum from middle-level engineer of a government department here on Friday last.
Flesh trade racket busted, 2 held
NAHAN, Sept 22 — The district police has busted a flesh trade racket and arrested two persons in this connection.
Amend defection law: HP Speaker
NEW DELHI, Sept 22 — The Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Mr Gulab Singh Thakur, today said there was need to amend the anti-defection law to remove the deficiencies in it.
Muslims for closure of "madrasa"
DHARAMSALA, Sept 22 — In order to maintain communal harmony in the area, a large number of Muslims of the Dehra subdivision have demanded the closure of the "madrasa" at Khabli village.
Haphazard growth of Solan
SOLAN: The culture of a geographical region has traditionally been measured by the magnitude and aesthetic qualities of the monuments it has produced since the times it came to be recognised as a human habitat.

• Army workshop on nature begins
• HP fixes 1 crore loans for minorities
• Ministerial staff’s strike call

• Hotel mazdoors flay arrests
  

'Transfers have hit school teaching'
From Our Correspondent

MANDI, Sept 22 — Former Speaker and general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, Thakur Kaul Singh, today came down heavily on the BJP government for its "dismal failure" to check inflation and maintain law and order.

Addressing mediapersons, he alleged that large-scale transfer of teachers on political grounds had lead to a virtual closure of schools in backward areas.

He said workers were being retrenched and neither posts were being created nor vacancies filled. Development works had come to a halt. In such circumstances, he wondered where the special grant of Rs 300 crore given by the Prime Minister would be used.

He questioned the wisdom of the Chief Minister in shifting the offices of the Chief Engineer (Generation) and Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), from Shimla to Hamirpur. He said propriety demanded that these offices be shifted to the zonal headquarters. Similarly, the Subordinate Services Selection Board had taken to Hamirpur.

Thakur Kaul Singh took exception to the decision of the BJP government whereby only 10+2 candidates were eligible for the posts of voluntary teachers.

"The decision does injustice to a large majority of matriculates in villages. In Mandi district, there are over 50,000 unemployed matriculates while the number of 10+2 is only 12,000", he said.

The Congress government had put a condition that voluntary teacher should not be from a distance more than 5 km. The BJP had relaxed this to induct RSS workers, he alleged.

He demanded that one more civil circle be opened at the Larji project to expedite work there. He said he had reasons to believe that if the new circle was not opened the allocated budget of Rs 90 crore would not be spent.

Need to link Indian languages
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 22 — Mrs V.S. Rama Devi, Governor, has stressed the need for developing a strong link among different Indian languages for an effective communication network in the country.

She emphasised that translation was the most effective means of bringing cultures and languages together and enhancing mutual understandings.

The Governor was addressing academicians and scholars at the inaugural session of the study week in "Approaching Indian literature through translation" jointly organised by Katha and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study here today.

Mrs Rama Devi said diversity of cultures within the ambit of Indian civilisation was an extraordinary phenomenon and it was imperative that it be enriched. A conscientious attempt at translation and a conscious effort to study translated literature needed be made.

She said all important and popular literary works in various languages should be translated. English could be used as a link language till direct translation acumenship was achieved or Hindi fully developed and popularised to take its place. She said a language was a communication devise and the tendency to draw these into airtight compartments is unfortunate.

She said the spirit or meaning was infinitely important in translation but the exactness and congruity of word could not be ignored, terms. She said a profound understanding of both the language and culture was essential for understanding the spirit of the original work for effective translation.

Prof, Mrinal Miri, Director, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, welcomed the Governor.

Dr Geeta Dharamarajan, Executive Director, Katha, detailed the activities of the organisation. She said the objective of Katha was to spread the joy of reading and inculcate a love for books amongst the people. She said a translation contest for South Asian regions would be held shortly by Katha.

Dr Sukrita Paul Kumar, Project Director, Kanchi, talked of the progress made in the translation projects undertaken by the organisation. She said translation was a social enterprise as it diminished the barriers of communication.

CM announces power station
for Hamirpur
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Sept 22 — A Rs 2 crore, power substation will be set up at Kakker in Hamirpur district.

This was announced by the Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, at a public meeting held at Uhal village today. Despite heavy rains, several hundreds of people turned out to accord a warm welcome to the Chief Minister, who is also the local MP.

He said the decision of the state government to have another substation at Kakker was aimed at improving the power load in the area and accelerating power activities in the remote areas of Sujanpurtira and Hamirpur. All areas which had remained 'neglected' during Congress rule would be given adequate care, he promised.

He said a bypass for Hamirpur town would be constructed at a cost of Rs 5 crore, and completed in two years' time. The bypass would help in easing traffic congestion in the town.

The state government would upgrade the Hamirpur and Nahan district hospitals as zonal hospitals and spend Rs 6.76 crore on their upkeep.

Earlier, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the DAV public school building at Tounidevi. A sum of Rs 12 lakh would be spent on this project, which comes under the Jan Sahyog programme.

The new office of the state Subordinate Selection Board would soon start functioning at Hamirpur. The names of its members and chairman would be announced shortly.

The Chief Minister announced grants worth several crores for the Bamsan area.

Last evening, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of a 220/132 KVA power substation at Mattensidh, near here. This substation will be completed at a cost of Rs 16.38 crore in two years.

It has the capacity of 220 MVA with two transformers of 100 MVA each. The substation has been primarily planned for drawing Himachal's share of power of 81 MW from Chamera (stage-I) and 45 MW from Chamera (stage-2) through a 400 KVA substation at Jalandhar.

Mr A.K. Goswami, Chairman-cum-Secretary of the state power board, Mr Ishwar Dass Dhiman, Education Minister, and Mrs Urmila Thakur, Parliamentary Secretary, were also present.

The Chief Minister announced that the office of Chief Engineer (Transmission) would be shifted from Shimla to Hamirpur.

"Journalist" caught extorting money
From Romesh Dutt

SOLAN, Sept 22 — Mystery surrounds the identity of a person, who described himself as the correspondent of a New Delhi-based newspaper, and allegedly tried to extort a large sum from middle-level engineer of a government department here on Friday last.

A reliable source in the department concerned told The Tribune that the man had been trying to pressurise "the boss" to arrange Rs 50,000 (according to another source Rs 25,000) by way of advertisement for his newspaper for over a week before he was nabbed.

The "journalist" threatened the engineer with dire consequences in case he did not arrange the money by Thursday last. When the engineer expressed inability to arrange for the money, the "journalist" used abusive language and asked him to contact the engineer over the telephone and fix time for the payment.

The engineer contacted the local police as soon as the "journalist" left his office and filed a complaint in writing. The police decided to lay a trap and caught the "journalist" when he came for the money to the engineer’s office the following day.

When contacted, the ASP, Mr Himanshu Mishra, neither contradicted nor confirmed the incident. He merely said as far as he knew investigations had been made into the case and the SP alone was competent to comment in this connection. He denied that any one had been arrested and was tight-lipped when asked whether the man had been detained.

The engineer too seems to have gone into hiding after the episode. When this correspondent visited his home in the Rabaun locality of the town today, a terrified face behind a wire gauzed door bolted from the inside told him the engineer was not at home. The engineer has not gone to his office since Friday.

Enquiries made today revealed that certain other officers in at least three other departments had acceded to the "journalist’s" demands for advertisement money for his newspaper.

It was also gathered that influential persons from Himachal had ensured that in spite of having been nabbed red-handed, the "journalist" was not arrested. A source in the Himachal Government secretariat said the Chief Minister was also seized of the matter.

Flesh trade racket busted, 2 held
From Our Correspondent

NAHAN, Sept 22 — The district police has busted a flesh trade racket and arrested two persons in this connection.

Giving this information to mediapersons here today, Mr Prithvi Raj, SP, Sirmaur, said on Friday last the police got a tip-off that a girl of Dingar Kinnar village in this district was about to be sold through a middleman, Ashok. The police laid a trap and a police party, lead by Mr Kulwant Rai, Additional Superintendent of Police, was sent to catch the suspect red-handed. A Sub-Inspector, Mr Gurdeep Singh, contacted Ashok as a decoy customer and finalised a deal for Rs 50,000.

Ashok was then arrested on the spot and marked currency notes recovered from his possession. He was yesterday produced in a local court, which remanded him in police custody for two days.

On interrogation, Ashok named Firtu of Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh as his accomplice. Firtu who works as a labour contractor for some factories in this district, was also arrested yesterday.

According to the girl’s parents, Ashok had promised to get their daughter married to a prosperous person from Punjab. Since the girl is a Dalit, the police has also slapped charges under the Prevention of Atrocities on Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Act on the accused.

The police has also registered a case under Sections 5/7/9 of the Suppression of Immoral Trafficking Act and investigations are on.

Amend defection law: HP Speaker
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 22 — The Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Mr Gulab Singh Thakur, today said there was need to amend the anti-defection law to remove the deficiencies in it.

Speaking at an all-India conference of presiding officers here, Mr Thakur said that defections had threatened the existence of the democratic set-up and even after the 52nd Amendment there was an inbuilt circuit in the laid down provisions by which the defections could still be carried out.

He said the amendment had curtailed the defections to some extent, but at the same time it had also affected the relations between the legislature and the judiciary.

Regarding the drawbacks in the existing law, Mr Thakur said there was no set procedure laid down in the Act to dispose of complaints falling under the purview of the anti-defection law. He said there was need to codify the detailed procedure in this regard.

As per the law of natural justice there should also be a provision for an appeal against the orders passed by the presiding officers.

Muslims for closure of "madrasa"
From Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Sept 22 — In order to maintain communal harmony in the area, a large number of Muslims of the Dehra subdivision have demanded the closure of the "madrasa" at Khabli village.

There have been intelligence reports regarding outsiders visiting the area and trying to strike a chord with the Muslim families residing there. The "madrasa" was opened a few months back. People allege that suspicious "outsiders" frequent the place.

What is even more intriguing is that there are hardly any students enrolled in the "madrasa" being run in a house, despite the locals, including Muslims, demanding the closure of the "madrasa", the district administration seems to be vacillating on the matter.

At a meeting in Khabli village on Sunday some Muslim families from Hard, Dehrian, Khabli, Gheen, Dhawala, and Ballu Galoha villages said that there was no need for the "madrasa" as their children were studying in government schools.

They also objected to the visit of "outsiders" to the "madrasa" and warned that if any untoward incident took place, they would not be responsible. The Panchayat Pradhan, Capt Kushal Singh, was present at the meeting.

A similar meeting was held some time back under the chairmanship of the Panchayat Pradhan. A prominent resident of the area, Mr B.M. Dutt, said when people of both communities were not in favour of "madrasa", it should be closed down.

The SDM, Dehra, Mr S.S. Chambiyal, when contacted, said the administration would take action only if it received a representation from the people of the area.

Eversince two Kashmiri militants were arrested from Baijnath and Jwali in Kangra, the police has been very cautious. The police, when contacted, said it had sent the antecedents of the maulvi at the "madrasa" in Khabli for verification. The maulvi hailed from Orissa had been living here since January.

The people in the area feel if timely action is not taken, militants could establish links with the local population as had been the case in Chamba district.

Haphazard growth of Solan
From Romesh Dutt

SOLAN: The culture of a geographical region has traditionally been measured by the magnitude and aesthetic qualities of the monuments it has produced since the times it came to be recognised as a human habitat.

Perhaps this generalised yardstick is more valid in the case of the plains than the hills as construction of a Qutab Minar or a string of high-rise pyramids amidst hilly ranges and mountain peaks would be simply unthinkable.

Over the ages the people of states like Himachal Pradesh have lived in perfect harmony with nature, striking an almost symbiotic relationship with it. While building their habitats they have taken extra care not to disturb ecology.

The hillmen’s houses have been built from locally available raw material, like mud, stone, wood, bamboos, reeds and grasses with architectural styles that emphasis perfect blending with the surroundings.

Streets generally followed the undulating topography of the region. Instead of roads, there are bridle paths and that too of enough width to provide easy passage to man and beast. This ensured minimal damage to ecology.

Unfortunately all this fell prey to the onslaught of forces unleashed by material progress, which compelled the nouveau riche to flaunt their wealth. And what better way could there be to building grandiose mansions occupying every inch of available land. After the trend had been set, those who, as yet did not belong to classes of the rich or even upper middle class, started constructing houses in the same vein.

Land use patterns were dictated by the ever soaring prices of land. This lead to a situation in which houses were constructed flouting all building norms. Instead of leaving prescribed ‘off sets’ of space on each side of a house, the builders frequently encroached upon streets, lanes and roads.

At places lanes left between rows of houses did not measure more than two feet. (see picture) An unsavoury situation was created in a locality of this town some years back, when the outer wall of a house had to be broken down to enable the bier of the very person who built that house to be brought out on the shoulders of four men, as per Hindu custom. The narrow width of the lane in front of the house did not permit the requisite turn to bring out the bier from the regular gate!

Most builders got their plans duly sanctioned from the municipal authorities, after making all the mandatory provisions for sewerage, ventilation and open spaces "on paper". They, in most cases, flouted every bit of such mandatory stipulations, allegedly in connivance with municipal supervisory staff.

There is hardly any street or road in the town which has not been encroached upon. Shopkeepers openly use the covered verandahs meant for pedestrians.

The town civic body, which ought to have known that setting up of municipal commercial complexes like the Ambedkar market on such narrow lanes like the circular road, would lead to traffic congestion by way of customers parking their scooters and cars in front of shops , was amongst the culprits out to desecrate the cultural and aesthetic sanctity of the town.

A meat market existed in a municipal complex near the Railway Station. It was housed in extremely unhygienic shacks. The shutters were often kept open by the shop owners for the sake of a better display of their wares. After the citizens objected to such a state of affairs, the civic body decided to shift the market to a nearby site where some new shops were created. When, even weeks after the completion of the new shops, the old meat shops were not shifted, this reporter made an enquiry with the President of the Municipal Council, who replied that it could not be done as the new building had not been provided with the necessary drainage system required to keep the shops clean.

The civic body has spent millions of rupees on the maintenance of streets and roads every year. These roads and lanes have no provision for sewers in many places.

Uncontrolled, unplanned construction of houses clusters at places not approachable by a motorable lane, have created a parking crisis in the town, as the dwellers often leave their vehicles parked on the nearest road, street or lane as the case might be. This effectively reduces the road and lane widths for passing vehicles.

Army workshop on nature begins

DHARAMSALA, Sept 22 (UNI) — The Northern Command Army Environment and Nature Conservation Workshop-'98 began here at the cantonment yesterday as a part of the environment conservation drive.

The week-long workshop was inaugurated by Major-Gen G.S. Negi, General Officer Commanding, 39 Mountain Division. He said the workshop was aimed at developing awareness among Army personnel about ecological and environmental issues and to enable them to undertake similar workshops in their units and formations.

Activities like conservation of water, soil and wildlife, watershed management and bio-diversity conservation would be carried out during the week, he added.

The inaugural function was attended by 30 Army officers from the Northern Command and scientists from the Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, among others.

Hotel mazdoors flay arrests
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 22 — The state Hotel Mazdoor Lal Jhanda Union, affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, has condemned the arrest of agitating workers of a private hotel of Barog in Solan district.

Mr Ram Dayal, president of the union, said the management of the hotel was exploiting the workers who were being made to work for more than eight hours a day without payment of overtime. They were also denied other benefits like holidays, sick and casual leave and had not even been given appointment letters.

The arrest of 23 workers for demanding implementation of various labour laws had left them with no alternative but to go on strike.

The union decided to hold demonstrations throughout the state to protest against the arrests.

HP fixes 1 cr loans for minorities
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 22 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has fixed a target of providing loans to the tune of Rs 1 crore to minority communities during the current year.

This was announced by the Welfare Minister, Mr Mansa Ram, while presiding over a meeting of the Board of Directors of the HP Minorities Finance and Development Corporation here yesterday.

He said the corporation had formulated various schemes for the social, economic and educational upliftment of backward, minorities and other economically weaker sections.

Ministerial staff’s strike call
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 22 — The Himachal Pradesh State Ministerial Services Union has given a call for a pen-down strike on September 24 in support of the ministerial employees of Punjab who are on agitation.

This was announced by Mr Ganga Singh Thakur, chairman of the union, here last evening.

Earlier, in a gate meeting at US Club, the union criticised the Chief Secretary of Punjab, Mr R.S. Mann, for acting in a dictatorial manner.