P R A D E S H
Sunday, April 25, 1999
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H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H |
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Sunday, April 25, 1999 |
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Taking Sukh Ram's help
'not advisable' Manali observes bandh |
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 Hamirpur Dharamsala Kulu Mandi Shimla Manali
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HP to tap hydel potential
by 2010 Dhumal govt blamed for slow
development Protest rally by BJP Crusade costs DFO dear Candlelight march by Tibetans Cong plans "rasta roko"
on May 10 Decomposed body of man found |
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Taking Sukh Ram's help 'not
advisable' DHARAMSALA, April 24 — Former Tourism Minister Vijai Singh Mankotia today said since the Congress party had taken a stand on not joining hands with Mr Sukh Ram the issue should not be further pursued. Addressing a press conference here today, he said the issue of taking support of Mr Sukh Ram in the formation of a Congress government in Himachal had been reduced to an academic discussion. He said the Congress party had already taken a stand on not joining hands with Mr Sukh Ram and he himself made it clear that there was no question of his joining the Congress. Mr Mankotia, said ever since the fall of the Vajpayee government the Dhumal government had become shaky in Himachal and it was at the mercy of Mr Sukh Ram for its survival. Regarding the changes made by the PCC chief, Mr Sat Mahajan, in the party set-up at certain places, Mr Mankotia said the people concerned had already approached the AICC in this connection. "I personally feel that there should have no changes at a stage when the notification for the organisational elections had already been made," he observed. Commenting on the political chaos and instability in the country, he suggested that the President of India should constitute a national committee on constitutional reforms so that we could evolve a more suitable form of government which would provide stability to the people for a minimum period of five years. "The leaders must be made accountable to the electorate and we should have either the two-party system or the presidential form of government", he opined. He regretted that today the people were completely disillusioned with the political leadership. The public perception was that politics had become the biggest money making racket. Commenting on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, Mr Mankotia said he failed to understand why a small and comparatively peaceful state like Himachal should have a top-heavy police administration. He said there was no rational in having such a heavy top brass of the police. He said a majority of them had not been exposed to serving in areas where there was militancy and insurgency. He added that they were a pampered class who had no commitment towards upholding the law. Mr Mankotia criticised
the Dhumal government for discriminating against the
people of Kangra in appointing a mere 140 "vidya
upasaks" while 204 had been appointed in Kulu and
720 in Mandi district. He said the people of Kangra were
feeling humiliated despite the fact that they had voted
the BJP to power. He also criticised the government for
having failed to take action on a war footing to tackle
the situation arising out of acute water shortage. |
Manali observes bandh MANALI, April 24 — The key tourist town of Manali and Vashishat, Chadiyari, Kanchnikoot and Samhan villages observed a complete bandh to protest against the restoration of supply of hot water from the sulphur spring at Vashishat to the sulphur baths of the Himachal Pradesh Development Corporation here today. All commercial establishments remained closed. Hundreds of residents of Vashishat and surrounding villages from the Upper Manali region, including panchayat pradhans, panchayat smiti members, mahila mandals, yuva mandals, the Taxi Operators Union, the Manali Luxury Coach Association and the Autorickshaw. Union assembled at Nehru Park, locally known as Ram Bagh,and registered their strong objections against efforts being made to restore supply of hot water spring to the baths of the tourism corporation. The villagers took out a protest march from Vashishat village to Manali town and raised slogans against the tourism corporation and said that they would not allow the tapping of hot water spring for commercial purposes by the department. On Friday, residents of Vashishat met the state Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, Mr Maheshwar Singh, MP and Mr Chander Sen Thakur MLA, led by former Horticulture Minister Kunj Lal Thakur at Aleo village, 2 km from here, and urged Chief Minister to ask the tourism corporation not to interfere with the sulphur springs. Mr Dhumal issued directions to the local MLA and the Deputy Commissioner, Kulu, to visit the spot and take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, about 60
panchayat pradhans, Up pradhans and kardars of different
deities have also opposed the plan of the tourist
corporation. |
Ensure speedy justice: Dhumal KULU, April 24 — Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has stressed the need for speedy justice to people and has urged members of the Bars to ensure that poor people are not put to unnecessary harassment for justice delayed. He was presiding over the inaugural ceremony of the new judicial complex at Kulu yesterday. Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal said that the judicial complex at Kulu had been constructed at a cost of Rs 1.20 crore. He said the endeavour of government was to create such an environment in the state that quick justice was given to people and added that all judicial complexes in the state would be strengthened in a phased manner and those under construction would be completed at the earliest. He said the judicial complex at Baijnath would be constructed on a priority basis. Justice Doraiswami Raju, Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh High Court, who inaugurated the complex, said that it was the duty of the judiciary and members of the Bars to work with a devotion to give justice to the people at the earliest. He also stressed for speedy disposal of the pending cases. Justice R.L Khurana, Judge, High Court, Mr Sanjay Karol, Advocate- General and Mr Rajinder Thakur, President, Bar Association, Kulu, were among those who spoke. Mr J.N. Barowalia, District and Sessions Judge, welcomed the Chief Minister and others. Meanwhile, addressing another gathering at Kharal in the district after inaugurating a senior secondary school there, Mr Dhumal said the pace of development in the country had been accelerated during the last one year under the stewardship of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He criticised the Congress and some other opportunists for joining hands to oust the BJP government and bringing political and economic instability in the country. He said that they had boasted of forming an alternative government within five minutes but had failed even after a week for which the people of the country would never forgive them. Professor Dhumal said Himachal Pradesh had got special attention from the present central government and getting of Rs 300 crore as central assistance in a year was a record in itself. He said three national high ways were also sanctioned during the last year. The airstrips at Bhunter, Shimla and Gaggal were also being improved. He said that the work on Nangal-Talwara track was started last year and work on Kalka-Parwanoo rail line would be started this year. Emphasising the importance of education, he said that the government had given priority to bringing qualitative and quantitative improvement in the education system. He said to strengthen the primary education system in the state a new scheme — Sarswati Bal Vikas Sankalp Yojna — had been launched under which 1362 new rooms would be constructed at a cost of Rs 126 crore by March 2002 thereby ensuring a minimum of three rooms for every primary school in the state. He said that to ensure that this work was done within the stipulated period the government had made special relaxation under Vikas Mein Jan Sahyog for Sarswati Bal Vikas Sankalp Yojna. The Chief Minister said that a Rs 1.55-crore drinking water supply scheme at Kharal would be posed for the central government funding. He said that the road for Bijli Mahadev would also be taken up under NABARD. The Chief Minister sanctioned Rs 2 lakh for construction of Pechha-Bharen road and directed the PWD authorities to speed up the work on the bridge over Beas river to connect Kharal valley. He also announced opening of a primary school at Tharku. Mr Karan Singh, Minister of State for Primary Education, said that 2100 ‘vidya’, upasaks, were being appointed soon to provide teaching facility in far-flung areas as maximum posts of teacher in the schools in these areas were vacant. He said that 4159 voluntary teachers had been regularised and 3284 new posts of JBTs were created during the last one year. Mr Maheshwar Singh, MP, speaking on the occasion, said that the state had made rapid progress during the last one year under the leadership of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and urged the people to compare the performance of the BJP-HVC government of one year and the Congress government of four years from which they would themselves know the difference. He sanctioned Rs 3 lakh from Sansad Nidhi for construction of a building of Senior Secondary School, Kharal. Mr Chander Sen MLA, and
Mr Alam Chand, Chairman, Zila Parishad also spoke. |
HP to tap hydel potential
by 2010 MANDI, April 24 — The Himachal Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today claimed that the BJP coalition under the leadership of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee alone was capable of giving a stable government to the country. The 'heterogeneous combination of parties with diametrically opposed policies' had failed to provide an alternative government and the Congress' earlier claim to form a government in just five minutes had been belied. The Congress party's 'lust for power' had landed the country in "political and economic turmoils", he said and added that the party had imposed mid-term elections on the country five times earlier. The Chief Minister, who was addressing a public meeting at Gagal in Balh valley, claimed that the BJP-HVC government in the state would complete its full term. The government had drawn up an ambitious plan to make Himachal Pradesh one of the most prosperous states of the country by harnessing its hydroelectric and tourism potential by 2010. Round-the-clock work was going on to complete the 126-MW Larji hydroelectirc project in Mandi district by 2002. The Congress could get three national highways for the state in 50 years, while the present government got three new national highways approved by the Centre in just over one year, he said. The Forest Minister, Mr Rup Singh, asked the Chief Minister to take up the matter of silting of Balh valley with the Bhakra and Beas Management Board and the Centre and finalise the construction of a lined channel for the silt ejected from the BSL project. Mr Maheshwar Singh, MP,
and Mr Prakash Chaudhary, Minister of State for Animal
Husbandry, also spoke. |
Dhumal govt blamed for slow
development MANDI, April 24 — Congress leader and former Himachal Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Thakur Kaul Singh, has come down heavily on the BJP-HVC government for the alleged slow pace of development. Addressing mediapersons yesterday he regretted that the Dhumal government had alleged to utilise Rs 40 crore allocated for the 126-MW Larji Hydroelectric Project now under progress in the district. This spoke volumes about the incompetence of the government, he added. He lamented that the government had been turning a deaf ear to his suggestion of opening four more civil divisions at Larji. The centralisation of powers in the HPSEB was the biggest stumbling block in the implementation of the projects resulting in the lapsing of funds. The failure to constitute tender committees further impeded the progress of work, he added. Mr Singh said all important offices of the project should be located at Thalot instead of a far off place like Sarabhai to save time and money. He welcomed the government decision to rescind the MoU of Uhl Stage III (100-MW) with a private company and entrusting its execution to the HPSEB. But he urged the Chief Minister to start its execution immediately by opening civil circles to complete the abandoned civil works. He said the project had been handed over to the HPSEB in 1987, but in 1990 the then Chief Minister, Mr Shanta Kumar decided to hand it over to the private sector. He stressed that the services of over 40000 power engineers and workers of the HPSEB should first be utilised before handing over the projects to the private sector ensuring that the long-term interests of the state did not suffer. Former Speaker expressed concern over the condition of educational and health institutions in the state in general and Mandi district in particular. He lamented that no steps had been taken to salvage them by providing staff. As many 950 posts of BTJ teacher and 850 of high and middle school teachers were lying vacant in Mandi district alone. He regretted that the Dhumal government had demolished the zonal system whereby the state had been divided into three administrative zones-Shimla, Mandi and Dharamsala. It has been envisaged to develop zonal hospitals. He alleged that Mandi's
regional hospital was being neglected and ironically Mr
Sukh Ram HVC chief was a silent spectator to the
step-motherly treatment being needed to Mandi. |
Protest rally by BJP SHIMLA, April 24 — The local unit of the BJP organised a protest rally to expose the role of the Congress and Left parties in pulling down the Vajpayee government. The rally was part of the "vishwasghat diwas" observed by the party throughout the state yesterday. Mr J.P. Nadda, Mr Roop Das Kashyap, Mr Narender Bragta, all ministers, Mr Ganesh Dut, Chairman of the Himachal Housing Board and Mr Randir Sharma, Chairman of the Small Savings Board, were among the prominent leader who addressed the rally. They alleged that the
Congress had destabilised the government at the behest of
foreign powers. They urged the President to invite Mr
Vajpayee again to form a government as the Congress had
failed to muster the necessary support. |
Crusade costs DFO dear SHIMLA, April 24 — The crusade launched by Mr M.B. Srivastava, Divisional Forest Officer, Jubbal, against forest encroachers and those indulging in illicit felling has cost him dear. The officer who dared to take on influential forest offenders has been transferred after a short stay of eight months. This is the second successive time that Mr Srivastava has been shifted before completing even an year. Earlier, he was not allowed to complete his tenure as DFO, Sundernagar, and shifted to Jubbal after 11 months. His transfer was not unexpected as Mr Srivastava had not only annoyed the powerful forest offenders, who enjoyed political backing, but also earned the wrath of his subordinate staff by lodging a complaint with the Enforcement Department against 18 officials who had allegedly encroached upon forest land directly or through their close relatives. He had also pointed out glaring irregularities in the allotment of trees to right holders under timber distribution rules like marking of over-sized trees, non-maintenance of TD, register and wrong verification to enable the right holder to get tree more than once in five years. He had also urged the government to shift the local field staff, which was hand in glove with offenders. The forest mafia and the staff had made the transfer of the DFO a prestige issue and the government, it seems, has succumbed to their pressure. Instead of taking action against the errant staff and encroachers, the government chose to penalise the officer who took the initiative in detecting encroachments, illicit felling and other forest offences which had been taking place with the connivance of the field staff. The Enforcement Department also did not take any action on the complaint of Mr Srivastava and left the matter for the Forest Department to decide. The department did order an inquiry into the irregularities pointed out by Mr Srivastava which confirmed that the facility of timber distribution to right holders was being misused. It had also confirmed large-scale enforcement of forests and suggested that a special drive be launched against encroachments not only in Jubbal but also in Rohru, Chopal, Kotgarh and other adjoining areas. During the course of
inquiry certain forest officials had levelled serious
allegations against Mr Srivastava and alleged that he had
been using and abusive language and harassing them with
frequent transfers. The enquiry officer had recommended
the shifting of the errant staff and the DFO for
maintaining a cordial atmosphere in Jubbal division. |
Candlelight march by Tibetans SHIMLA, April 24 (PTI) — Tibetans today organised a candlelight march here and in Dharamsala, seeking the release of Gedun Chickyi Nyima, the eleventh Panchen Lama, who is under detention in China ever since Dalai Lama recognised him as Panchen Lama on May 14, 1995. The marches led by the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC) and the Regional Tibetan Women Association (RTWC) demanded unconditional release of the Lama who turns 10 tomorrow and is the youngest political prisoner in the world. The Vice-President of
the RTYC, Tsering Dorjee and President of the RTWA,
Yangchen, urged China to provide the Lama with facilities
for necessary religious education befitting his status. |
Cong plans "rasta
roko" on May 10 HAMIRPUR, April 24 — The district unit of the Congress has decided to resort to "rasta roko" at Devpal Chowk here on May 10 in protest against the rising prices and back-door taxation on power tariff, Mr Suresh Kumar and Mr Jagdish Chand Sharma, President and General Secretary, respectively, of the district unit of the party, said here. Party leaders and workers from all parts of the district would assemble at Gandhi Chowk before going to Devpal Chowk for the "rasta roko" agitation. They dubbed the present BJP Government in the state as anti people in general and anti farmers in particular. They demanded immediate declaration of Hamirpur as a drought-hit district in view of the prolonged drought conditions and failure of the monsoon to strike. They expressed concern
over the failure of the district administration to
provide timely drinking water to the people in
scarcity-hit areas of the district. According to them,
there is an acute shortage of drinking water in most
parts of the district and people are forced to fetch
water from old sources which have now become polluted. |
Decomposed body of man found NURPUR, April 24 — The decomposed body of Sat Pal (35) of Kandori village under the Indora police station was found on the Nurpur-Suliali road, near Sahdraman, today. The police suspects that he was murdered three days back. The body bore burn injuries of acid. The police recovered Rs 10,000 from a pocket of the victim. According to family
sources, he was away from home since April 17. |
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