Sonia summons Virbhadra
SHIMLA, April 30 — The leader of the Legislature Congress Party, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and the PCC chief, Mr Sat Mahajan, have been summoned to Delhi by the AICC chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, for preliminary discussions on party candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll.

HP to take steps on waste disposal
SHIMLA, April 30 — Belatedly though, the Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to take steps to ensure proper disposal of the hazardous biomedical wastes.

Evaluate each party’s performance: Dhumal
SOLAN, April 30 — The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today called upon the people of the state to give a serious thought to the state of national politics and evaluate the contribution made by each political party towards the country's progress and prosperity.

Old tubewells to be replaced
UNA, April 30 — Mr Vidya Sagar, Agriculture Minister, and Mr Praveen Sharma, Minister for Sports, while addressing a joint press conference here after a meeting of the coordination committee, said the government planned to take permanent steps to solve the problem of drinking water shortage.

A victim of politics
PALAMPUR: The construction of the local bus stand has come to a grinding halt since the state government has failed to release adequate funds for it. The construction was started in 1991 when Mr Shanta Kumar was the Chief Minister.

• Buddha Jayanti celebrated

• Himachal adalat on May 3

Sonia summons Virbhadra
From S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, April 30 — The leader of the Legislature Congress Party (LCP), Mr Virbhadra Singh, and the PCC chief, Mr Sat Mahajan, have been summoned to Delhi by the AICC chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, for preliminary discussions on party candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll.

It was learnt that a senior AICC office-bearer today asked the two leaders to go to the Capital on May 5 when the issue of organisational elections was also expected to be discussed.

The party was likely to field new faces in at least two of the four Lok Sabha constituencies.

Activity has also started in BJP circles. The Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, yesterday introduced Mr Virendera Kashyap as the party candidate for the Shimla seat. Mr Kashyap has lost the Lok Sabha elections a few times.

The Congress has not yet come out with any candidate and is watching the situation.

The party may again allot the ticket for the Shimla seat to Mr K.D. Sultanpuri, a member of the dissolved Lok Sabha, but it will have a difficult task in choosing anyone for the Mandi seat.

The BJP may again ask Mr Shanta Kumar to contest Kangra, but certain elements within the party are trying to prop up certain other candidates.

Mr Sat Mahajan, who had unsuccessfully contested the Kangra seat in the last elections, does not appear to be interested in contesting this time. He is now concentrating on his traditional Nurpur Assembly seat.

The Congress won only one of the four Lok Sabha seats in the last elections. The other three were won by the BJP which was supported by the HVC.

The party will have to make a lot of efforts for selecting its candidate for the Hamirpur seat where a lot of confusion was created last time due to the replacement of the candidate in the midst of the campaign.

Although certain Congressmen are circulating the name of Mr Virbhadra Singh for contesting the election from Mandi, the former Chief Minister when contacted on phone, said he had no intention of contesting the seat.

Mr Virbharda Singh said he successfully contested the Mandi Lok Sabha seat since 1962, but could no more take the strain of campaigning in the sprawling constituency which was spread over almost one-third of the state.

He said he was also not interested in fielding his wife, Pratibha Singh, who lost the election last time to Mr Maheshwar Singh of the BJP.

The HVC is likely to discuss the election issue at its Working Committee meeting at Dharampur in Mandi district tomorrow. The party may stake its claim for contesting at least one of the four seats.

HP to take steps on waste disposal
From Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, April 30 — Belatedly though, the Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to take steps to ensure proper disposal of the hazardous biomedical wastes.

Henceforth hospitals, nursing homes, veterinary institutions, animal houses, pathological laboratories, blood banks and other institutions generating biomedical wastes will have to obtain authorisation every year from the state pollution control board.

The government has notified the board as authority concerned for the implementation of the biomedical waste (management and handling) rules framed by the Centre.

A committee has been constituted to advise the state government and the authority concerned on matters related to the implementation of these rules. The board will charge a fee for granting authorisation, taking into consideration the quantum of biomedical waste generated from a particular institution. The institutions catering to more than 1,000 patients per month will be covered under the rules.

Biomedical wastes have been categorised into 10 classes such as human anatomical waste, animal waste, biotechnological waste, discarded medicines and toxic drugs, infected solid and liquid wastes, incineration ash and chemical waste. These wastes are required to be treated and disposed of as per methods prescribed under the rules. Guidelines for segregation, packaging, transportation and disposal of the biomedical wastes and colour coding for identification of waste by common man has also been prescribed under the rules.

Treatment options like incineration, deep burial, autoclaving, micro-waving, shredding and secured land fill also has to carried out as per the specifications under the rules.

Mr Nagin Nanda, Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, said in the first phase the board would be organising meetings and camps to create awareness among district-level officials and institutions concerned, including local bodies, which were directly connected with the disposal of waste. In the second phase a state-level workshop would be held in which medical officers from all over the state would be educated about the hazardous waste management. Experts from the Central Pollution Control Board and non-government organisation, Shrishti, would be associated with the awareness campaign.

Besides, various agencies engaged in the management of biomedical wastes will also be invited to apprise the officers concerned regarding the available technological options for the safe disposal of these wastes.

Ms Daksha Gupta, a senior scientific officer of the board, has been made the nodal officer for the implementation of these rules.

Dry spell damages tea crop
From Our Correspondent

PALAMPUR, April 30 — The long spell of dry weather in Kangra valley has posed a serious threat to its tea industry. The dry weather has caused widespread damage to the tea crop here. According to official figures, the tea growers have already lost over 50 per cent tea crop in the valley and whatever crop remains would not be able to produce quality tea. The tea manufactured in April is sold at a high price in the international market and sometimes it fetches a price between Rs 800 to Rs 1500 per kilogram.

Mr Brij Butail, a leading tea grower of the region, told media persons here this morning that tea growers were worried about the failure of tea crop in Kangra valley. Continuous drought and sudden rise in the temperature in April had adversely affected the tea industry. He said almost all tea gardens in the valley were not irrigated and tea crop was completely dependent on natural rain.

Meanwhile, the four cooperative tea factories situated in the valley have not been getting the adequate new material because of crop failure, resulting in low production this year. In Kangra valley, the hybrid variety of China tea is grown which has high demand in the international market. The tea grown here is exported to Russia, the USA and UK.

Order to suspend timber rights
From Our Correspondent

CHAMBA, April 30 — The state government has issued instructions to suspend the timber distribution rights of the people who do not cooperate with the Forest Department in controlling forest fires in adjoining forests of the state.

According to an official spokesman, the Forest Department has drawn up a fire map in which vulnerable points have been identified in the light of past record of fire incidents in various areas.

This would help in working out a new strategy to control forest fires, thereby saving the forest vegetation on which innumerable reptiles and insects subject.

In view of the long dry spell, the department had started deploying fire-watchers. In the first phase, about 15 fire-watchers had been deployed in the Churah Forest Division of Chamba district.

All these measures, taken recently by the Forest Department, had yielded good results in controlling forest fires in this region, he claimed.

Strong communication network though walkie-talkies was in operation round-the-clock and helped in gathering information from various sources. This system was helping the forest officials to take steps to extinguish the forest fires anywhere in the area.

Evaluate each party’s performance: Dhumal
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, April 30 — The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today called upon the people of the state to give a serious thought to the state of national politics and evaluate the contribution made by each political party towards the country's progress and prosperity.

Mr Dhumal who was addressing a largely attended public meeting at Darlaghat, 80 km from here, today said the repeated fall of the Central Government had created a situation where the electorate should start thinking in terms of voting in favour of only that party which had an unblemished record and could also ensure the formation of a government capable of lasting the full term of five years.

He added that all central governments, except the Vajpayee government had systematically ignored Himachal Pradesh. The previous Congress governments in the state had failed to get the state's due rights from the Centre.

Himachal Pradesh today owed Rs 6500 crore in loans and had to pay Rs 790 crore by way of annual interests. The state's own revenues amounted to a meagre Rs 200 crore per annum. This has landed the state in a position where it had come to depend almost entirely upon central grants.

In this connection, he said the Vajpayee government had repeatedly come to the aid of the cash-strapped Himachal Pradesh in it's short stay of 13 months in power. The state received a record special grant of Rs 300 crore during this period.

He appealed to the state electorate to bear not only the benevolent attitudes of the BJP-led government, but also "the long innings of Congress misrule" in their minds while casting their votes in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The Chief Minister sanctioned Rs 5 lakh each for the construction of Darlaghat-Parnu and Shalaghat-Shalana Roads and also Rs 7 lakh for the Dhunden drinking water supply scheme.

He also assured that a bus stand for Darlaghat and the mini secretariat at Arki would be constructed soon.

Referring to the longstanding demands of the Solan District Truck Operators Society Ltd, he said the government had decided to do away with the 10 per cent hike in road tax levied by the previous Congress government. He also promised to take up with his Haryana counterpart regard police harassment of state truck operators while passing through that state.

The Transport Minister, Mr Kishan Kapur, Cooperative Minister, Mr R.R. Kaundal, Town and Country Planning Minister and Congress MLA, Mr Dharam Pal also spoke.

Earlier the Chief Minister inaugurated the new building of the primary health centre at Darlaghat.

Old tubewells to be replaced
From Our Correspondent

UNA, April 30 — Mr Vidya Sagar, Agriculture Minister, and Mr Praveen Sharma, Minister for Sports, while addressing a joint press conference here after a meeting of the coordination committee, said the government planned to take permanent steps to solve the problem of drinking water shortage. For this purpose, the Irrigation and Public Health Department had been directed to prepare a plan for replacing old tubewells with new ones and installing bigger water pipes where required.

Mr Sagar informed mediapersons that officials of the Irrigation and Public Health Department and the district administration had been directed to provide drinking water through water tankers where there was a scarcity.

Mr Sharma said forest fires in this district and elsewhere in the state might be 'man-made' and were possibly be caused by forest mafia to cover up illegal cutting of trees or illegal extraction of resin. Rival groups of forest contractors might also be responsible for the forest fires, he added. There was in fact a sharp increase in the incidents of forest fire this summer and the government had directed the forest and police authorities to look into these cases.

Owing to the early onset of summer and a long dry spell this year, there was water scarcity in some areas, but at most of the places there was no shortage of drinking water, he claimed. Certain persons were trying to politicise the shortage of drinking water, he alleged.

A victim of politics
From Ravinder K. Sood

PALAMPUR: The construction of the local bus stand has come to a grinding halt since the state government has failed to release adequate funds for it. The construction was started in 1991 when Mr Shanta Kumar was the Chief Minister.

Although the previous government had set up an independent construction division for the execution of the project, since 1997 no funds have been released by the government for the completion of the project. Even in the last Budget, no funds were allocated. Mr Brij Butail, local MLA, says the bus stand has become a victim of "politics" and differences between former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

The government had acquired 75 kanals for the bus stand. At the foundation stone laying ceremony in 1991, it was announced by the government that the bus stand would be operational within two years. The then Shanta Kumar Government had also sanctioned liberal funds and a compensation of Rs 1 crore was also paid to the land owners.

Originally, it was proposed to construct booking offices, a clockroom, a guest house and an office complex to house HRTC office and banks along the greenbelt around the bus stand.

Besides, there was also a proposal to set up a shopping complex under the self-financing scheme. Mr Shanta Kumar had announced that this would be the biggest bus stand in the state.

During Congress rule there were allegations from local BJP leaders that the Congress Government was not sincere in completing the project since it was initiated by Mr Shanta Kumar. But in March, 1998, the BJP was again voted to power. Local people were expecting that the new government would give top priority to this project. But in the past one year the government has again disappointed them.

It has followed the policy of the Congress Government in respect of this project. Instead of executing the original plan, the government has preferred to construct a few rooms.

Mr Krishan Kapoor, Himachal Transport Minister, who belongs to the Shanta Kumar faction of the BJP also seems to be helpless since he could not get the funds released despite his repeated assurances in the past one year. It is learnt that the Chief Minister turned down all his proposals.

Even a super deluxe bus started from here was also discontinued and was started from Shimla, resulting in widespread resentment here.

Residents of the town feel that the town has been paying a heavy price for differences between Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal and MP Shanta Kumar.

Buddha Jayanti celebrated
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, April 30 — Glowing tributes were paid to Lord Buddha during the three-day celebrations on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti in Himachal Pradesh.

The celebrations were organised by the Shri Sidhartha Saddharm Sangam at Shimla, Rewalsar and Sera in Hamirpur.

Speaking on the occasion, the former Education Minister, Mr N.C. Parashar, paid glowing tributes to Lord Buddha and his disciples who promoted the concept of non-violence, compassion, peace and equality.

He said the previous Congress government of Mr Virbhadra Singh had taken several steps for the promotion of Buddhist studies.

Several prominent intellectuals, writers and poets participated in the celebrations.

Himachal adalat on May 3
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, April 30 — A state-level adalat will be held at the Himachal secretariat on May 3 for on-the-spot redressal of grievances of people.

Mr Ravinder Singh Ravi, Minister for Technical Education, will preside over the adalat, which is being organised as part of the government's programme to provide a transparent and responsive administration.

Issues like policy gaps, inappropriate or inadequate provisions of acts and rules, improvement in organisation and institutions, non-implementation of instructions and individual grievances of serious nature will also be taken up the discussions.