Workshop on role of community
NAHAN, Nov 25 — A two-day-district-level workshop for promoting community participation in the rural water supply programme, sponsored by the Rajeev Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission and organised by the Irrigation and Public Health Department, Sirmaur.

Women must ‘fight’ for their rights
DHARAMSALA, Nov 25 — Kangra womenfolk, who work thrice as much as men do, feel that without being assertive and fighting for their cause, they will continue to be suppressed, in this male dominated society.

3 houses destroyed in fire
SHIMLA, Nov 25 — Three palatial houses were destroyed in a fire at Sarahan village in the Chopal area of Shimla district last night.

R.R. Paul laid to rest
SHIMLA, Nov 25 — The body of Mr R.R. Paul, Editor of Himachal Darpan, was laid to rest at the Dhalli cemetery here today.

• Naveen Kapoor

Workshop on role of community
From Our Correspondent

NAHAN, Nov 25 — A two-day-district-level workshop for promoting community participation in the rural water supply programme, sponsored by the Rajeev Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission and organised by the Irrigation and Public Health Department, Sirmaur was inaugurated by the Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Ramesh Chaudhary, at Zila Parishad Bhavan, Nahan, today.

Speaking on the occasion Mr Chaudhary said increasing burden of maintaining developmental schemes on the exchequer can only be reduced by involving panchayati raj and other social organisations and the common man. In addition to panchayati raj institutions the government wants to form village-level committees to take the responsibilities of distribution of benefits and carry out repair works on different developmental schemes.

The minister said the government was going to deliver powers to junior engineers of the department to impose fine on those persons who waste water provided by government schemes.

Women must ‘fight’ for their rights
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Nov 25 — Kangra womenfolk, who work thrice as much as men do, feel that without being assertive and fighting for their cause, they will continue to be suppressed, in this male dominated society.

These were the views expressed by a majority of the participants at a social awareness camp organised by the Dhauladhar Education Public Society, for mahila mandals from 10 panchayats, near Yol, as part of the National Integration week. A large number of women participated and discussed their problems.

As per a survey, women here, work thrice as much as men do and put in an average of 3,250 hours of labour annually. Even the plight of bullocks is better, who put in 1,100 hours of work in a year. The workload on men is less as they work for 1,220 hours. The women felt that despite putting in so much of work, be it at home, in the fields or at the working place, they did not get their due.

Ms Usha, a teacher from Khaniyara, who helps school drop-outs, said though India had been free for 50 years, women here were yet to get freedom in the true sense."It is a pity that today women have to form organisations to fight for their cause," she remarked.

A majority of the women felt that before marriage parents decided the future of the girl, whereas after marriage her fate lied in the hands of her husband and in-laws.

Ms Sarita, who is the organiser of the society, however, felt that to a certain extent, women were themselves responsible for their plight. She said women would have to fight for their rights and be sensitive to the problems of other women.

The District Welfare Officer, Mr Walia, the DPRO, Mr Satish Dhar and officials of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Corporation interacted with the women.

Various government schemes being run for the welfare of the women were also highlighted on the occasion. Mr Ajit Kumar, who runs the Dhauladhar Education Public Society, said women must try and supplement the income of the family by doing small things like basket making, pickle making and selling dairy products.

Pension not given to CRPF man’s widow
From Ravinder Sood

PALAMPUR, Nov 25 — Mrs Nirmla Rana, widow of Jagdish Rana, belonging to Jandarah village of this district, has been moving from pillar to post for the past six months to get financial assistance from the state and Union Governments, but in vain.

Jagdish Rana, who was serving in the Central Reserve Police Force, was killed in a bomb blast while on duty in Bihar on June 2 this year. Despite her efforts, she has not received any financial assistance either from state or Central Government.

When this correspondent visited the widow today, she told him that all her requests to the state government and district administration in this regard had yielded no results so far and it had become difficult for her meet the day-to-day expenses. She claimed that even her family pension had not been sanctioned so far. Though she had written a number of letters to the authorities concerned for immediate release of the Provident Fund and gratuity of her husband, all her pleas had fallen on deaf ears.

Since she was not a matriculate, she was not eligible for the job of a clerk. But even her request to recruit her as a Class IV employee in a school near her village had also not accepted by the government.

She recently called on the state Agricultural Minister, Chaudhry Vidya Sagar, but he too expressed his inability to provide her financial assistance or a government job. Even the Director-General, CRPF, had turned down her request for a job in his department since she was not a matriculate, she claimed.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the state government told this correspondent that the Himachal Pradesh government had no policy to provide jobs to the families of those soldiers who died in Bihar, the North-East or Jammu and Kashmir. Since they were employees of the Union Government, therefore it should provide jobs to them, he asserted.

However, Mr G.S. Bali, a local Congress MLA, said that the state should provide jobs to the widows of those soldiers who had made sacrifices for the nation. To help the families of soldiers who died either in Kargil or other parts of the country was the joint responsibility of the state and Union Governments, he added.

3 houses destroyed in fire

SHIMLA, Nov 25 (PTI) — Three palatial houses were destroyed in a fire at Sarahan village in the Chopal area of Shimla district last night.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr P. C. Katoch, said the total loss was estimated at Rs 15 lakh.

He said the SDM, Mr S. S. Pundir, immediately rushed to the spot and provided relief to the tune of Rs 47,000 to the sufferers.

R.R. Paul laid to rest
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 25 — The body of Mr R.R. Paul, Editor of Himachal Darpan, was laid to rest at the Dhalli cemetery here todaty.

Mr Paul died yesterday following a severe heart attack.

A funeral service was earlier held in the morning in the Christ Church in which senior officers and prominent citizens participated. A large number of journalists and members of the Christian community attended the funeral.

Naveen Kapoor
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Nov 25 — Mr Naveen Kapoor of Silverbells Senior Secondary School, Hamirpur, has received the first prize in the state-level science children congress held here from November 10.