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| Wednesday, April 5, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Congress
men sore at cross-voting in RS poll
Seminar
on Kabir Lecturers
boycott evaluation work |
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| Navratra fair begins today NAHAN: A two-week long famous Trilokpur Navratra Fair will commence on Wednesday which will conclude on April 18 after purnima pooja of Goddess Tripur Bala Sundri at Trilokpur village 22 km from here. Principal’s removal demanded SUNDERNAGAR, April 4 — The Parents Association of the local D.A.V. Public School has demanded removal of the Principal and Chairman of the local Management Committee as they were causing hindrance in getting the school recognised by the CBSE. 2 buried alive SOLAN, April 4 — Two Nepali labourers, identified as Chavi Durga Bahadur (20) and Bali Ram (28) were buried alive under a large chunk of earth at a construction site in the Shanti locality of this town this afternoon.
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Congress
men sore at cross-voting in RS poll SHIMLA, April 4 — Several senior Congress leaders today expressed anguish over the cross-voting by three party legislators in favour of the ruling BJP-HVC coalition candidate during the recent election for a Raja Sabha seat and demanded strict disciplinary action against them. The Congress men got the opportunity to vent their annoyance over the issue at a meeting of the general House of the party, which was convened by the AICC General Secretary, Mr Moti Lal Vora, who came here for the first time after being given charge of the party affairs in Himachal Pradesh. Some party members said that the cross-voting had put the entire party in the dock and steps should be taken to identify the “black sheep” who also voted for the ruling alliance in the Rajya Sabha election about two years ago. Certain partymen alleged that some senior leaders were functioning as an extension of the Himachal Vikas Congress of Mr Sukh Ram and had also alleged with the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, which was demoralising the party rank and file. It is learnt that some of the members wondered why the party chose to contest the election when its numerical strength was lesser than that of the BJP-HVC coalition. By contesting the election, the Congress had exposed itself to cross-voting and shown its weak point. Earlier, talking to newsmen, Mr Vora said that the Congress leadership did not want to give the Rajya Sabha seat to the ruling alliance on a platter and, therefore, a candidate was fielded. He said that the party high command had taken serious view of the cross-voting and any action would be taken following receipt of a report from the leader of the CLP, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and the PCC chief, Mr Sat Mahajan. Discipline would be maintained in the party and the would be able to comment on he issue only after receiving the reports from the two leaders, he said, adding that he was not prejudiced on the matter. However, cross-voting did not mean that the party was divided. Mr Vora, while replying to a question regarding the dissent being expressed by certain senior Central leaders of the party, including Mr Kapil Sibal, said, “we are not satisfied with their contentions and they should express their grievances only in the party fora instead of going public.” He claimed that there was no dissatisfaction in the party which was being strengthened under the leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi. The Congress had won the assembly elections in five states last year and losing a few Rajya Sabha seats did not indicate that the party had become weak. Mr Vora accused the BJP government at the Centre of having totally failed on the Kashmir front. A sense of insecurity prevailed among the people of Jammu and Kashmir because of the ‘wrong policies’ of the Central Government. The BJP government should take other parties into confidence over the sensitive issue of granting autonomy to Kashmir instead of deciding the matter on their own. Mr Vora warned that the Congress would launch an agitation if the hike in prices of food articles, kerosene, LPG, urea and other essential commodities was not immediately withdrawn by government. He also accused the Central Government of importing wheat, edible oils, sugar and cotton in large quantities just to oblige the WTO, although these commodities were being produced abundantly in the country. He urged the Centre to spell out its motive behind ordering a review of the Constitution. He accused the BJP government of trying to trample the Constitution under the pressure of the RSS. Later, the general House of the Congress adopted a resolution criticising the government for appointing a committee to review the Constitution. Another resolution regarding the massacre of Sikhs in Kashmir said that such incidents were the result of failure on the part of the Centre on the diplomatic and intelligence fronts. The House also expressed
concern over the “deteriorating” law and order
situation in Himachal Pradesh and pointed out that the
crime rate had increased tremendously during the past two
years ever since the BJP-HVC government came to power. |
Rise in
suicide cases: Dhumal SHIMLA, April 4 — Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, today admitted that the incidence of suicide among the people of the state had been on the increase, but refuted the charge that the police was converting murder cases into those of suicide. Replying to a question by Mr Harsh Mahajan, he said the incident of suicides in the state had shot up from 213 in 1996 to 325 in 1999. Besides, 48 cases had occurred from December 1, 1999, till date. He said certain studies conducted recently by psychologists had pointed that suicidal tendencies among people were on the the rise due to pressures and tension of modern life. Quoting figures, he said the fact that the number of murders remained almost the same over the past few years clearly indicated that there was no intentional effort to convert murders into suicides. There were 123 murders in 1996, 118 in 1997, 137 in 1998 and 135 in 1999. Besides, 58 unidentified bodies were found in 1996, 69 in 1997, 65 in 1998 and 80 in 1999. Mr Dhumal, however said the government would ensure that all cases of suicide were properly investigated so that there was no room for suspicion. Mr Rikhi Ram Kaundal, Minister for Cooperation, informed Mr Des Raj that out of the total 4403 cooperative societies in the state, 888 were running in a loss and 2835 in profit with an aggregate profit totalling Rs 826 lakh. He said the registration of new societies had been banned and effort were on to prevent liquidation of loss incurring societies by amalgamating these with financially healthy societies. Replying to another question, Mr Dhumal told the House that the government would try to reduce the number of advertisement hoardings along highways and also fix their size to ensure that these did not stand out as eyesores and mar the scenic beauty of the hills. Regarding the damage caused to agricultural land and aquatic life due to desilting operations in Sundernagar, he said the BBMB had assigned the task of preparing an environmental impact assessment to the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). The report had been forwarded by the board in November last and on examination, it had been found that it did not contain several issues concerning the affected people. Thereafter, the views of
local people and organisations were sought. The report
would be finalised soon. He said the government would
take the necessary steps after receiving the report and
ensure that the interests of farmers were protected. |
Make
disabled part of society DHARAMSALA, March 4 — It is through integration of the disabled persons into every aspect of life, rather than segregating them in separate institutions, which will enable them to take on life normally as it comes. This is the approach suggested by Mr Ram Chandran, who heads a Bangalore-based NGO, Action on Disability and Development. A strong advocate of community-based rehabilitation approach for the disabled persons, he was here to attend a workshop in this connection. “It is better to let them be an integral part of society right from the beginning rather than segregating them to special institutions, only to find the going tough once they step out of these places, specially designed for them,” says Mr Chandran. It is not that we have to always run special projects for the people afflicted with some kind of disability, but what we need to do is to make them part of any programme, be it on women, children or on issues like environment, he opined. Over an estimated five crore of people in India are facing some kind of disability. “Each one of us needs to respect them and give them the opportunity to live as independent people, but only after knowing the aspirations of the people facing these kind of problems,” he said. Stressing the need for a special responsibility on the parents of the disabled children, he regretted that often they leave them in institutions, denying them the love and affection, they need. It is for the first time that CAPART, an organisation of the Rural Development Ministry, has expressed keenness to start a project for the disabled in Himachal Pradesh through various NGOs. Figures indicate that in India over 20 lakh people are afflicted with polio, eight lakh are visually impaired, two lakh mentally ill and an equal number are deaf and dumb. The CAPART is itself running over 100 projects for the disabled in India. Ms Shalini Chaudhary, who is handling the disability action division of CAPART, said it was necessary to include the disabled in the mainstream, for which their organisation was providing financial and technical help. As compared to the North, a lot of work had already been done in this field in the southern states. The DIG, Mr I.D. Bhandari, said seeing the large number of disabled people in our country we need to provide a congenial environment for them to become confident and independent human beings. Commenting on the social stigma and the use of derogatory terms for the disabled, he said this was no less than gross violation of human rights. The Chairperson of the Himachal Welfare Board, Mrs Malvika Pathania, who presided over the function, said providing emotional support to a disabled person was very important. Becoming economically independent was very important for any disabled person and for this they should be given vocational training according to their ability and aptitude, she added.
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Crimes
against women on rise KANGRA: Crimes against women are increasing in the state despite the fact that laws have been made stringent to punish the perpetrators. There have been 615 rapes and other crimes against women during the past nine months. This was disclosed by the state government in the Vidhan Sabha during the current session. Deputy Inspector-General of Police I.D. Bhandari says that educational and economic backwardness are responsible for the rise in such crimes. He said in Kangra district only 8 per cent of the accused were convicted and sentenced for committing crimes against women during the past 10 years. He said in a total of 1060 such cases, 31 accused were sentenced. He said in this district in 121 rape cases, 18 accused were convicted. In 30 cases of dowry death in the district, only one accused was convicted and 10 were set free. Alarmed by the rise in such crimes, the State Commission on Women’s Rights is organising meetings under the banner of the Gyan Pravah Sangathan. The commission chairperson said that some teachers were also involved in crimes against girl students. The commission has given a call to women to stand up and fight such crimes. In 10 per cent cases, women were also involved in such crimes, commission sources disclosed. * * * * At least 84000 TB patients are undergoing treatment under various programmes in the state. Of these, 21000 patients are in Kangra district alone. Under the revised national TB control programme (RNTCP) which was started in Kangra district in November, 1998, so far 2000 TB patients have been registered for treatment. District TB Officer Viyom Bhardwaj said under the programme, 8000 sputum examinations were carried out in the district. Of these, 1220 cases were found positive. He said that they were put on DoT system of treatment. Dr Bhardwaj disclosed that at least 200 doctors from all over the district were imparted training in TB treatment. Lab technicians and paramedical staff were also imparted training in treatment techniques. Under the RNTCP, five TB units, one each at Dharamsala, Palampur, Kangra, Dehra and Nurpur, were set up. Under each TB unit, four to five microscopic centres for sputum examination of the suspected TB patients had been set up. He said in Kangra district 28 microscopic centres had been set up. The RNTCP is a World Bank-aided programme and has a target of 135 patients per lakh per year. It costs a patient Rs 5000 for the DoT treatment and those who cannot afford the treatment are being put on the conventional method of treatment. The cure rate of TB is currently 89 per cent against 85 per cent last year. * * * * Vivekananda Kendra, which has its headquarters at Kanyakumari has adopted a new procedure to provide blood to the needy and the deserving patients in different hospitals in the district. Blood is provided to only those patients whose relatives and friends first get themselves checked for their groups in the presence of kendra workers. If they don’t have the required blood groups, kendra workers donate as much blood as the patient requires. The kendra has 400 blood donors registered with it. During the past one year, kendra workers donated more than 35 blood units to the needy in different hospitals of this district, including Dr Rajender Prasad Medical College Hospital, the Mission Hospital and the District Red Cross Society, Dharamsala. The kendra started a library in the Donga Bazar locality of the town in an attempt to preserve the Indian culture and heritage. Books of the Rama Krishna Mission, the Vivekananda Kendra and the Geeta Press, Gorakhpur, are available in the library which remains open daily for two hours.
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Lecturers
boycott evaluation work KANGRA, April 4 — Nearly 3,000 school lecturers affiliated with the Himachal Pradesh School Lecturers Association today boycotted the evaluation work of the plus two examination held last month by the HP Board of School Education, Dharamsala, in protest against the alleged non-implementation of their demands raised at a meeting with the Education Minister, on January 19. Disclosing this here today, Mr Kalyan Bandhari, Chairman, HP Board and HP School Lecturers Association Coordination Committee, said the boycott throughout the state was total and the lecturers would hold a demonstration outside the Assembly in Shimla on April 7. The representatives of the lecturers held a meeting with the Education Minister on January 19. The Minister issued directives that their demands be implemented within a month. Mr Bhandari said earlier, the lecturers agitation was deferred following an assurance by the Education Minister but now they were forced to boycott the evaluation work because of the alleged indifferent attitude of the government and the Education Department. He said on February 22 the HP Board of School Education had decided to enhance the invigilation remunerations of the school lecturers on par with Punjab, but the decision had not been implemented till date. As the Chairman and
Secretary of the HP Board of School Education were not
available for comments, the Joint Secretary, Mr Jagdesh
Puri, expressed ignorance with regard to the decisions
taken at a meeting on February 22. |
Seminar on
Kabir SHIMLA, April 4 — The Governor, Prof Vishnu Kant Shastri, today said that Kabir did not fall in the category of Sufi saints but was a part of the greater Hindu philosophical tradition. Inaugurating a national seminar on “Bhartiya Chintan Aur Kabir” at Himachal Pradesh University here, he said Kabir was influenced by the great saints like Narad, Beas and Shukdev and he never mentioned even a single Sufi saint in his writings. This clearly indicated that he had no relationship whatsoever with the Muslim Sufi saints. In fact Kabir was wedded to the Hindu philosophical tradition and the 12th canto of the Bhagwadgita from which he drew a lot, especially the concept of ‘prem bhakti’. There was great similarity in the thinking process of Kabir and Tulsi and it was wrong to say that the former preached everything contrary to what the latter professed. It was impossible to accept Kabir and Tulsi after taking out Ram out from their writings. Dr S.K. Gupta, Vice-Chancellor, said Kabir was for equality and was opposed to the caste system. Prof Bachan Singh, in
his keynote address, stated that Kabir preached universal
dharma which tried to reduce differences between man and
man. He was a radical reformer. To label Kabir as Hindu
or Muslim was not proper as he belonged to the religion
of humanity. |
Navratra
fair begins today NAHAN: A two-week long famous Trilokpur Navratra Fair will commence on Wednesday which will conclude on April 18 after purnima pooja of Goddess Tripur Bala Sundri at Trilokpur village 22 km from here. Trilokpur is famous shakti peeth of North India. The 400-year-old famous Temple of Bhagwati Bala Sundri is the main attraction for the worshippers during the Navratras. More than 10 lakh devotees visit the village during the fair. According to history of Sirmour (Tarik-e-Sirmour) the pindi of Goddess Bala Sundri appeared in a bag of salt brought by a local trader of the village Ram Dass from Devband in Uttar Pradesh. To the trader’s surprise, the quantity of salt in the bag remained undiminished in spite of its continuous sale. There after the goddess appeared in his dreams and exhorted him to set up her temple at the place. Short of means Ram Dass approached the then ruler of Sirmour state, Maharaja Pradeep Prakash and explained him the situation. The king invited some artisans from Jaipur (Rajasthan) in 1570 A.D. and a beautiful marble temple dedicated to Goddess Tripur Bala Sundri came up by 1573 A.D. After the temple was completed the worship of Goddess Bala Sundri became a tradition in the royal family. The temple was renovated by Maharaja Fateh Prakash in 1823 and by Maharaja Raghuveer Prakash in 1851. The temple is an example of exquisite workmanship and is an amalgam of Indo-Persian styles of architecture. Even today the historic ‘pindi’ which has been placed in the temple is worshipped as Bhagwati Bala Sundri. Right since temple’s inception, the descendants of Ram Dass have been performing the main puja there. As the name Trilokpur implies there is a triangle of three ‘shakti’ temples in the area, each depicting different face of Goddess Durga. The main temple situated at Trilokpur is the temple of Tripur Bala Sundri which depicts a beautiful childhood image of Goddess Durga. Another ‘shakti’ temple dedicated to Lalita Devi depicting another image of Goddess Durga, is situated on a hillack located at a distance of 3 km in front of the main temple of Bala Sundri. The third famous temple of ‘Tripur Bhairavi’ is situated at a distance of 13 km northwest of Bala Sundri temple. The Navratra fair is held twice in a year in the mela ground. Fair in Chaitra draws more than on million devotees, particularly on the Ashtmi and Chaudash. The temple committee, which is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner Sirmaur has made elaborate arrangements for the successful conduct of fair and to provide security, clean water, transport, electricity, food, sanitation, medicare and accommodation facilities to the visitors. Mr Rakesh Kaushal,
Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur, said staying arrangements
for more than 20,000 persons per day have been made at
the fair. New parking places for a large number of
vehicles have been arranged. Presently there are four
dharamshalas consisting of 220 rooms. Other projects at
an estimated cost of Rs 3 crore include construction of a
new modern dharamshala, a new water supply scheme for
Trilokpur village, landscaping and provision of better
street lighting in the village. Trilokpur village has
been adopted by the temple committee and efforts were on
to make it a model village, the Deputy Commissioner
added. |
Principal’s
removal demanded SUNDERNAGAR, April 4 — The Parents Association of the local D.A.V. Public School has demanded removal of the Principal and Chairman of the local Management Committee as they were causing hindrance in getting the school recognised by the CBSE. The association had been requesting authorities to get the school affiliated with the CBSE for the past one year but the requests have not been headed. Nearly 200 wards of students gathered yesterday in front of the school and staged a dharna outside the Principal office and raised slogans against the authorities. On an intervention of the local SDM the school was closed for two days and keys were handed over to him. The association has threatened that they will start the agitation and for which authorities will be responsible. Interestingly the DAV
school is running for the past 10 years but the
authorities used to show students on its roll as that of
some other institution. |
2 buried
alive SOLAN, April 4 — Two Nepali labourers, identified as Chavi Durga Bahadur (20) and Bali Ram (28) were buried alive under a large chunk of earth at a construction site in the Shanti locality of this town this afternoon. The police has registered cases under Section 304-A, IPC, and 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act against a driver and contractor identified as Vijay Kumar. The SDM, Mr Rakesh
Dhiman, who rushed to the site, sanctioned a grant of Rs
25,000 to the next of kin of the deceased. |
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