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| Monday, May 8, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Special
status for 20 varsities HVC
(M) camp in upbeat mood 8.27
cr for Vanaspati Van Yojna CBI
probe sought into son’s death Highway
parapets in bad state Finance
panel report by June-end likely |
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| Water tariff ‘higher’ in
rural areas SHIMLA, May 7 — A Joint Secretary of the Himachal Vikas Congress, Mr Tarsem Bharti, has urged the government to take immediate steps for solving the drinking water shortage in the town. CITU to organise protest Pathania’s
charge against govt
|
Special status for 20 varsities SHIMLA, May 7 — Dr Murali Manohar Joshi, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, has expressed concern over the deteriorating standard of research and called for reorienting of priorities to make research relevant to society and the country at large. Addressing the 13th convocation of Himachal Pradesh University here today, Dr Joshi said a poor country like India could not afford to invest thousands of crores of rupees on research which was not socially relevant. There was a plethora of universities and institute of higher learning with over 74,000 students were engaged in research and about 10,000 students securing doctorate of philosophy degree (Ph.D.) every year. The figure, he said, was quite impressive, but did not benefit the country as the research work carried out was either not relevant or of very poor standard. It had been decided to develop 20 select universities into centres of excellence. The government would provide special financial assistance to these universities which would be allowed to set up campuses at more than one place and maintain centres in other countries to evolve a global model of higher education. Similarly, reputed colleges would also start functioning as autonomous institutions in due course. All this would provide a much-needed fillip to research and education. Dr Joshi said that economic liberalisation and globalisation of trade had thrown up new challenges and the country would have to fall back on traditional values to withstand the onslaught of consumerism. While the developed west viewed the world as a big “bazaar” Indian thought considered it as a family, he said. Had the country stuck to its traditional value system it would not have faced the kind of drought under which states like Gujarat and Rajasthan were presently reeling. He said water was traditionally held sacred and maintained by the society and even flora and fauna were respected. But of late these traditions had been neglected. He said some six crore children were still not going to school and the government had taken steps to ensure hundred percent enrolment and also started informal schools for the purpose. The per student expenditure in these schools had been enhanced from Rs 345 to 845. To ensure that all eligible children went to school by 2003 and completed five years of education by 2008. With this in mind the allocation for primary education had been enhanced to Rs 3608 crore, a hike of over Rs 800 crore over the previous year. Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, the Governor and Chancellor of the University, said there was a time when India was known as “vishwa guru”. The fall of the traditional gurukul system had also led to a decline in the educational standards. The exhorted teachers to work hard to make the country a leader in higher education again. As many as 2 D.Lit and 133 Ph.D. degrees were awarded during the convocations. Besides 179 meritorious who secured top position in various post graduate courses from 1994 to 1997 academic sessions were given medals. The convocation was held
after a gap of six years. |
HVC (M) camp in upbeat mood SHIMLA, May 7 — Activists of the Himachal Vikas Congress (M) are in high spirits following the meeting of their leader and PWD Minister Mohinder Singh with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, during which the former explained the circumstances which led to the split in the HVC which is supporting the ruling BJP in the state. The activists describe this as another achievement of their faction which broke away from the HVC of former Communication Minister Sukh Ram. They pointed out that Mr Mohinder Singh was given an appointment by the Prime Minister on May 3 even though he reached Delhi the previous day, whereas Mr Sukh Ram so far had been unable to meet Mr Vajpayee although he had been in the Capital since May 1. When contacted, Mr Mohinder Singh said here yesterday that during his meeting with Mr Vajpayee he removed misgivings which Mr Sukh Ram had tried to create on the issue of the split in the HVC and reallocation of the PWD portfolio to him by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal. Mr Sukh Ram has been demanding expulsion of Mr Mohinder Singh from the Cabinet in which he was inducted as a nominee of the HVC. However, Mr Mohinder Singh explained to the Prime Minister that the HVC (M) was a separate entity following the split and it would continue to support the BJP government. Mr Mohinder Singh also met Home Minister L.K. Advani and BJP General Secretary Narendera Modi, who is in charge of the party affairs in Himachal Pradesh. The PWD Minister said a meeting of the executive committee of the HVC (M) had been convened here on May 8 for chalking out the future strategy of the party. He accused Mr Sukh Ram of functioning in a dictatorial manner which had driven the self-respecting partymen away from him. Mr Mohinder Singh
claimed that his party was functioning in a democratic
manner and the district level bodies were nominated in
consultation with grassroots workers. The district bodies
of Shimla, Kangra, Chamba, Sirmour and Solan had been
constituted and party leaders would visit other districts
before setting up the committees. He accused Mr Sukh Ram
of appointing the office-bearers in his outfit
arbitrarily. |
8.27 cr for Vanaspati Van Yojna SHIMLA, May 7 (UNI) — With Himachal Pradesh being a rich repository of medicinal plants, the state government has started a unique scheme to exploit this potential and ensure people’s participation in the growing of medicinal plants. A sum of Rs 8.27 crore will be spent under this scheme, known as Vanaspati Van Yojna, which will cover more than 5,000 hectares of denuded forest land in Chamba and Kulu districts, according to an official spokesman here. The Forest and the Ayurveda departments will jointly formulate a plan to impart training and other necessary information to those interested in herbiculture. Training will also be imparted in the collection of herbs. The state, with different agro-climatic conditions, has been divided into four zones, viz. sub-tropical low hills Shivalik range, mid-hills sub-temperate zone, high hill temperate wet and high hill temperate dry alpine zones. The government has decided to establish one herbal garden in each of these zones for optimum exploitation of the medicinal flora. The spokesman said steps were afoot for systematic conservation, development, cultivation and utilisation of medicinal plants in the state. A herbal garden and a herbarium had been set up at Jogindernagar in Mandi district where about 215 species of medicinal plants of different species were being cultivated. The herbarium has been developed to keep the specimens of medicinal plants in a systematic manner. In addition to this, new herbal gardens are being developed at Neri in Hamirpur district, Panshroo in Shimla district and Rakcham and Chitkul in Kinnaur district. To ensure the genuineness and freshness of herbs, the drug-testing laboratory at Jogindernagar is providing the necessary support to the pharmacies. To strengthen this laboratory, the central government has sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 14.75 lakh under a scheme. Package treks, jointly
organised by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department, the
Research Institute of the Indian System of Medicine,
Jogindernagar, and the Ayurveda Department, have been
planned. One such trek was organised from April 23 to May
1 last. Another trek has been planned during September
next. |
CBI probe sought into
son’s death JAWALAMUKHI, May 7 — Gorkhu Ram of Niharu village, near here, has sought a CBI inquiry into the death of his 17-year-old son Sunil. The deceased, who was a student of Matric in the adjoining Tihri High School, was killed on August 25, 1998. His father Gorkhu Ram alleged that his son was murdered as a result of a pre-planned conspiracy by certain persons. The police had closed the file relating to his death, considering it to be a case of accidental death. Gorkhu Ram alleged that the culprits behind the murder had committed the crime after pre-planning it and then destroyed the evidence to make it appear as a case of accident. “The sequence of events and the evidence clearly indicate that it was not an accidental death, as made out by police,” he lamented. He said his son was found murdered in an adjoining forest field of his native village. This was not the normal route taken by his son to reach home. Moreover, blood stains were found at a distant place for the site where the body found. He further said his son, “on the day of his death” had gone from home to study, but died under mysterious circumstances on the same day. He admitted that his family had an altercation with a family of upper caste of the village. A matter of so-called love affair of his son with a girl of upper caste had been already brought to his notice by some villagers. A mutual compromise was agreed upon over the “love affair”. Nevertheless, it took its toll with the “murder ” of his teenaged son. Gorkhu Ram regretted
that despite his request to the Chief Minister, the
police was not investigating all aspects of the case. He
wanted that the case should be handed over to the CBI for
a thorough and independent inquiry. He alleged that the
police was not probing the case due to some political
pressure. |
Highway parapets in bad state KUMARHATTI: Whether it is lack of sufficient funds or unnecessary delay on the part of the state PWD, the truth is that on an average every tenth parapet on the Kalka-Shimla highway (NH 22) from Parwanoo to Kumarhatti is in a dilapidated state. Damaged parapets need timely repair but the situation has deteriorated to such an extent that at some places on the national highway there are 100-metre stretches without parapets. The parapets on the national highway when hit by vehicles are neither being repaired by the PWD on time nor are stones which fall on the road being lifted. There are many places on the highway where stones are scattered here and there causing number of preventable accidents. The department concerned is perhaps unaware of the fact that at one spot in Himmatpur Dawli, near here on the highway, the loss of one parapet has led to five accidents. The situation has turned from bad to worse, as the soil at that spot has eroded. The situation has worsened due to the spot being at a sharp curve. There is another spot where the PWD’s tardiness in the repair of the parapet has led to the two accidents in a year. A 100-metre stretch near Kumarhatti on the national highway No 22 has virtually turned into a death-trap for road users due to the neglect and callousness of the department concerned. The parapets on the road are helpful in avoiding accidents and need repair from time to time. An official at the National Highway subdivisional office at Dharampur puts the blame on the public. He said they were least bothered about government property. The official was very harsh about truck drivers who, according to him, were responsible for the current situation. Most of the parapets were hit by truck drivers, the official asserted. Non-availability of
funds was another reason which led to the crumbling of
parapets on the highway. |
Finance panel report by June-end likely SHIMLA, May 7 (PTI) — The 11th Finance Commission is likely to submit its final report by the end of next month, commission member Nirmal Chand Mr Jain said here today. The commission had already submitted its interim report and the final report, which would make some important recommendations to improve the fiscal health of the Centre and the states, was under preparation, the Jain told PTI. The commission was considering a package of incentives to the states which cut down the non-merit subsidies, he said, adding it would also suggest steps to the Centre and the states on resource mobilisation and reducing the rate of interest on small saving loans. Mr Jain said the state of finances in the country was beyond redemption. The Centre was spending a whopping Rs 1,00,000 crore on debt services and the position of the states was no better. Mr Jain admitted that
the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission had an
adverse fallout on the states.He suggested that in future
the state governments must be involved in finalising
central pay panel proposals. |
Water tariff
‘higher’ in rural areas SHIMLA, May 7 — A Joint Secretary of the Himachal Vikas Congress, Mr Tarsem Bharti, has urged the government to take immediate steps for solving the drinking water shortage in the town. In a statement here yesterday, Mr Bharti pointed out that the water tariff was higher in the rural areas of Shimla where it was being supplied at the rate of Rs 6 per 1,000 litres, against Rs 1.80 in the town. He said almost all drinking water sources were in the rural Kasumpti area where the supply was inadequately provided by the Shimla Municipal Corporation. He also demanded that
the pending applications for water connections should be
processed without further delay. |
CITU to organise protest SHIMLA, May 7 — The state unit of CITU will organise a demonstration in front of the office of the Labour Commissioner here on May 9 to protest against the failure of the government to enforce labour laws in various hydel projects and industries. Mr Rakesh Singha, president of CITU, alleged that the Labour Department was refusing to register trade unions and avoiding holding of reconciliation meetings under pressure from employers. For instance, the Birla Mills at Baddi was “not implementing” the Supreme Court judgement in favour of workers in respect of payment of dearness allowance, but the department was “not taking any action.” At the Nathpa Jhakri
project the private companies were “flouting
laws” and “exploiting” workers. Workers
were being retrenched “illegally” without even
being paid the compensation admissible under law. |
Pathania’s charge against
govt JWALAMUKHI, May 7 — Mr Kewal Singh Pathania former Transport Minister and MLA from Jwalamukhi constituency of Kangra district, has condemned the Bharatiya Janta Party government for stalling developmental work. Briefing mediapersons
here today, he said that work on the Jwalamukhi-Tihri,
Gummer-Baggi, Baggi-Khundian via Lagru Link roads had
come to a standstill and not a single hand-pump had been
installed in Chamba Pattan, Balera, Lagru, Daloh, Dola
and Mahadev panchayats headed by Congress sarpanches. He
held the Irrigation and Public Health Department guilty
of installing public taps near the house of a local BJP
worker without fulfilling formalities, thus depriving the
common people of drinking water facilities. |
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