H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

HP to implement Goswami panel report
SHIMLA, May 9 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to implement the recommendations of the Goswami committee to arrest the increasing incidence of bus accidents in the hill state. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state Cabinet held under the chairmanship of Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, here today.

Tibetan Govt’s no to mediation
DHARAMSALA, May 9 — The Tibetan Government has turned down the offer made by Mr Namgyal Gompo, the maternal uncle of the 17th Karmapa, to act a mediator between China and the government-in-exile.

Drop Sukh Ram from NDA: HVC (M)
SHIMLA, May 9 — The Mahinder Singh faction of the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) has urged the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to remove Mr Sukh Ram from membership of the NDA and induct Col Dhani Ram Shandil (retd) as their representative.

One person’s vacation is another’s life
DHARAMSALA, May 9 — One day Mrs Uma Khanka was distributing sweets on becoming a grandmother. The next she was mourning at the death of her daughter.

Demolition charge denied
SHIMLA, May 9 — Mr Verinder Sood, Managing Director, Manikaran Roller Flour Mill, today denied that his men has demolished the compound wall of the fruit-canning centre of the Horticulture Department at Kulu to forcibly occupy the vacant land which had been allotted to his factory by the Industries Department for setting up a weighbridge.

4 held for murder
KULU, May 9 — The police has solved the mystery behind the recovery of a body near Hulqua village in Nirmand tehsil on April 24.

HP to implement Goswami panel report
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, May 9 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to implement the recommendations of the Goswami committee to arrest the increasing incidence of bus accidents in the hill state.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the state Cabinet held under the chairmanship of Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, here today.

The important recommendations of the committee included limiting the life span of buses to 12 years, making five years experience of driving heavy vehicles in hills essential for issuing driving licence, enhancing the sentence for drunken driving to life imprisonment, ban on playing audio cassette and removal of interior rear view mirror, which the committee felt was more of a distraction for the drivers.

Besides, it was also decided to make three months’ training course from a recognised driving school mandatory for bus drivers. It was also decided that electronic breath analysers and speed detectors to check drunken and rash driving be procured by the police and the Transport Department. Henceforth, conductors would not be eligible to be promoted drivers to discourage them from learning driving on buses and endangering the lives of passengers. Bus drivers would be subjected to rigorous medical check-up every year after the age of 45 years. Besides, all accident-prone drivers will be subjected to one month’s refresher course on safe driving. The Public Works Department would provide parapets at sharp bends.

The Cabinet raised the sales tax on tractors from 1.5 to 4 per cent in accordance with the decision of the standing committee of Finance Ministers of various states to ensure uniform taxation.

It also finalised the modalities for creating district cadre for pharmacists, staff nurses, female and male health workers, laboratory technicians and assistants in Health and Ayurveda Department, village extension officers in Horticulture and Agriculture Departments and supervisors in the Integrated Child Development Scheme.

It was also decided to give a subsidy of Rs 10 on each apple-packing carton of 20 kg capacity for the ensuing crop season. The subsidy on carriage of timber imported from neighbouring states for making wooden boxes will be Rs 500 per truck. With an expected production of 3.50 crore boxes of apples the total subsidy to growers will be Rs 7.89 crore. The subsidy on 5-kg boxes for plum, almond and strawberry will be Rs 1.50, Re 1 and Rs 5 each, respectively.

The Cabinet also decided to assign the 6 mw Fozal hydel project in Kulu district, 6.5 mw Sal-1 in Chamba and 5.5 mw Sainj in Kulu to private parties. Besides, a workplan involving an expenditure of Rs 15 crore was approved for forwarding to the Centre for grant of financial assistance. Under the plan, subsidies will be given for construction of water tanks, shallow wells, and disease management in vegetable crops, purchase of power tillers, procurement of plant material and promotion of micro-nutrients.

In another important decision the Cabinet granted permission to the Doon Technical and Education Society for setting up a dental college near Amb in Una district. The society will acquire land on its own. This will be the sixth dental college in the state.

Tibetan Govt’s no to mediation
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, May 9 — The Tibetan Government has turned down the offer made by Mr Namgyal Gompo, the maternal uncle of the 17th Karmapa, to act a mediator between China and the government-in-exile.

This is the second trip made by Mr Gompo to McLeodganj ever since the Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorjee, fled from Tibet to reach here on January, 5. This time, too, he was not granted permission by the Tibetan Government and the security agencies to meet the Karmapa. However, he had a talk with niece, Ngodup Palzom, who accompanied the Karmapa from Tibet.

Mr Gompo, who arrived here as a Chinese emissary, made the offer to mediate with China to the Minister for Religion and Culture in the Tibetan Government, Mr Tashi Wangdi. Mr Wangdi, while confirming of offer made by Mr Gompo, said that the Dalai Lama, has already made it clear that we do not require any mediator. We do not agree with the assessment of Mr Gompo as the Karmapa is not an issue and there are much larger problems that need to be addressed”, he remarked.

Mr Wangdi, said that the Karmapa was a very high lama, who did not require anybody’s advice or convincing, as it was his personal decision to flee to India. He added that the Tibetan Government would provide all help and assistance needed by the 14-year-old Karmapa.

Mr Wangdi said that every Tibetan had the right to approach the Tibetan Government with his ideas and suggestions. “While explaining our official position to Mr Gompo, we have turned down his offer as the Karmapa is capable enough to take his decisions”.

After meeting the Tibetan Minister, Mr Gompo tried his level best to see the Karmapa at the Gyuto Tantrik Monastery, in Sidhbari. He is reported to have told some of the aides of the Karmapa that he had met the Indian officials in the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi.

During his previous trip to McLeodganj on January 13, this year Mr Gompo, had delivered some letters for the Karmapa, which he claimed had been written by his parents and relatives. At that time, he had termed the decision of the Karmapa to flee to India as a “blunder”, which was not in the interest of the Tibetan people. He had said that instead of fleeing from Tibet, he should have applied for a student visa, as there was nothing wrong in undertaking his studies in India. At that stage also he had offered to open the channels of communication with China, with whom he claimed to be in touch.

The arrival of the maternal uncle of the Karmapa here at this stage is being considered crucial as the status of the Karmapa, even after four months of his arrival in India.

Some of the senior religious heads faced anxious moments while Mr Gompo was here, as they feared that due to the inordinate delay by the Indian Government in deciding the status of the Karmapa has been keeping unwell and was also taken to the PGI, Chandigarh, for treatment.

Drop Sukh Ram from NDA: HVC (M)
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, May 9 — The Mahinder Singh faction of the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) has urged the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to remove Mr Sukh Ram from membership of the NDA and induct Col Dhani Ram Shandil (retd) as their representative.

The HVC (M) has claimed that it is the real HVC, while Mr Sukh Ram had lost majority support in the party.

The decision to withdraw Mr Sukh Ram from the NDA was taken by the executive committee to the HVC (M) here yesterday.

Briefing newsmen, Mr O.P. Rattan, working president of the party, claimed that Col Shandil, who was the only Lok Sabha member of the HVC, was on their side. He also circulated an affidavit to have been signed by Col Shandil.

He released to newsmen copies of a letter which Col Shandil has written to the Chief Election Commissioner, Dr M.S. Gill, in which he has requested that the symbol of ‘telephone’ should be given to the reconstituted body of the HVC with Mr Inder Singh as president and Mr O.P. Rattan as working president. The letter, dated April 29, lists the names of all nine members of the executive committee of the HVC (M) which has appointed Mr Sukh Ram as its patron-in-chief.

Referring to the purported letter of Col Shandil, dated May 3, in which he had said that he continued to be in the HVC led by Mr Sukh Ram, Mr Rattan claimed that the letter was ‘fake’ and was circulated by some ‘mischievous elements’ in a bid mislead the people.

Mr Rattan said that a five-member delegation of the HVC (M) would shortly meet the Election Commissioner and submit affidavits of those party men who had contested the previous assembly election. Documents of membership of the party would also be submitted.

He said that the Sukh Ram faction was trying to confuse the people on the issue of Col Shandil’s support to Mr Mahinder Singh. Col Shandil had also written letters to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister clarifying that he supported the HVC (M), he claimed.

Col Shandil has also requested the Election Commission to give a hearing to the other faction on the issue of election symbol before taking any decision on the request of Mr Sukh Ram in this regard.

Mr Rattan urged the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, to take due cognisance of Mr Sukh Ram and his supporter, the Animal Husbandry Minister, Mr Ram Lal Markandey, and two chairmen of corporations, Mr Vijay Joshi and Mr C.L. Ghachli, reportedly issuing statements against the state government and the Chief Minister.

One person’s vacation is another’s life
From Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, May 9 — One day Mrs Uma Khanka was distributing sweets on becoming a grandmother. The next she was mourning at the death of her daughter.

In fact she saw her 24-year-old daughter, Nirupma, die before her eyes as there was no one manning the blood bank even though the blood bank had sufficient blood.

Nirupma’s husband, Narender Khatri and other relatives ran from one point to another to locate the person in charge of blood bank and pleaded with doctors to issue blood in vain.

Nirupma was admitted to the zonal hospital, part of Dr Rajendra Medical College here on May 7, and delivered a baby girl on the same day. While shifting Nirupma to a ward after a normal delivery the doctor on duty said she would require blood, as she was bleeding profusely.

Relatives rushed to the house of the blood bank in charge only to be told that they must get in writing from the doctor that blood was required.

The relatives returned with the doctor note. But the in charge simply refused to come to the hospital claiming he was on leave, Mrs Savita Karki, a maternal aunt of Nirupma, alleged.

The desperate relatives even arranged for five donors, but could not find any staff to draw blood and give it to the patient Savita. She said had blood been given to her niece in time she could have survived.

Mrs Uma Khanka, mother of the deceased said, “we had heard of these kind of things happening to other patients here. But after losing my daughter, I realise that there is complete mismanagement and lack of accountability in this medical college”.

Relatives of the deceased have decided to take up the matter with the authorities and are in the process of registering a case.

The Medical Superintendent, Dr C.S. Rathore, when contacted said they often faced such ‘problems’ due to shortage of technical staff. “Though the blood bank should be open 24 hours-a-day due to shortage of staff, the person has to be called from home, he said.

Admitting that there had been lapse he said the technicians had been cooperating in the past despite a staff shortage. But with their demand for house rent not having been conceded they were not cooperating now.

Mr Rathore said the person on duty at the blood bank that day was on leave. He begged off by pleading shortages saying despite repeated requests to the government they were facing an acute shortage of technicians and other para medical staff.

Meanwhile, a sitting MLA and general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr G.S. Bali, demanded holding of an enquiry into the death of Nirupma so that the guilty could be punished.

Demolition charge denied
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, May 9 — Mr Verinder Sood, Managing Director, Manikaran Roller Flour Mill, today denied that his men has demolished the compound wall of the fruit-canning centre of the Horticulture Department at Kulu to forcibly occupy the vacant land which had been allotted to his factory by the Industries Department for setting up a weighbridge.

In a fax message on Tuesday, Mr Sood said the canning centre did not have a compound wall and no breach had been done. There was only one wall which had been constructed for the industrial area. He also denied that his men had constructed any structure on the disputed land.

He claimed that there were atleast four factories within 20 metres of the canning centre for which the land had been allotted by the Industries Department. The weighbridge was proposed to be set up at a place where it did not hinder or block entry to the fruit receiving platform of the canning centre.

Mr Sood pointed out that 600 square metres of land allotted to his factory was on lease basis for a specific purpose. A lease money of Rs 1.50 lakh at the rate of Rs 250 per square metre was fixed for the land and not Rs 15,000 as mentioned in a report appearing in these columns on May 6.

He claimed that the need for additional land within the industrial area arose as the existing allotted land was not sufficient for the project in hand.

College bogged in uncertainty
From Ravinder Sood

PALAMPUR: The Government Degree College which has been named after Capt Vikram Batra, a great martyr of the town who had laid down his life while fighting the Pakistani intruders in Kargil, yet to take off. This college was opened here in 1995 during the Congress regime. Even after the expiry of over five years, the state government has not been able to select a permanent site for the college. At present the college is functioning in a private rented building which is too small to cater to the student strength. In fact, this college has become a victim of dirty politics.

The tall promises made by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in July last year that Vikram Batra Degree College would be one of the most modern institutions in the state remains confined to the files and no efforts have been made to acquire land and allocate adequate funds for its buildings.

Official sources say the BJP leaders want to shift this college outside Palampur with an intention to get political mileage and to please the residents of Sulaha and Thural areas of the district. On the other hand, Mr Brij Butail, the local MLA and senior Congress leader, has strongly opposed this move and even threatened to resort to direct action if the institution was shifted. He says the college, opened here because of his efforts, could not be allowed to shift it to any other area. He blames the BJP for adopting a non-cooperative attitude towards this institution ever since it was opened.

In the changed political scenario in the state, this college is facing rough weather as the new government has so far not given any attention to the problems of this college. There is an acute shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff. There are over 1800 students on the college rolls but there is no place to accommodate them. The college has no library worth the name. Books valued at lakh of rupees are piling up in a dark hall.

The local BJP leaders are of the opinion that since the town has three colleges at Raipur, H.P.K.V.V., Holta and Palampur , there is no justification for this institution to be located in the heart of the town. They say the Chief Minister has already made up his mind to shift this college to an area outside the town which would not only benefit the students but also reduce congestion.

Although the town has become more congested over the past two years, there is no justification to set up this institution as the town already has three degree colleges. If there is a political will it could have been shifted to adjoining areas like Choki Khalet, Paror and Dehan, where adequate land is available. This step can also reduce congestion.

4 held for murder
From Our Correspondent

KULU, May 9 — The police has solved the mystery behind the recovery of a body near Hulqua village in Nirmand tehsil on April 24.

Mr Anurag Garg, Superintendent of Police, said here yesterday that during the investigations it was revealed that the deceased, Ripu Ram, did not have cordial relations with his wife Mani Devi. She, along with her son Daljeet (14) and her brother Surat Ram, hatched a conspiracy along with Rustam, who was working as a truck cleaner with Ripu Ram, to kill the deceased.

Daljeet and Rustam poisoned Ripu Ram to death by mixing mercury in his liquor. The police chief said the accused had been arrested.

Lightning kills 500 cattle
From Our Correspondent

CHAMBA, May 9 — As many as 500 sheep and goats perished in a flash of lightning and fell into Budhil rivulet, a tributary of the Ravi in the Bharmour tribal area last week according to delayed reports reaching at the district headquarter town of Chamba.

According to official source, these sheep and goats were washed away in the river waters. The revenue agencies were assessing the loss to the shepherds of the Bharmour tribal region.

In another incident, Mr Dharam Singh Pathania, chairman, Salooni development block, Chamba district, informed this correspondent on the telephone that six heads of cattle including four bullocks and two cows, perished in a flash of lightning at Soontha village near Kihar in Salooni tehsil.

He said the owner of these cattle was Ghulam Hussain whose wife and daughter-in-law were also injured in the lightning.

The administration had distributed an immediate relief of Rs 5000 to the affected families.

3-month jail for escapee
From Our Correspondent

NAHAN, May 9 — The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Manoj Kumar Bansal, has sentenced Deepak Kumar Thapa of Maiwal village to simple imprisonment for three months and fined him Rs 1000.

The accused was produced in the court of CJM, Nahan, on August 9, 1999, who remanded him to judicial custody in another case under Sections 457/380.

The accused escaped from the custody of constable Nizamudeen while he was being taken to Model Central Jail.

The court has directed SP Nahan, to conduct an inquiry against ASI Gurdeep Singh, under whose supervision the accused was produced in the court, as to why he left when accused was being taken to the jail.