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| Monday, July 10, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Minister
unhappy over nominations Govt anti-farmer, says SJM
SP blamed for
"villager’s death" |
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Sukh Ram helping Cong:
Rattan 15 elected to HP Bar Council Rain claims 3 lives Cong MLA blames govt for neglect
of district Chamba employees victimised:
Thakur Monkeys create nuisance Girl swept away by current,
rescued Water-carrier teaches kids Guru puja ceremony
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Minister unhappy over nominations KANGRA, July 9 — Himachal Agriculture Minister Vidiaya Sagar today expressed anguish over the nomination of the three party leaders from his constituency to the district BJP working committee by the district BJP president, Mr Dulo Ram, MLA, without his consultation, indicating factionalism in the party. Mr Vidiaya Sagar was addressing a press conference here today. He said, "I could have proposed better party workers for these posts in order to strengthen the party". Mr O.P. Gupta, Ms Pawna Devi and Mr Rattan Jagat Amaba, who were reportedly sidelined by the local BJP leadership earlier were inducted into the district BJP working committee by the district president, Mr Dulo Ram, a supporter of Union Minister Shanta Kumar recently. Mr Vidiaya Sagar was also critical of Mr Dulo Ram for not adhering to the condition laid down during his unanimous election as district president at Nagrota Bagwan during the party polls. He said the condition for Dulo Ram’s election was that Mr M.R. Awasthi should be nominated the general secretary for Kangra district which he did not adhere to. Mr Dulo Ram did not nominate Mr M.R. Awasthi, a supporter of Prof Dhumal but nominated Mr Padda, supporter of Mr Shanta Kumar, as general secretary. When asked about the confrontation between Mr Shanta Kumar and the Dhumal groups which was open yesterday at Shahpur, Mr Vidiaya Sagar brushed the question aside and did not reply it. He, however, added that Prof P.K. Dhumal was the only leader of the BJP in Himachal Pradesh whereas the people here have elected Mr Shanta Kumar to Parliament and he has been rightly placed by the Prime Minister in his cabinet as a representative of Himachal Pradesh. Mr Vidiaya Sagar refuted
the reports in a section of press that an ultimatum was
served to the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal by some of
his ministers, state ministers and party MLAs and his
government was in trouble. He said such reports were
baseless concocted and motivated. The Agriculture
Minister said that he was authorised by Technical
Education Minister, Mr Ravinder Ravi, Parliamentary
Secretary, Ms Sarveen Choudhary and Vipin Parmar to
express their support to the Chief Minister. |
Govt anti-farmer, says SJM SHIMLA, July 9 — The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, a front organisation of the R.S.S., has accused the Vajpayee regime of ‘backing out’ of its promise to promote ‘swadeshi’ and decided to launch a country-wide stir from July 15 to force the Centre to review its ‘disastrous policy of economic liberalisation.’ Addressing newsmen here today Mr Virender Singh, member of the governing body of the Manch and convener of its Uttar Pradesh unit, said unrestricted import of items like foodgrains, milk, fruit and other farm produce had hit poor farmers hard and if no corrective steps were taken many of them would face starvation. The situation was particularly bad in states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat which meet the bulk of the country’s foodgrain requirements. The markets in these states had been flooded with imported ghee, butter and milk, which was being sold as little as half the prices of local produce, he said. The fact that the government brought as many of 1423 items under the Open General Licence (OGL) much before the deadline stipulated in the WTO agreement, clearly reflected its anti-farmer bias. The policy of liberalisation had already started taking its toll. Over 1200 farmers of Andhra Pradesh, whose cotton crop was destroyed after spraying of imported insecticide, had committed suicide. Mehtab Singh of Khandoli village, UP, committed suicide after he failed to get the expected returns from his potato crop and could not pay back his loan. It was now the turn of farmers from Punjab and Haryana, whose income from dairy farming would be severely curtailed due to the import of milk and milk products. He claimed that multinationals were entering farming in a big way and had purchased 60,000 acres of land in Punjab alone and reports of such acquisitions were pouring in from other states too. The Manch, Mr Singh said, disapproved of the policy of disinvestment as a ‘virtual’ loot of public assets. Citing the example of Modern Foods he said the unit, with assets of over Rs 3000 crore, had been sold for a meagre Rs 106 crore. Similarly, several oxygen plants associated with public sector steel plants, had been sold. He claimed the steel plants would be paralysed without oxygen plants and would be sold off in the next phase. A deal for privatisation of Cement Corporation of India had also been finalised, he said. He said the Manch would defy the ban on the sale of uniodised salt during its planned protest march from Dandi to Sabarmati and from there to the Parliament during the ‘Swadeshi Saptah’ to be observed all over the country from September 25 to October 2. Prior to that the Manch would carry out a mass awareness campaign from July 15 to August 15. He said the government
had its compulsions in implementing the WTO agreement but
the people were against it and by mobilising them the
Manch would ensure that those clauses which were
detrimental to the country’s economic prosperity
were excluded. |
SP blamed for
"villager’s death" KULU, July 9 — Residents of the Manikaran valley marched in procession and later held dharnas in front of the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police here yesterday to protest against the alleged snubbing of a villager by the SP Kulu that caused death of the person. The agitating leaders pointed out that Pene Ram, a resident of Sarsari village had been harassed by the police for the past two months for allegedly dealing in charas. On July 6 the SP Kulu stopped his vehicle at his shop in the village and threatened him with dire consequences if he did not stop the illicit trade. Eyewitnesses said that two policemen alighted from the Gypsy of the SP and asked Pene Ram to come out of the shop and speak to the ‘Sahib’. Mr Pene Ram was told something by the SP while he fell down on the road. On seeing him fall, the SP ordered his driver to move, Tikam Ram, one of the eyewitnesses told. Mr Pene Ram was taken to a private hospital at Bhuntar where his condition was told to be very serious by the doctor attending on him. The relatives of Mr Pene Ram told that the SDM and the Tehsildar visited the hospital in the night to enquire after the condition of the person. The women relatives of Pene Ram also said that two drunk policemen also visited them on the night of July 6, 2000. Pene Ram died of hypertensive intracerebral haemorrhage on July 7 at 10.30 a.m. as per the death certificate issued by the doctor of Y.M. Hospital, Hathithan near Bhuntar. The agitating villagers demanded suspension of the Superintendent of Police so that a fair inquiry could be held. Leaders of the agitating people also submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Himachal through the Additional Deputy Commissioner here yesterday. They alleged that the police had been harassing innocent people and keep their eyes closed for charas and timber-mafia. They also demanded that many innocent people have been detained and kept in police custody by the local police. The leaders alleged that the failure of the police to nab the real culprits had been the main cause for such harassment to innocent people in this district. Mr Devinder Sharma, up-pradhan, gram panchayat, Chong, said the police was so inactive that a thief was caught by the villagers in Chong and handed over to the police. But to their surprise, the accused was let off by the police. He said there were many such examples of the doubtful behaviour of the police in this district. Mr Sawayam Ram Thakur, Additional Deputy Commissioner, said a fair inquiry into the incident would be initiated and justice done. Mr Anurag Garg, SP told that charas-mafia was behind the agitation and the deceased had been involved in ‘charas’ trade for quite sometime. Agitators also squatted
on the national highway and blocked traffic for one hour
yesterday. |
15 elected to HP Bar Council SHIMLA, July 9 (FOC) — Fifteen advocates were elected members of Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh, elections for which were held on July 1 last. As many as 43 candidates were in the fray and about 2600 advocates cast their votes. A minimum of 153 first preference votes were required for a win the first round but none of the candidate could touch the magic figure. Three candidates, R.K. Gautam, sitting bar council Chairman, D.R. Sharma and Balbir Chauhan were elected in the second round while the remaining 12 members were elected in the subsequent rounds. The other elected
members are Ravinder Thakur, Ajay Sood, Naresh Thakur,
Shanti Lal Vaidya, Balbir Parmar, G.P. Guleria, Bhoj
Chandra, Ashok Negi, Devinder Negi, Sushil Kanwar,
Ramakant Sharma and Pawan Thakur. |
Oldest now most modern SHIMLA: The General Post Office (GPO) situated on The Mall here is one of the oldest post offices in the country. Recently, this prestigious mail office was computerised. In Himachal Pradesh 58 post offices have been provided with PC-based multipurpose counter machines. Of these, nine sub-post offices under this GPO are in Shimla town. The GPO has completed 117 years of existence. Although no exact date of its opening is available, Mr F. Dalton is believed to have been its first postmaster. According to the incumbency chart, Mr L.G. Pigott was the last English postmaster till December, 1946. Mr A.K. Hazari was the first postmaster of Indian origin in 1947, followed by Mr Sukhdev, says Mr R.M. Rajput, the present incumbent. The GPO was earlier called the Simla Head Post Office. The building housing the GPO was called Conny Cottage. It was purchased from Mr Peterson, Manager of the Simla Bank, in 1883. Before it was acquired for the post office, the building had some exclusive shops of European tailors like Enjalbat & Co and Coutts & Co. This three-storeyed mainly wooden structure is a nice example of English hill architecture. Before the establishment of rail or road links with Shimla, mail was sent through a special ‘‘dak gari’’ from Ambala to the foothills in Kalka. From there it was transported by postal employees using horses, ponies and even elephants. The overseers, who were to reach Simla via Subathu, were adequately armed against wild animals by the white Sahibs who used to wait impatiently for their dak, most of which came from abroad. A number of old residents, now familiar with E-mail and the Internet, still remember the good old days of this dak delivery system. Now, apart from the
computerisation of all counter work at the GPO, the
computerisation of internal functions like accounts is
also being done, thereby making the oldest post office in
the area the most modern. |
Rain claims 3 lives MANDI, July 9 — Heavy rain has taken toll of three lives besides washing out several acres of agricultural and forest land in the Chachiot valley of the district. One person identified as Yog Raj (15) was washed away when a cloudburst wrecked havoc in and around Chiuni village near Janjehli last night damaging large tracts of forest and agricultural land. Two villages — Chiuni and Baledha — where about 60 families were residing had been vacated and people shifted to safer places. In another incident near
Chakkar Ajai Kumar (13) and Komal (12) were washed away
in Suketi, a tributary of the Beas, last evening. They
were grazing cattle. |
Cong MLA blames govt for
neglect of district CHAMBA, July 9 — Mr Harsh Mahajan, local MLA and a vice-president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) has blamed the BJP led coalition government in the state for the neglect of Chamba district in respect of development. Stating this here today over the phone, Mr Mahajan criticised the government for the harassment of people in the district as it had failed to fill vacant posts of specialists in the zonal hospital at Chamba. He said the zonal hospital at the moment was understaffed. He accused the government of not attending to development of Chamba. He disclosed that 3000 posts of government officials has been vacant in different departments. He demanded sorting out of the problems of Chamera oustees who sacrificed their homeland for the construction of Chamera hydroelectric project. The oustees in fact, had got neither employment nor any benefit in the project. He advised the BJP-led government for not promoting nepotism in recruitment, transfers and assigning contracts. He described the BJP-led
government as a "puppet of the bureaucracy" and
taking decisions not viable for the development of the
state. Due to this for the first time, 70 per cent of the
budget in the Forest Department had been slashed during
the current year which was a setback to the conservation
of rich forest wealth and to the employment of a number
of the poor of Himachal Pradesh. |
Sukh Ram helping Cong: Rattan UNA, July 9 — Mr O.P. Rattan state acting president of the HVC (I), today flayed the statements of Mr Sukh Ram and his son Mr Anil Sharma, MP, in which they had demanded a probe into the affairs of Mr Mohinder Singh and his removal from the Himachal Ministry. Talking to mediapersons here after holding a rally at Poanta Sahib, Mr Rattan said such statements will help the Congress. Mr Rattan alleged that it was only to help the Congress that Mr Sukh Ram was levelling baseless charges regarding the misuse of government machinery by Mr Mohinder Singh, P.W.D. Minister and asked if, Mr Sukh Ram or Dr Ram Lal Markande, state minister, were not using government cars for their party work. Mr Rattan charged that Mr Sukh Ram had not only joined hands with the Congress to criticise Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, but also using those BJP leaders who were not happy with Chief Minister. He said he alongwith
other office-bearers of the HVC (I) would soon meet the
Chief Election Commissioner of India to get
recognisation. |
Chamba employees victimised:
Thakur CHAMBA, July 9 — The state unit of Himachal Pradesh Non-Gazetted Employees Federation has been politicised and taking decisions on its own accord contrary to the demands of the district units of the federation alleged Mr Sat Pal Thakur, district president, Chamba unit of the federation, while talking to newspersons here today. Mr Thakur said the way the rates of house rent allowance at the capital, district and block levels had been decided had caused resentment among employees belonging to different parts of the state. Mr Thakur charged the state federation with adopting an indifferent attitude towards the demands of the employees belonging to Chamba district like the project allowance, compensatory allowance on a par with Palampur and Rampur. He said leaders of the federation had not properly pleaded the genuine demands of the employees of the Chamba region. He hoped that the
demands of the employees of Chamba would be heard and
accepted at the state level joint consultative committee
meeting to be held at Shimla on July 19. |
Monkeys create nuisance KUMARHATTI, July 9 — Residents of here, Daghshai and Dharampur these days are in the grip of fear created by the hordes of monkeys. They alleged that simian antics have disrupted normal life. Steep increase in the population of monkeys has added to the woes of residents. The situation has turned from bad to worse as the monkeys’ main target are the school going children and women. The incidents of monkeys attacking human beings are on the rise despite efforts by the authorities to check their growth. Though the Daghshai Cantonment Board had launched a special drive to check their growth in December last year, but with the passing of time the situation has become same, rues Mr Raj Garg, an elected member of the Daghshai Cantonment Board. More than 100 monkeys, which were captured by a special team hired by the board, managed to return here as they were released by the team in the nearby surroundings, said Mr Garg. The monkeys often disrupt telecom cable wires. They even enter the houses. Sweet and fruit shops are their main target. It is learnt that the situation has aggravated as monkeys from Shimla are being sent to this areas mostly covered with the pine forest. The monkey menace has
forced the residents to live in fear. It has become
difficult for them to protect themselves from the monkeys
as they often roam in groups, laments Mr Jai Pal
Aggarwal, president of the Sanatan Dharam Sabha. He urged
the district administration to rid them of monkey menace. |
Girl swept away by current,
rescued BILASPUR, July 9 — A young girl student had a narrow escape when she was swept away in a flooded rivulet. She was coming to school in a motor boat from Rishikesh Ghat across Gobindsagar to Nalyan-Ka-Naun Ghat here but she and the other passengers all of them students, were forced to disembark near Sandu Ground yesterday morning. Eyewitnesses said that
while wading across from Sandu ground to Nalyan-Ka-Naun
Rekha was swept away by the strong current from an
adjacent rivulet. Fortunately for her two students dived
in after her and dragged her to shore. |
Water-carrier teaches kids NURPUR, July 9 — The Government Primary School, Chhoti-Dhar of Ladorri gram panchayat in this subdivision has been without a teacher for the past 20 months. Interestingly, the
school is in the gram panchayat of the local MLA and
Chairman, the State Tourism Development Corporation. More
bizarre still the school is currently run by its
water-carrier, a part-time worker who reportedly opens
and closes the school. The 30-year-old primary school has
two sanctioned posts of teachers. |
Guru puja ceremony PARWANOO, July 9 — The local Vishav Jagriti Mission, Parwanoo, organised guru pooja ceremony at Shiv Mandir in Sector 4 here on Sunday. It was attended by a large number of devotees of the mission. On the occasion, school
uniforms and books were distributed among needy children
of the area. A free medical check-up camp was also
organised. |
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