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| Saturday, September 2, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Congress leadership to be sued: CM ROs’ list annoys Virbhadra
camp ABVP activists court arrest in HP Himachal to set up software park 5 cr earmarked for tourism in
Manali Include plastic money in IT Act:
expert |
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Protection of golden
mahseer sought Govt urged to enforce Architects
Act Ayurvedic docs’ plea to CM 2 killed as truck falls into khud Baijnath land case proceedings
‘fair’ DD to extend telecast time
|
Congress leadership to be sued:
CM SHIMLA, Sept 1 — The Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, today said that defamatory suits will be filed by his ministers against the Congress leadership which had made “wild” allegations against them in their “charge sheet” against the BJP-HVC combine government. Mr Dhumal told the Tribune News Service here today that the PWD Minister, Mr Mohinder Singh, has already served notices to the Congress Legislative Party leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and other ministers against whom allegations of corruption and misuse of office have been made will also do so. Mr Dhumal was reacting to the charge sheet which the Congress had recently submitted to the Governor. Allegations of corruption and misuse of office were levelled against certain ministers. He said that the Congress leaders, who were now demanding immediate action on the charge sheet, during their own regime had got dumped at least eight “charge sheets” submitted by various parties against them when they were in power. The fate of the two “charge sheets”, which he presented to the Governor against the Virbhadra Singh government in his capacity as president of the state BJP, was not known. One of these “charge sheets” was submitted to the Governor in 1995, but was forwarded to the Chief Secretary by Raj Bhavan a year later in 1996, he claimed. He said that the “charge sheets” presented to the Governor by the Samajwadi Party, the Himachal Vikas Manch and the Janata Dal against the Congress government remained unattended. The Congress was divided on the issue of “charge sheet” as some senior party men abstained from participating in its presentation to the Governor. Referring to the killing
of two foreigners in the Kulu valley, the Chief Minister
said that the area would be combed for identifying those
foreigners who were residing there without valid
documents. Complaints had been received from the locals
that several foreigners were permanently residing in the
interior areas of the district and indulging in illegal
activities, including drug abuse. |
ROs’ list annoys
Virbhadra camp SHIMLA, Sept 1 — The list of district returning officers (DROs) released by the AICC today for holding the organisational elections of the Congress in Himachal Pradesh has annoyed the Virbhadra camp. It is being alleged that the list was loaded with supporters of the erstwhile camp which was led by the HVC leader, Mr Sukh Ram, when he was in the Congress. Mr Virbhadra Singh has himself described the list as “lopsided and unfair”. The DROs have been appointed by the AICC on the recommendation of a three-member Pradesh Election Authority headed by Mr Hanumantha Rao. Mr Mangat Ram Sharma and Mr K.D. Sultanpuri are the other members of the authority. It is being said that Mrs Chandresh Kumari and Mr Anand Sharma also had a say in these appointments. On the other hand, the dissidents were in an upbeat mood over the appointment of their nominees as DROs. A dissident leader said that the list was representative of all shades in the party. Mr Virbhadra Singh, who is in Delhi for his medical check up, told this correspondent on telephone that “It appears that an attempt was being made by some persons to rig the organisational polls. The party cadres will not allow this to happened”, he warned. He said that with the “lopsided” list of DROs it would be difficult to hold free and fair elections for which Mrs Sonia Gandhi had all along been emphasising. Another Congress leader said that the list was most un-representative and some unknown activists of the Youth Congress had been appointed DROs for the election of Congress stalwarts. The list of 13 DROs issued by the AICC has only five supporters of Mr Virbhadra Singh. His supporters are taking exception to the appointment of Mr Aseem, a functionary of the Youth Congress, as DRO of the Hamirpur district where Mr Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, President of the Youth Congress, was also in the race for being elected to the PCC against a party stalwart, Mr Narain Chand Parashar. They are also disappointed over the appointment of Mr Hoshiar Singh, Vice-President of the Youth Congress, as the DRO for the Mandi district where several senior partymen are in the fray for the election. They have also not liked the appointment of Mr K.C. Sharma as the DRO for Una. The first meeting of the newly appointed DROs has been convened here on September 4 to gear up the party machinery for the organisational elections. Sources said that the DROs were appointed following consultations with each senior party leader by members of the Pradesh Election Authority which submitted its report to the AICC yesterday. Those appointed DROs
are: Mr Gulzar Mohammad Bharti (Shimla; rural), Mrs
Chander Abha (Shimla); urban); Mr Hoshiar Singh (Mandi),
Mrs Kunjana Singh (Bilaspur), Mr Aseem (Hamirpur), Mr
Kuldeep Rathore (Kangra), Mr Vijay Singh Mankotia
(Sirmour), Mr Nitya Nand Sewal (Solan), Mrs Anita Verma
(Kulu), Mr Chander Mohan (Chamba), Mr K.C. Sharma (Una),
Mr Phunchog Rai (Kinnaur) and Mr M.R. Goma
(Lahaul-Spiti). |
ABVP activists court arrest
in HP SHIMLA, Sept 1 — The demand for holding elections to the Students Central Association of the Himachal Pradesh University gained further momentum today with hundreds of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activists courting arrest all over the state here today. The police resorted a mild cane charge as the agitation turned violent in the state capital here. The protesters smashed the windowpanes of two police buses after a scuffle with securitymen. A spokesman of the parishad claimed that over 1500 members courted arrest in various towns. The maximum number of 400 students courted arrest at the state capital here. It was followed by Hamirpur (200), Dharamsala (90), Solan (80), Sarkaghat (60), and Jogindernagar (50). Besides rallies and dharnas were organised at about two dozen places to press for its demands. The protesters, including some girls, came in groups one after the other and raised slogans defying the prohibitory orders in front of a police post on the Mall. The police had a hard time as slogan-shouting student appeared on the Mall from nowhere after every hour since 2 p.m. today. Scuffles ensured between the police and students every time. But the police denied that the students were lathicharged and there were only a minor scuffle when the protesters were made to board the buses. Besides holding of immediate election to the Student Central Association, the parishad is demanding withdrawal of the fee hike and making English an optional subject instead compulsory up to graduate level. Meanwhile, the Student Federation of India (SFI) also held a demonstration at the university campus against what it termed as “unprovoked lathi charge on its activists during its “rasta roko” stir here yesterday. The protesters smashed a windowpane in the Vice- Chancellor’s office. They also tried to break the iron gate at the entrance. The SFI is also
demanding elections to the Students Central Association
and withdrawal of fee hike. |
Himachal to set up software park SHIMLA, Sept 1 — The Himachal Government will soon set up a high-speed data connectivity facility and a software technology park here with the assistance of the Centre at a cost of Rs 5.80 crore. Stating this at a seminar on “The role of Internet and classteacher .com” organised by Minervainfo yesterday, Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, said the state was already in the process of signing an MoU with the Centre for the purpose. This would not only attract investments in the IT sector, but would also provide job opportunities to the local youth, he said. The state government, Mr Dhumal said, had invited the private sector to impart IT education at the plus two level in 135 selected government senior secondary schools. He said an optimal student-computer ratio and adequate infrastructure would be ensured in all the schools. Mr Dhumal said the state government had engaged the National Association of Software Companies (NASSCOM) for the preparation of a draft IT vision-2010. As per the document, the IT-enabled services could emerge as a niche area in the state. The report laid emphasis on the development of trained manpower and appropriate infrastructure to facilitate the growth of IT in the state and accordingly the government had initiated certain steps in this direction. A world class IT institute with private sector initiative and having technical collaboration with the University of California at Berkley would come up soon at Rachiana in Solan district. The B. Tech courses in IT would commence from the academic year 2002. In addition to the graduate courses, the institute would also have postgraduate courses and short-term need-based courses. The Chief Minister said for electronic governance, the state government had formulated a project through the National Information Centre for creating networking at the state headquarters and the district and block levels. The project, costing Rs 7.10 crore, would be implemented in a phased manner and was likely to be initiated during the current year. Ms Ritu Gupta, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Minervainfo, said her mission was to make technology fun for children through the virtual school which offered comprehensive learning platform where parents, teachers and students could interact through the Internet. The classteacher.com
also presented a cheque for Rs 20,000 to the Chief
Minister to provide stipends to meritorious students of
computers in schools and offered free services to 50
schools in Himachal Pradesh. |
5 cr earmarked for tourism in
Manali KULU, Sept 1 — A sum of Rs 5 crore has been earmarked for the development of infrastructure in Manali over a period of five years. This was told by M.P. Vez Barua, Secretary, Tourism, in an exclusive interview with this correspondent at Apple Valley Resorts, here. Mr Barua said “the development of tourism in Kulu-Manali has to be eco-friendly”. He urged the hotel owners in Manali to preserve ecology and beauty of the area conserve the rich cultural and architectural heritage of the area. He said he found Kulu and Manali to be among the most picturesque places with very good potential for adventure tourism. He said the ski resort at Solang would be developed to international standards notwithstanding the shortage of resources. Mr Barua said he had assured the Hoteliers Association at Manali that a railway reservation office would soon be opened in Kulu at the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Office. Mr Barua, while replying to a question regarding the murders of foreign tourists in Kulu valley, said the matter of beefing up of security would be taken up with the Home Ministry. He further stressed that the tourists should hire government approved travel agents or agencies for planning and arranging their treks and should not rely on the wayside guides. Mr Balram Sharma, Director, Tourism, Government of Himachal Pradesh, who was accompanying Mr Barua, said a sum of Rs 30 crore had been sanctioned by the 10th Finance Commission as a special purpose grant for the expansion of three airports and construction of four new helipads in the state. He said Rs 27.5 crore had been earmarked for the expansion of Shimla, Bhuntar and Gagal airports and Rs 2.5 crore for the construction of new helipads. In addition to that provision had been made in the budget of the state government for Rs 1.5 crore for this purpose. He said Rs 10.5 crore had already been sanctioned for Bhuntar airport Mr Sharma said the acquisition of land had become more expensive and an estimated sum of Rs 5.5 crore would be required for that. He said further
construction around the airstrip should be banned totally
so that the acquisition process was not hampered.
Haphazard construction has been made near the airstrip
and the landing and take-off points. Mr Barua, said
expansion of the airport would give a boost to tourism in
the area. |
Include plastic money in IT Act:
expert SHIMLA, Sept 1 — The incorporation of chip technology in credit cards and the inclusion of suitable provisions in the Information Technology Act are essential to prevent the increasing incidence of frauds involving plastic money in the country, says Mr Shubhashis Dey, a forensic expert and government examiner of questioned documents. The advent of plastic money and the information technology revolution has thrown up new challenges for the forensic scientists and their role is no longer confined to studying and analysing handwritings on questioned documents. They will now have to function as “fraud examiners” to help detect offences involving the cyberworld, computers and plastic money, besides the usual frauds involving printed or written documents, he told The Tribune here yesterday. As per authentic estimates plastic money to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore are in circulation in the country and of these over Rs 2,000 crore was involved in frauds. The main reason for such a high incidence of frauds was mainly the failure of the banks to include the necessary security features in the credit cards. He said the best way to prevent the misuse of credit cards or their duplication was to use the chip technology which enabled the storage of biometric features like fingerprint of hand geometry of the holder. However, to use these cards the bankers would have to install computer-based swipers for screening which would require some additional expenditure. He said the government must waive all duties and taxes to bring down the cost of swipers, the use of which would instil confidence of people in plastic money. He lamented that the recently enacted Information Technology Act did not cover plastic money. Some provisions should have been incorporated so that in case of their fraudulent use deterrent action could be taken against the offender. Similarly, legal provisions were required to bring those involved in the manufacture of fake cards to the book. The existing provisions in the IPC were not enough to deal with such offences directly. He said banks and other agencies should consult forensic experts to get the desired security features incorporated in not only credit cards, but also cheques, drafts, travellers cheques and other financial instruments to prevent frauds. The legal validation of digital signatures and the increasing use of e-commerce in business, a whole new area of computer-based crimes had emerged. His department was gearing up to meet the challenge and it was acquiring forensic tools like computer-crime analysis facility to take care of such offences. This state of the art facility would enable the forensic experts to make out whether information had been deleted or added, which part of the computer was involved and also whether the hacker gained access through Internet or some other mode. The forensic science laboratory in Calcutta had established the much needed DNA mapping facility and was much currently preparing a data bank so that the state of art technology could be effectively used for crime detection. In all genetic profile of 85,000 persons belonging to different parts of the country would be prepared. The country had been divided into seven parts for the purpose. Once the project was completed the DNA mapping would provide vital clues regarding the identity of the offender. The forensic laboratory
here has been organising training courses for vigilance
officers, banks, police officers, doctors and judges to
acquaint them with finer nuances of fraud documents. |
Protection of golden mahseer sought DHARAMSALA, Sept 1 — In order to prevent the extinction of the golden mahseer fish from the Giri river in Sirmour district, the Himachal Angling Association has demanded the declaration of the 5 km stretch between the Renuka bridge and the Jaton barrage as an “angling reserve”. In a statement here today, the secretary-general of the association, Mr K.B. Ralhan, said due to ecological erosion, illegal fishing and the construction of barriers for hydel-power projects free migration of the fish for breeding and feeding had been checked. He regretted that the state Fisheries Department had so far done nothing to develop technology for the production of mahseer seed under controlled conditions, thus failing to release it fingerlings in water stretches. He felt the need of proper vigilance to check poaching of the fish. He said the fish which
escaped from the Renuka lake into the river was caught
even before it got a chance to breed in the river. He
added that the Fisheries Department had failed to spread
awareness among the local pradhans and zila parishad
members for their help in the conservation programme. |
Govt urged to enforce
Architects Act SHIMLA, Sept 1 — The Himachal Pradesh Centre of the Indian Institute of Architects has urged the state government to enforce the Architects Act, 1972, for planned development and architecture. A meeting held under the chairmanship of Mr B.P. Malhotra here yesterday decided to suggest amendments in the municipal bylaws. It was also decided to
approach the Indian Institute of Architects for setting
up a full fledged Chapter in the state. |
Ayurvedic docs’ plea to CM NURPUR, Sept 1 — The Himachal Pradesh Ayurvedic Doctors Association has taken exception to batchwise appointments made by the Health Department of non-Himachalis having ayurvedic diplomas or degrees with less than five years’ duration. Mr Sanjay Guleria, state president of the association in a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, demanded scrutiny of such appointments. He alleged that in a few cases bogus domiciles were produced by non-Himachalis to get government jobs in the Health Department. He lamented that such appointments were an injustice to the unemployed ayurvedic graduates who had valid degrees with five years’ duration and recognition of the Central Council of Indian Medicine. The association urged
the Chief Minister to fill 120 vacant posts of ayurvedic
medical officer. |
2 killed as truck falls into khud PALAMPUR, Sept 1 — Two persons were killed and two seriously injured when a Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board’s truck fell into the Binwa khud, about 20 km from here, yesterday. According to reports, there were four occupants in the truck. Darshan Singh and Ashwani, driver and conductor, respectively, died on the spot. An official of the HPSEB told reporters that the truck which was carrying equipment was on its way to Binwa Power House, Utrala. When it reached Harehar village, the driver lost control of the vehicle. The injured have been
identified as Ajay Gautam, junior engineer, and Jagdish
Chand, foreman. They were admitted to Rajiv Gandhi State
Ayurvedic Hospital, Paprola. |
Baijnath land case proceedings
‘fair’ DHARAMSALA, Sept 1 — Reacting to charges levelled by the Kangra district Bar association, the settlement officer, Mr M.C. Rana, today clarified that the proceedings in the Baijnath land case were totally fair. Mr Rana said the charges levelled by the members of the Bar association that the intervention of the Revenue Minister must have influenced him to pass the partial order or extend favouritism was wrong as they had not gone into the details of the case. The lawyers have been on strike against the giving of judicial powers to revenue officers in the state. As part of their ongoing
strike lawyers blocked traffic here today for over an
hour near the local police station. |
DD to extend telecast time SHIMLA, Sept 1 — The local Doordarshan Kendra will extend its transmission time from the present half an hour to two hours from first week of October. This was informed by the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Mr Arun Jaitly, to the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal today, in response his request to increase the transmission time from the kendra. Mr Jaitly was likely to inaugurate the extended programme. The Chief Minister urged the Union Minister include a news bulletin in the extended programme and also commission the earth station, simultaneously so that the programmes could be viewed throughout the state. Mr Dhumal said that
Himachal Pradesh had a difficult hilly terrain and spread
over 55,673 sq km of area. Doordarshan programmes would
go a lone way in extending electronic media to far-flung
areas of the state. |
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