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| Friday, September 22, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Rival Cong factions elect bodies DHARAMSALA, Sept 21 Controversy and disputes marred the Congress organisational elections in Kangra district once again today, as parallel bodies for the Pragpur block were elected by the rival factions. Old Tibet road to the rescue SHIMLA, Sept 21 The Himachal Pradesh Governor, Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, who is also the Chairman of the State Red Cross, distributed relief to flood-affected families at Rampur in the district yesterday. Lions health cards
to be maintained
Cops booked in custody death case |
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MLA alleges scam in kisan passbooks SFI retains hold on HPU campus
Helmet only to ward off cops Noida firm to build hospital at
Tanda Cong leader denies rigging
in party poll Solan zoo closure imminent Tourism Week inaugurated DC announces list of reserved seats
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Rival Cong factions elect bodies DHARAMSALA, Sept 21 Controversy and disputes marred the Congress organisational elections in Kangra district once again today, as parallel bodies for the Pragpur block were elected by the rival factions. The former block Congress Committee president, Mr Dev Raj, held a separate meeting of party workers, where Mr Pradeep Kumar was elected the PCC delegate, while he was once again made the block president. At the same time the faction led by former MLA, Mr Yog Raj, held a separate meeting. They elected Mr Yog Raj the PCC delegate, while Mr Surinder Kumar, was made the Block Congress Committee, president. Congress MLA and state general secretary Mr G.S. Bali was elected as the PCC delegate from the Nagrota constituency while Mr Roshan Lal Bhaniyara was elected as the Block Congress Committee, president. The elections which took place in the presence of the ARO, Mr Jagdish Patrwal, were held unanimously. KULU FOC:
The organisational elections to the two Assembly constituencies were held yesterday at Banjar. The elections were held by the ARO, Mr Nirmal Kant Sharma, and all office bearers were elected unanimously. Raj Krishan Gaur, a former minister, and a close relative of Mr Sukh Ram was elected as the state delegate. Mr Dharam Vir Dhani, a former Congress Sewa Dal state chief, was elected as president of the Kulu Assembly Constituency. Two vice-presidents Mr Sali Ram and Mr Mahadev Bhargava, and Mr Som Dev was elected treasure. The executive members elected were: Bimla Mahant, Kamla Prarhthi, Rirki Devi, Banti Devi, Doli Devi, Sumer Nath Avasthi, Baldev Krishan Awasthi, Gurdas Nagi, Bala Ram, Hirdaye Ram, Om Prakash, Deepa Sharma, Sanjay Pandit, Shesh Ram, Roshan, Anurag Tanwar, Yog Raj and N.C. Sharma. KUMARHATTI
(FOC): The elections for the Kasauli Block Congress Committee and for the post of the
Pradesh Congress Committee were held peacefully at Dharampur, 4 km from here today. Mr Naresh Gupta was unanimously elected a PCC member. Those elected as members of the District Congress Committee are; Mr Ashok Sood, Kumarhatti, Mrs Shanti Thakur, Anhech, Mr Raghu Raj, Parwanoo, Mr Ramesh Sharma, Parwanoo, Mrs Shakuntala Panta, Parwanoo and Kanwar Rajeshwar Singh, Dharampur. Mr K.D. Sultanpuri, member of the Congress election authority of HP, said all the other five candidates for the PCC member post namely Mr Raghu Raj, Mr Shiv Dutt, Mr Jaghdish and Mr Ravinder voluntarily withdrew in favour of Mr Naresh Gupta. Around 85 delegates of party took part in the election. Mr Paras Ram Bhardwaj was elected president of the Block Congress Committee. The other elected for the committee are: Mr Partap Thakur and Mr Giri Raj general secretaries, Master Krishan Dass Verma and Mr Vishwa Nath vice-presidents, Mr Jai Paul Aggarwal and Mr Ravinder Gupta joint secretaries. |
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Old Tibet road to the rescue SHIMLA, Sept 21 The Himachal Government has prepared an action plan to stock foodgrains and other essential commodities for winter in the flood-ravaged areas of Kinnaur district via the Kunzum Pass and Bhabha Nagar. An official spokesperson said here yesterday that so far 32,555 quintals of essential commodities had been sent via the Kunzum Pass and stocked at Chhangi and Tabo to be transported to the Pooh, Moorang and Peo areas of Kinnaur via a ropeway across the Malling Nullah. Besides, 7088 quintals of essential commodities were being carried on mules from Bhabha Nagar to Tapri and Sangla. The government has initiated restoration of roads on a war-footing and cleared the road up to Wangtoo. In addition 37 jhullas (rope bridges) and 15 spans were constructed at various places for carriage of goods to affected areas. The state government also planned an alternative road to meet emergency requirements till the time the national highway was fully restored by constructing the missing gaps on the old Hindustan Tibet Road between Tapri and Akpa. A portion of road from village Tthopan to village Pangi, a distance of about 9 km, has been made jeepable. The stretch between Roghi and Urni village a distance of about 18 km in expected to be ready for plying light vehicles by September 25. This linkage will ensure a bypass around the national highway from Akpa to Tapri and once Tapri is linked to Wangtoo, there will be complete connectivity in Kinnaur. Similarly, the portion of road from Choling to Miroo village has also been restored. This will facilitate movement of vehicles from Karchham bridge point to Chagaon, facilitating transportation of apples from Sangla valley. Referring to reconstruction work on the national highway, the official spokesman said that the Border Roads Organisation was doing its best to restore the Wangtoo-Khab stretch of the Tibet national highway and it is likely that Akpa and Malling will be linked within a week. The government has decided to instal a 4 span bridge at Malling of which two are already operational and the remaining two will start functioning within two days. This will help in the transhipment of huge quantities of essential commodities and apple boxes. The transhipment of material for the Khab bridge has also started through the span at Malling and construction will begin within one week. The state government has also directed the local administration of Lahaul and Spiti to take efforts to keep Kunzam road open until October 31. Essential commodities in the flood affected areas of Kinnaur are being supplied at fixed rates and the Deputy Commissioner, Kinnaur has been directed to strictly implement the provisions of the Hoarding and Profiteering Prevention Order, 1977 to keep a check on open market prices.
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HP flood victims get relief SHIMLA, Sept 21 The Himachal Pradesh Governor, Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, who is also the Chairman of the State Red Cross, distributed relief to flood-affected families at Rampur in the district yesterday. He gave food items and pressure cookers worth Rs 3 lakh to 200 affected families of Brow and Jagatkhana in Kulu district. Each family was given one pressure cooker, 35 kg of rice, wheat flour, pulses, oil, salt, sugar, tea and other items. The Governor said it was the duty of every person to help mitigate the miseries of others. He expressed sympathies with the affected families and added that the sufferings could not be removed, but could be shared. He expressed hope that the affected families would come out of the turmoil and rebuild their lives. The Additional District Magistrate, Shimla, while welcoming the Governor, apprised him of the steps being taken for providing relief to the flood-affected families. He informed that the administration had provided a relief of Rs 1.50 crore to the flood-affected families. |
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Lions
health cards to be maintained SHIMLA, Sept 21 Waking up to the dangers of
excessive inbreeding in the wake of the recent death of nearly 12
tigers in various zoos in the country, the state wildlife authorities
have decided to maintain health cards of captive lions to keep a
proper record of their parentage and ensure a strict monitoring of
their health. Veterinary doctors will examine the 24 lions kept at Renuka Safari and Gopalpur Nature Park after every 10 days and record their health status on separate cards. The details of their parentage, progeny and other relevant information will also be recorded in the cards. In case of a health problem, the complete record of the treatment given to the animal will be maintained. This is a major step towards checking inbreeding which has become a serious problem for the wildlife authorities. Almost all lions in captivity are from the same genetic stock as a result of which there has been large-scale mortality, particularly among cubs. The males and females have already been separated, pending sterilisation to stop unnecessary breeding. The department does not have experts to carry out sterilisation and has sought the help of veterinary doctors from Chhat Bir Zoo and Veterinary College, Palampur. Another problem is that the zoos do not have enough space for keeping such a large number of lions. At least two hectares is required for each animal whereas in Renuka there are 177 lions in seven hectares and the position is worse in Gopalapur. The department plans to bring down the number of animals in Renuka to about 10 in one year by transferring some to zoos where they are required. At present there are 10 females and seven males. Some females will be exchanged for males to overcome the problem of inbreeding. The health card scheme will be extended to cover other important animal species, particularly those in which the mortality rate is higher than normal. However, the biggest hurdle in providing proper healthcare to animals is the lack of experts. Ordinary staff cannot carry out the specialised jobs which require proper training. |
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Cops booked in custody death case MANDI, Sept 21 On the recommendation of the District Magistrate, Mr Prabodh Saxena, a case of murder and conspiracy under Sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal code has been registered against police officials of Sarkaghat for the alleged custody death of Rakesh Kumar, an accused in a rape case. Rakesh was arrested on September 4 last year after a case under Section 276 IPC was registered. He was remanded to police custody for five days and was sent to judicial custody on September 9, 1999. He was reportedly brought dead to the regional hospital on September 19, 1999. Mrs Saxena said the youths father had lodged a complaint with him, alleging torture by the police and negligence by the doctors who attended on him. Consequently he ordered a magisterial enquiry. On the basis of the enquiry and the medical report submitted by Dr D.K. Ghosh, Professor and Head of Department of Forensic Medicine Indira Gandhi Medical College Shimla I had requested the Director General of Police Himachal Pradesh to get the entire matter investigated by the state CID as the district police was involved in the case, he said. Dr Jiwanand Chauhan MD Forensic Zonal Hospital Mandi, who had conducted the post mortem, found a swelling in the right thigh and foamy blood. It was surmised that his injuries could be due to a fall or being beaten up one to three weeks prior to his death. |
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MLA alleges scam in kisan passbooks DHARAMSALA, Sept 21 Challenging the legal validity of kisan passbooks, former Irrigation Minister and MLA from Guler Chander Kumar alleged that the distribution of these books was a big scam, involving crores of rupees. Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, he said the passbooks would not have any legal value as was being claimed by the government. While the cost of the passbooks is merely Rs 5 the people are being charged Rs 50 to Rs 200, he alleged. Mr Chander Kumar also criticised the government for making false promises to the Pong Dam oustees in view of the coming panchayat elections in the state. He said the oustees were being taken to Rajasthan in buses from Jammu and being charged Rs 1,200 to show them the land. |
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SFI retains hold on
HPU campus SHIMLA, Sep 21 The Student Federation of India retained its hold on the Himachal Pradesh University campus by making a clean sweep of all the four posts of the Students Central Association election for which were held here today amid tight security. Mr Sandeep Chaudhary, of the SFI, was elected president defeating his nearest ABVP rival, Vikram Banshtu by 99 votes. Mr Kuldeep Chamyal (SFI) pipped Narinder Attri (ABVP) by a narrow margin of four votes for the post of vice-president. Mr Yogesh Ranta (SFI) was elected general secretary, defeating Praveen Kumar (ABVP) by 94 votes. Mr Anant Kumar (SFI) was elected joint secretary. He edged out Priyanka Bhardwaj (ABVP) by 58 votes. The results have come as a shot in the arm of the federation which lost much ground to the ABVP in the elections to the S.C.A.s of colleges. The NSUI has been all but completely wiped out from the campus. While the splinter body, the Himachal Students Union, openly supported the
SFI, the remaining vote bank of the NSUI was also shifted to the federation. Out of the total 35 departmental representatives 20 were of the
SFI, 14 of the ABVP and one independent. |
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Helmet only to ward off cops PARWANOO, Sept 21 Two-wheeler drivers using the Shimla-Kalka Highway, rarely wear helmets. Some do carry the helmets but put these on only when they approach a police barrier. A random check on the highway revealed that of the 60 two-wheeler drivers seen between Surajpur and Pinjore, only 20 were wearing helmets. On the stretch between Pinjore and Kalka, only 10 of the 25 two-wheeler drivers were seen with helmets. Interestingly, most of the scooterists between Parwanoo and Kalka were seen with their helmets slung on their shoulders or on the handle-bars of the scooters, only to be worn near the police barrier to avoid a challan. Mr Sanjeev Lakhanpal, Deputy Superintendent of Police, says that not wearing a helmet is a violation of traffic rules, and the police has no option except to challan the offender. He, however, agrees that tackling this problem as a legal issue will not solve it. It is necessary to create awareness among the two-wheeler users. He says the local police, in the past three months had challaned 300 two-wheeler riders, and 260 of them were not wearing helmets. Mr Sanjay Sharma, Assistant Commissioner, Parwanoo, feels that parents of youngsters should stop their wards from driving without helmets. The problem arises when you follow the rules but see the violators go scot-free. Mr Sanjay Dhar, an engineer in a factory at Parwanoo, says that the law in this regard should be made stringent and no two-wheeler should be allowed on the road unless the driver is wearing a helmet. Doctors at the local ESI hospital feel that if the law with regard to helmets is enforced strongly, it will reduce the pressure on the hospitals, since this will reduce the number of serious accidents. Miss Suman Verma who commuters between Kalka and Parwanoo on her two-wheeler says that wearing a helmet has become necessary because of the manifold increase in the traffic on the highway. Dr Jaswal a medical practitioner, feels that challan or any other action under the law is not the answer. Awareness should be created through cinema slides, posters, debates and similar campaigns at the school level. He said most of the fatal road accidents involved youngsters. Mr Jagtar Singh, says that he is a Sikh and his advice to all women is to wear helmets for their safety. Anybody wearing a turban, whether a man or a woman, should be exempted from wearing a helmet. 
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Noida firm to build
hospital at
Tanda SHIMLA, Sept 21 The Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to entrust the construction of the hospital complex of Tanda Medical College to the Hospital Service Consultancy Corporation
(HSCC), Noida, a Government of India undertaking. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the corporation was signed here yesterday in the presence of the State Health Minister, Mr J.P.
Nadda. Mr S. S. Parmar, Financial Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Health), signed the MoU on behalf of the state government, while Mr S.C.
Zutshi, Chief General Manager, signed it on behalf of the corporation. The government plans to construct an ultra-modern hospital in the state, besides modernising the existing zonal hospital under the guidance of the corporation. The Tanda hospital, to be designed and constructed by the corporation, is estimated to cost Rs 60 crore. It is expected to be completed in two years. The zonal hospitals will also be designed by the
HSCC, which has executed hospital projects worth Rs 160 crore in the country. |
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Cong leader denies rigging
in party poll PALAMPUR, Sept 21 Mr C. Hanumantha Rao, MP and Chief Returning Officer for the Congress organisational election in the state, today denied media reports alleging large scale rigging and irregularities in the ongoing poll in the state. Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Rao said the election was being conducted fairly and majority of Congressmen were satisfied with the process. Mr Rao said only the Virbhadra Singh faction of the party had been raising a hue and cry as most of the supporters of the former Chief Minister had failed to get elected. He claimed that it was for the first time that the party poll was conducted in a proper manner in the state. He said the leaders who had taken the election issues to the court of law would be dealt with strictly. He said the AICC poll convener, Mr Ram Niwas Mirdha, had already issued a warning to such leaders. |
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Solan zoo closure imminent SHIMLA, Sept 21 Set up exactly 16 years ago, the mini zoo at Solan faces closure. An inquiry, ordered by the government, has confirmed that it had been functioning without the mandatory approval of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA). The inquiry revealed that the zoo managed by the local municipal committee was not being managed on scientific lines and it did not fulfil the norms set by the CZA. A senior officer of the Forest Department said notice was being issued to the municipal committee and closure of the zoo would be ordered after receiving the reply. The animals, which included 10 barking deers, two cheetals, eight rabbits, 40 pegions and one wild cat, would be shifted to other zoos in the state. As per the report the municipal committee did not make any efforts to seek the approval of the CZA, which was set up in 1992 to regulate the functioning of zoos of the country. The CZA taking cognizance of the news reports wrote a letter to the committee to either fulfil the minimum standards for keeping animals in captivity and secure approval or close it down. However, the committee did not take any action in the matter and the zoo continued to function all these years. The report has pointed out a number of shortcomings the size enclosures small; no feed chart; no veterinary doctor; no proper record of number of animals acquired and dead and trained attendants for animals. The inquiry had been ordered after the death of a deer in the zoo a fortnight ago. In 1995 two male deer died. |
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Tourism Week inaugurated SHIMLA, Sept 21 Tourism Week was inaugurated here today by the Financial Commissioner (Tourism), Mr Ajay Prasad, with a call for participatory efforts by all citizens to promote Himachal Pradesh as an important destination. Those related with the travel and hotel industry particiapted in the seminar which was held here this morning to inaugurate the weeklong fixtures. Mr Ajay Prasad stressed the need for special emphasis on heritage tourism which had ample scope here with many buildings and places connected with the freedom movement. The heritage walk recently introduced by the Tourism Department was an excellent idea. He said the effort of hoteliers and travel agents should be to ensure that not a single tourist went disappointed from here. The government had taken several steps to regulate traffic on certain roads for the convenience of pedesterians here. The ban on use of polythens bags had also helped the tourist destinations look better. |
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DC announces list
of reserved seats DHARAMSALA, Sept 21 Of the total 731 panchayats in Kangra district 189 have been reserved for women in the coming panchayat elections in the state. Out of the 14 Panchayat Samitis in Kangra district Fatehpur, Sulah, Kangra and Nagrota Bagwan, have been reserved for women, Rait, and Pragpur have been reserved for the Scheduled Caste, while Indora will have a woman from the Scheduled Caste, as its President. The Panchayat Samitis, which have been left unreserved include Dehra, Baijnath, Nagrota Suriyan, Nurpur, Bhawarna and Panchrukhi. |
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