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| Wednesday, December 13, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Security beefed up on HP-J&K
border Virbhadra pooh-phoos govt
claims Smartcards for HP
drivers Student leader alleges police
brutality 2 held for fraudulent
purchase of trucks Roop Singh ridicules
allegation ‘Chinars’ grown in
Shimla |
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Taxpayers honoured Panchayat poll
in HP today Panchayat poll candidate dies
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Security beefed up on HP-J&K
border CHAMBA, Dec 12 — The Superintendent of Police, here Mr Sanjay Kundu, today ruled out the possibility of any movement of ultras on the border of the district in the wake of recent killings and terrorist activities in the adjoining Kishtwar and Doda areas of Jammu and Kashmir. The SP also denied reports of terrorists sneaking into Chamba region from across the border of Jammu and Kashmir adding that preventive measures had already been taken up and the security forces deployed on the borders of the district were on their toes. The SP asserted that long-race patrolling and tactic exercises had been intensified and round-the-clock surveillance was being kept on strangers and suspects on the Himachal Pradesh border. After his recent visit to Pangi tribal valley, the SP said strict vigil needed to be stepped up throughout the years at the checkpoints set up on high altitude passes of the valley, adjacent to Doda district. The SP said the security forces including the Second and Third Battalion of the Himachal Armed Police and 15th Battalion of the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) were keeping strict watch on the border areas stretching for about 215 km being guarded by 36 checkpoints on the borderline in the district. The SP said out of the 27 checkpoints being looked after by the Second and Third Battalion of the Himachal Armed Police, seven were set up in Pangi valley ranging at an altitude of above 3,500 metres. The SP said Section-144 of the Cr PC continued to be imposed in the border district of Chamba and entry of strangers was being allowed only after proper verification to avoid any infiltration of militants into the state. The SP further pointed out that a significant checkpoint was operating at Galai in Pangi valley at an altitude of about 4,000 metres for the protection of PWD labourers who were at work to construct a road to the valley. He said 159 village Defence Committees (VDC) comprising local residents were playing a pivotal role in infusing sentiments of fraternity and communal harmony among people in border villages. Besides, 446 Special Police Officers (SPOs) recruited from among the local people were also assisting the security forces in carrying out the combing operations in alpine ranges. |
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Virbhadra pooh-phoos govt
claims SHIMLA, Dec 12 — Mr Virbhadra Singh, Leader of the Opposition in the HP Assembly, has termed the 1,000 days of the Dhumal government as an “unmitigated disaster” for the state. “The tall claims made by the government regarding its achievements do not match the ground reality. The hard fact is that development has come to a grinding halt and the fiscal health of the state has deteriorated to such an extent that it is finding difficult to even meet the salary bills of employees. The state has been burdened with an unprecedented debt due to reckless borrowing to meet the growing unproductive expenditure,” he said in a statement here today. This period also witnessed concerted efforts by the government to saffronise not only educational institutions, but also the state services. A conscious effort was being made to divide the people in the state on the basis of caste, creed and region, thereby adversely effecting the unity and integrity of the state. “The common people are groaning under the burden of ever increasing prices of essential commodities. The electricity tariff has been increased by three times in the past two years and was for the first time winter surcharge has been imposed on domestic consumers to add to the woes of the common man,” Mr Virbhadra Singh said. The law and order situation had worsened in the state and cases of rape and murder involving Dalits, minorities, SCs and STs and other weaker sections had become common. The police had failed to take any action against the culprits due to political interference in most cases, he alleged. “Instances of physical assault and intimidation of journalists by unruly elements reflect the complete failure of the government to protect the independence of the press. The government has also failed to tackle the problem of unemployment by creating new jobs in the private sector as the process of industrialisation has considerably slowed down with a large number of units becoming sick due to faulty policies.” The former Chief Minister alleged corruption and nepotism was widespread and there was no transparency in the matter of public appointments. Corruption and nepotism prevailed in institutions like the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission, the state Subordinate Services Selection Board and other departments, board and corporations. He said some ministers and MLAs of the BJP had themselves levelled the charges of corruption, nepotism and lack of transparency in the matter of awarding contracts and public appointments against the government, thereby substantiating the charges levelled against the government in the Congress charge sheet presented to the governor in August last. He said the Chief Minister had done nothing in specific cases of corruption, “obviously to save himself and his friends and colleagues”. The functioning of cooperative and Panchayati Raj and local self-government bodies had been severely jeopardised due to political interference in their functioning, he alleged. |
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Smartcards for HP
drivers SHIMLA, Dec 12 — Laminated driving licences and registration certificates of vehicles will be soon replaced by smart optical cards in Himachal Pradesh. The introduction of smartcards is part of the government’s e-governance plan. The smartcard selected by the state Transport Department for the registration certificate will have an optical memory base of 1.5 mb, enough to store 1100 pages of data. It will have provision for storage of photograph, signature and biometric security feature to prevent misuse. Since the data once entered cannot be deleted or changed the introduction of the electronic card will make theft of vehicles or misuse of registration certificate impossible. The smart driving licence will have an optical memory base of 1 kb. The inspection staff and police will be given pocket-sized handsets to read the card. All information regarding the vehicle, its owner and the details of taxes and other charges paid will be available at the touch of a button. Similarly, details like validity of licence, biodata of the licence holder and his health status will be recorded in the smart driving licence. The functioning of the department will be fully computerised and all regional transport offices will be made online with the directorate. The switchover to e-governance will be effected by a private company on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis. The government will not spend anything but the company will invest about Rs 25 crore in the project. Besides, providing hardware and software it will also provide training to the staff. While a smart driving licence will cost Rs 80 the electronic registration certificate will be made available to the vehicle owner for Rs 400. The state has 2.1 lakh registered vehicles in all. In order to ensure minimum returns to the company, the department plans to make smart driving licence and electronic vehicle registration certificates mandatory for commercial vehicles. The rule will be simplified and amended suitably to end discretion which leaves scope for corruption. Minimum compounding fee will be prescribed for all offences. Application forms and proformas will be simplified and maximum period for grant of driving licence and route permits and their renewals will be fixed. A new driving licence will be issued within a week and renewal will be done in three days. For the convenience of people provision will be made for payment of various taxes, fees and other charges through banks. The department will also prepare a data base of vehicles. The simplified rules, instructions and summary of the Motor Vehicles Act and other relevant laws will be published in the form of a booklet to educate the people. All these steps will go a long way in bringing transparency and checking corruption, says Mr Sushil Negi, Director of Transport.
SOLAN, Dec 12 — The convener of the Himachal Students Union (HIMSU), Sandeep Kumar, in a press conference held here today alleged that he was brutally beaten up by the police at the Sadar police station here during his two-day detention last Saturday. He was arrested following lodging of an FIR by the Principal of the local Government Postgraduate College, Mr S.K. Anand, on November 9. The latter had alleged that Sandeep Kumar and four others had manhandled him and had also threatened to eliminate him after forcing their way into his office on that day. The college principal had earlier persuaded a section of HIMSU members, who had been conducting a chain hunger strike on the college campus to press for their certain demands, to end their agitation after extending some assurances. Resenting the principal’s tactic of reaching the agreement with a section of junior-level HIMSU members, Sandeep Kumar and four other senior members of the HIMSU went to the principal’s office to talk about the matter. They also insisted that they had done so at the invitation from the principal but the latter denied it and got an FIR registered against them soon after the visit. Sandeep Kumar alleged that during his 48-hours custody he was brutally beaten up and was kicked around by policemen at the Saddar police station. He showed his bruises to the mediapersons. He claimed that despite his repeated demands the police neither got him medically examined at the time of his arrest nor at the time of his release on bail. He said he wanted to file an FIR against the SHO, Saddar police station, but it was not being registered. He said he proposed to move the Human Rights Commission soon. When contacted, the Superintendent of Police, Mr Rakesh Aggarwal, said if there was any substance in Sandeep Kumar’s allegations, he would have aired his grievance at the time police produced him before the Magistrate who remanded him to the police custody for one day. In case, the alleged torture had taken place while in the police custody, he could have brought that to the notice of the Magistrate at the time of his release on the bail, the SP added. |
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2 held for fraudulent purchase of trucks SHIMLA, Dec 12 (UNI) — The Solan police has achieved a breakthrough in solving a case of fraudulent purchase of five trucks from a dealer at Chamraghat with the arrest of two of the three main persons allegedly involved in it. Solan district police chief Rakesh Aggarwal said the trucks, worth about Rs 30,00,000, had been recovered from different places of Lehar Ganga, near Patiala and Ghanauli in Punjab, Narwana in Haryana and Zirakpur, near Chandigarh. The SP said during investigation of the case it was found that none of the purchasers in whose names the vehicles were shown to have been purchased had actually purchased these vehicles and neither any of the guarantors shown in the purchase deed had stood as guarantors. He said during investigation it was found that the kingpin of this fradulent deal was the proprietor of a finance company who along with another person hatched a conspiracy to take delivery of vehicles by submitting fraudulent documents to the dealer. He was to transfer these vehicles to the third person at Zirakpur along with a sale affidavit in which they were to be shown as scrap, the SP added. The SP said investigation regarding the registration of these vehicles subsequent to their fradulent delivery was in progress and there was likelihood of involvement of some motor vehicle inspectors in the case. Mr Aggarwal said the CIA staff, led by Inspector Jagan Nath Nirala who put in tremendous effort in solving this case within a year of its registration, were being recommended for a suitable reward. |
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Roop Singh ridicules
allegation SHIMLA, Dec 12 — Mr Roop Singh, Forest Minister, has ridiculed the statement by Mr Kaul Singh, a former minister, alleging discrimination against Mandi district in the matter of development. In a statement issued here today, he said works completed during the past more than two years spoke volumes of the efforts of the state government to accelerate the pace of development in the district. He said Mr Kaul Singh had been levelling “baseless” charges to gain political mileage. Detailing the achievements, the Forest Minister said the Degree College buildings at Mandi, Jogindernagar and Karsog had been completed at a cost of over Rs 8 crore. Work on the administrative block of the revenue building for the Revenue Training Institute, Jogindernagar, had been completed at a cost of Rs 1.64 crore. The Pharmacist Training Institute block at Jogindernagar had been completed at a cost of Rs 19.91 lakh and a motorable bridge on Chowki Khad on the Rissa Mondop road, the Jhangi Khad bridge on the Mandi-Kotli-Dharmpur-Sandhol road, the Bhamba nullah bridge over the Baijnath-Ladbharol-Kandapattan road and the Suketi Khad bridge at Chakkar also constructed. He said the Degree College building at Bassa
(Gohar), the Zonal Hospital at Mandi, the Civil Hospital at Sundernagar and the Community Health Centre at Kotli were under construction. |
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‘Chinars’ grown in
Shimla SHIMLA: Foresters have successfully grown the majestic “chinar” trees in Shimla which were earlier mainly confined to the Kashmir valley. The four “chinar” saplings planted around the statue of Dr Y.S. Parmar at the Ridge a few years ago have now grown into trees. Two of these stately trees have also been grown at Raj Bhavan here. Of the four chinars at the Ridge, only two have grown tall while the other two are dwarfs. This is so because of the different temperature and environment here as compared to Kashmir, experts say. Chinar saplings were planted here on an experimental basis as these are not natural to this area, says the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr S.K. Pande. He was optimistic that the species would grow out of its natural environs in case it was cultured. He was satisfied with the growth of the saplings here. The chinars here have shed their leaves these days as in Kashmir during the winter. The chinar is friendly to the poor who use its leaves for heating “kangris” to keep warm in Kashmir’s severe cold, but the practice has not yet been adopted here as the species is new and the number of trees in the town hardly half a dozen. Chinar belongs to the platanus family and its species range extends from Asia Minor to Iran. It is widely planted as a large ornamental tree beyond its range. It is capable of reaching a height of more than 50 metres in the wild. It is known as chinar from Iran to Kashmir. According to experts, in autumn the leaves of chinar change their colour to pale purple. They say that there are a few trees in certain areas of London resembling this species. Its growth is slow in the United Kingdom. |
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Taxpayers honoured HAMIRPUR, Dec 12 — The three highest taxpayers of Hamirpur region, honoured at a function organised here today by the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Mr Boota Singh, were Dr Vinod Sharma of Hamirpur, Mr Manoj Jain of Nadaun and Mr Romesh Kumar Suri, vice-president of the ACC, Barmana. District officers, traders, and members of the press and other taxpayers also attended the function. Speaking on occasion, Mr Boota Singh said the number of income tax assesses and the quantum of income tax was rising steadily due to liberal tax policies of the Central Government. He said the annual revenue of the Himachal Pradesh office of the Income Tax would touch Rs 200 crore by the end of March 31, 2001. He said the revenue of the income tax as well as assesses at the national level have increased by five times.
The Income Tax Commissioner said the simplification of tax returns aimed to help genuine taxpayeers and save them from the onslaught of the complications of the department. SHIMLA, Dec 12 — All arrangements have been made for the first phase of panchayat elections in Himachal Pradesh to be held tomorrow. About 1,000 panchayats will go to the polls in the first phase — except those falling in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district and the Pangi area of the Chamba district. Nearly 13.25 lakh voters will exercise their franchise to elect president, vice-president and members of gram panchayat, panchayat samiti and zila parishad through direct vote. There are 3,032 panchayats, 75 panchayat samitis and 12 zila parishads in the state but elections in the Lahaul and Spiti district and four panchayats of Kullu which have not completed their term are not being held, state Election Commissioner K.C. Sharma said. The polling for the second and the third phase would be held on December 15 and 17 and counting of votes would take place immediately after the poll, he said. |
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Panchayat poll candidate dies KANGRA, Dec 12 — A candidate for the post of village pradhan Beduhi village in Nurpur subdivision of this district died in a road accident last evening, the police said here today. The deceased has been identified as Jagdesh Singh, resident of Beduhi village. The accident took place when the tractor in which he was travelling overturned. Due to the countermanding of polls in Beduhi Panchayat, the Deputy Commissioner’s Office had not received any information from SDM, Nurpur, in this regard even after 24 hours of the death of the candidate.
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Man held for rape, murder of minor MANDI, Dec 12 — The police arrested Lekh Ram for the alleged rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl of Galma village.
Mr V.K. Dhavan, ASP said during investigation the accused had admitted to committing the crime. He said the mother of the victim, a 30-year-old widow, was having an illicit relationship with the accused. On the fateful night she had gone to her parents while Lekh Ram allegedly raped the girl. The girl was believed to have died due to suffocation as the accused clogged her mouth with cloth so that her shrieks should not be heard outside the house.
The police has recovered blood-stained clothes of the victim and the accused.
SHIMLA, Dec 12 — The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
(Nabard) has approved the release a sum of Rs 1.60 crore for improvement of the
Una-Bhota road. Stating this here yesterday, Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, said earlier Nabard had sanctioned Rs 80 lakh for the purpose, but the state government had got the amount doubled.
The Chief Minister directed the authorities to expedite work on the road. |
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MANALI, Dec 12 (UNI) — Two houses were reduced to ashes when a fire broke out at Ruar village, 8 km from here, last evening.
The loss of property in the blaze was estimated at around Rs16 lakh. Some jewellery and other valuable were also burnt in the fire.
Two fire tenders were rushed from here. Army fire tenders fought the flames and prevented the fire from spreading to nearby houses. |
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Power workers observe strike HAMIRPUR, Dec 12 — Hundreds of employees of the power board, in various parts of the district today observed pen-down and tool-down strike. As a result, power supply was affected in various parts of the district today.
The employees were protesting against the division of board into various corporations and anti-employees’ stance of the state government. |
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