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| Sunday, January 7, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Dalai Lama releases report Malpractices in HRTC buses Rain brightens rabi prospects Community policing in Hamirpur Singhal: nothing can stop temple plan |
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| NHPC told to pay relief BJP accused of horse-trading Separate licences for car, scooter must Political tug of war over trust nominees Three arrested for killing Nepali Regulatory panel chief Gupta sworn in Road link plan may not benefit HP Canvassing for ZP chief’s post begins HVP leaders resent merger with LJP Villagers unaware of Consumer Act: CM Lahaul-Spiti awaits flights HPNVP merged into Housing Board
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| Dalai Lama releases report DHARAMSALA, Jan 6 — The latest annual report by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), titled “Enforcing loyalty”, was released by the Tibetan spiritual and temporal leader, the Dalai Lama, at his palace. It is a comprehensive documentation of the deteriorating human rights situation throughout Tibet during the year 2000. “One of the core objectives of the Chinese campaign has been to combat the deep devotion of the Tibetan people to the Dalai Lama,” said Ms Youdon Aukatsang while talking to the media. She said methods of control adopted included illegal raids on houses in a bid to enforce the loyalty of government employees through punitive testing and threats to careers. “Freeze in promotion and transfer without hesitation are some of the punishments for those who fail to comply with the government directive of withdrawing their children from schools being run by the exiled government in India”, revealed Ms Aukatsang. She said during 2000 a total of 37 children were forced to withdraw from schools run by Tibetan Government in India and return to Tibet with no guarantee of continuing education or a job. She informed that during the past year a total of 2,660 Tibetans visited India with most of them returning back equipped with skills and education to serve the community back home. Ms Aukatsang said that those who went back from India were being kept under strict surveillance as they were being considered a major threat to state security. Some of them had even been fired from their jobs while others were imprisoned. She informed that work teams were sent even to the most remote monasteries and nunneries to carry out the intensified “patriotic re-education” campaign. The authorities went as far as ransacking private homes of apolitical Tibetans during surprise checks for altars, Buddhist scriptures and pictures of the Dalai Lama, she added. The TCHRD has documented 862 monastic expulsions, including those of 147 nuns, as a direct result of the “patriotic re-education” campaign. Apart from this, 73 per cent of the known political prisoners, figuring 451, is constituted by nuns and monks. The TCHRD informed that last year saw increasing paranoia on the part of the authorities with regard to the “Communist loyalists,” party cadres and officials at all levels of the Tibetan autonomous region government. This group of people was especially subjected to multiple and ongoing screening to test their loyalty to the Communist Party. The TCHRD report terms China as one of the nations in the world which institutionalises human rights abuse and sustains an unacceptable degree of surveillance over its people. Heightened restrictions were imposed on religious and political activities. Women were sterilised forcibly. Heavy taxation policy was imposed on the Tibetans. Plus, China had total disregard of the basic civil freedom as that of speech and assembly. The Director of the TCHRD, Mr Lobsang Nyandak, said bilateral dialogue had constantly been used by China as a mode to evade international scrutiny and liability. “We urge the United Nations member states to urgently review their current policies to improve the human rights situation in China,” he stated.
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| Malpractices in HRTC buses KASAULI: The working of HRTC and private buses plying on the state highway routes needs to be reviewed in the light of rising mishaps. The Goswami Committee was set up to remove anomalies and suggest measures for improvement. While the HRTC has been able to keep its record more or less clean as far accidents are concerned, certain defects have crept which need rectification. It has been observed that passengers travelling shorter distances are denied tickets even though conductors take payment. At times conductors, in connivance with the passengers, charge a lower fare and issue no tickets, thus pocketing the entire amount. A number of routes yielding no profit to the HRTC were shut down for obvious reasons. Though HRTC officials claim that flying squads conduct surprise raids to check malpractices, they also agree that information regarding raids gets conveyed to them and they become cautious. Another alarming problem is the fact that even if conductors not distributing tickets are caught red-handed by flying squads the matter gets hushed up. The HRTC officials, when asked about this malpractice, blamed the passengers who side with conductors and hinder punitive action. There is a neck and neck competition between private and HRTC buses. Though all routes sanctioned by the regional transport authorities are different, yet drivers of buses ignore them. A timetable displayed at bus stands makes little sense when this practice takes place. The Goswami Committee laid down certain steps to check recurring problems in the HRTC. It recommended induction of a driver after three months’ training instead of one month earlier. Electronic equipment to check alcohol levels are provided to curb drunken driving. If found guilty an entry into his ACR is made. Strict disciplinary action is envisaged if drunken driving is repeated. Special refresher training is imparted to drivers who cause frequent accidents followed by suspension and an inquiry. Distractions such as cassette players and big rear mirrors are prohibited and punitive action taken. Buses completing a mileage of seven lakh km or having completed 12 years are discontinued, according to the committee findings. The working of private buses is checked by the Regional Transport Authority. The officials, when contacted, stated that drivers with at least three years’ experience in driving heavy vehicles are given the licence to drive private buses. Problems like over-speeding, travelling on the roof and drunken driving are checked by challaning, though the department lacks speedometers. Loud music in private buses is thought to be a major distraction for drivers. It is ironical that Roadways buses are disallowed use of music systems but mini buses plying on the same routes are known for their blaring music. Talking to bus commuters brought out the fact that people enjoyed the music and that is why they preferred to travel in private buses. Dr Rakesh Verma, ENT specialist at Zonal Hospital, Solan, explained that constant exposure to high-pitched music which exceeded 40 decibels could lead to degeneration in hearing, besides diverting attention during driving. Solan’s Additional SP, Mr Sunder Lal, stated that the police department planned to put up boards at accident-prone curves indicating the figures of accidents, persons killed and injured, to instill fear in motorists. Drivers found drunk are immediately arrested and offenders defying rules are punished. All rules need to be applied in their letter and spirit to ensure road safety. |
| Rain brightens rabi prospects SHIMLA, Jan 6 — Widespread snow and rain in the region has brightened the rabi prospects in the hill state. The rain, which broke the four-month dry spell, has come in the nick of time to save the farmers from ruin. With only 20 per cent of the total cultivated area under irrigation, the farmers are entirely dependent on rain for crops. The normal sowing starts at the end of October in high hills and extends up to December. This year, there was only 5 per cent germination in the 70 per cent areas where sowing had taken place, while in the remaining areas, the farmers have been waiting for rain. However, the belated rain and snow early this week has improved the situation and if climatic conditions remain favourable over the next three months, the state can still have a good crop. According to Dr R.P. Awasthy, Vice-Chancellor of the Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, those who have not sown the wheat can use late varieties which are available in plenty. He said, of late, the weather pattern had changed considerably and prolonged dry spells after the monsoon had become a regular feature. Under ideal conditions, the late sowing varieties have a potential to yield 35 quintals per hectare. However, with farmers totally dependent on rain and not using recommended inputs, the actual yield is only 17 quintals per hectare. The state has fixed a production a target of 6.70 lakh tonnes for wheat which could be achieved if the weather god continues to smile on the farmers. The moderate snow in mid and high hills has provided much relief to the apple growers. However, they can hope for a good harvest only if there are four to five more snowfalls over the next two months. Snow, which is essential for minimum chilling requirements, is considered “white manure” for the orchards. On an average, 1500 to 2000 chilling hours (with temperature below 7°C) are required for various varieties of apple. Although the minimum temperature plummets below the freezing point in the mid and upper hill areas, in the absence of snow, the maximum temperature goes up. The wide variation in the minimum and maximum temperatures is not good for plants. Besides providing the requisite chilling, snow also helps maintain the much-needed moisture in the soil. The growers were more concerned about snow as they reaped a bumper harvest last season. A bumper crop is usually followed by a poor crop. In case the weather conditions turn unfavourable, the crop fails completely, as happened during the 1999 season. A few good spells of snow over the next two months can ensure a normal crop in the ensuing season. |
| Community policing in Hamirpur HAMIRPUR, Jan 6 — Community policing would be launched in all police stations of Himachal Pradesh. This was stated by Mr A.K. P. Puri, Director-General of Police, Himachal Pradesh, while launching this scheme at Hamirpur here today. He said, community policing is policing “by the people, for the people and of the people.” This scheme had been a grand success in other countries and all-out efforts would be made for its success in Himachal Pradesh too. The DGP sought the cooperation of the people in making this scheme a success as it was aimed at their welfare. Mr Puri expressed concern over old laws and the failure of successive governments to amend these. He said these laws were mainly responsible for creating a wedge between the people and the police. He said with the new policing scheme, the police-public interact would be increased. No political personality would be involved in the scheme as it was purely for the layman. The DGP announced that all district headquarters in the state would be linked through the wide area network with the state police headquarters. This would help in maintaining law and order and facilitate speedy flow of information between the two. He said computers had been purchased and would be installed at all district headquarters by March 31 for the purpose. He said 975 constables would be recruited in the state and the recruitment process would start from February 1. All concerned DIGs would be responsible for the recruitment of constables within their jurisdiction. The DGP said efforts were on to provide Tata Mobile vehicles to all police stations. At present, 27 police stations had this facility. He said additional funds to the tune of Rs 90 lakh had been sanctioned for purchasing trucks and buses for the police. He said the police force would be rationalised in the districts of Hamirpur, Kulu and Una and additional forces provided in these districts as per their requirement. These districts had been created in 1972 but no additional personnel had been stationed there since. Talking to mediapersons, he said in future crimes against women would be dealt with only by women police personnel. All-woman police cells would be opened in all district headquarters by March 31. A Sub-Inspector would head these and eight more police personnel would be attached to this cell. This cell would exclusively deal with gender-related crimes and directly report to the SP concerned. He said a media cell would also become functional at the state police headquarters in Shimla shortly. A senior police official would collect reports and release these to state-level reporters at Shimla. He directed the SP, Hamirpur, to supply the daily crime report to reporters every evening. The journalists would also be free to contact senior police officers for additional details. The Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Central Range, Mr Somesh Goyal, on the occasion said “every policeman was a citizen in uniform and every citizen a policeman without uniform”. A number of public representatives expressed their views on the occasion. |
| Singhal: nothing can stop temple plan KANGRA, Jan 6 — Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) chief Ashok Singhal yesterday categorically said that Ram Temple would be constructed at Ayodhya and nothing could stop the project which had been taken up by millions of sadhus and religious heads of the country. He also asked politicians to desist from intervening in the matter which was purely a religious one. In an interview with this correspondent at the Gaggal airport last evening before he left for Delhi in a chartered plane, Mr Singhal said the carving of stones for the first floor of the temple would be completed by the end of March and sadhus and saints spearheading the temple movement would be free to start construction anytime after March. He said: “No one on earth can stop the construction of Ram Temple: Kar sewaks are being enlisted from even the smallest village to attend the construction of the temple as people have strong sentiments for Lord Rama.” He said these sentiments should not be ignored by the politicians. All parliamentarians, including Muslims MPs, should appreciate these. Those politicians who were opposing the construction of the temple were fighting a losing battle and had been exposed as “anti Hindu”. Regarding the “soft” stand taken by the Prime Minister on the issue, Mr Singhal said the BJP was a partner in the NDA government. Hence, the government had to be run on compromises, but not at the cost of Ram Temple which was a religious issue. |
| NHPC told to pay relief CHAMBA, Jan 6 — The District Judge, Mr J.L. Gupta, has passed orders for paying Rs 1.50 lakh as compensation to the parents and widow of Surjeet of Dhura Sapar village in the district and held that he had died due to a rash and negligent act on the part of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), working on the Chamera Hydroelectric Project (stage-I) in the district. The judge also pulled up the authorities of the project on the Ravi in the district for negligence in not taking appropriate steps for the safety of life and property of the area. As per the orders of the court, it was held that on March 31, 1998, when Surjeet was grazing his livestock, the dam water was released by the project authorities without any prior information to the concerned panchayats and inhabitants of the area below the Chamera reservoir. Surjeet was washed away along with his herd. The widow of the deceased and his parents brought the matter before the court for compensation to the tune of Rs 5 lakh. |
| BJP accused of horse-trading JWALAMUKHI, Jan 6 — Former Transport Minister, Mr Kewal Singh Pathania, has alleged that the present ruling party in the state, the BJP, is busy in horse-trading as it has lost mandate of people in the recent elections for panchayats, block samities and zila parishads. Mr Pathania said the non-declaration of dates for elections of zila parishad and block samities was sufficient proof of his allegations. He said the BJP had not been able to fix dates for elections and could form only two zila parishad namely, Hamirpur and Sirmaur, while elections in all the remaining parishads were yet to be held. Mr Pathania said the BJP does not have a majority so it was extending dates and not announcing the same in a phased manner. He said people of the state had rejected policies and programmes of the present government in the state during elections to the local bodies. The state president of the NSUI, Mr Kewal Singh, today alleged that the BJP-led government was resorting to fixing in the elections to the post of zila parishad chairpersons in the state. He said the government was going ahead with elections at those places where it thinks it could score a victory. He alleged that in the elections to the post of chairperson of Hamirpur and Nahan zila parishads and Karsog block samiti, the authority had violated the rule as administration should have given a prior notice of five days before holding the elections. |
| Separate licences for car, scooter must SHIMLA, Jan 6 — In an important judgement relating to vehicles the HP High Court yesterday ruled that a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle was not betitled to drive scooter motor cycle in the absence of specific endorsement on the licence, entiting him to drive a two-wheeler. A Division Bench comprising Ms Justice Kamlesh Sharma and Mr Justice M.R. Verma set aside an award passed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Solan, and held that the liability to pay compensation to accident victims was that of the scooterist and not the insurance company. The court allowed an appeal against the award passed by the New India Assurance Company. Mr Ravi Bakshi contended on behalf of the assurance company that the two-wheeler come in a separate class of vehicles distinct from light/heavy vehicles. The court upheld his plea that a driving licence of light motor vehicles does not cover a two-wheeler for which there should either be a separate licence or an addition in the light motor vehicle licence authorising him to drive a two-wheeler. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal on February 22, 1992, had awarded Rs 1,43,000 with 12 per cent interest to the dependents of Bansi Lal, who died in a accident at Parwanoo when he was hit by a scooter being driven by Bhuwan Chand Tiwari, a railway employee at Kalka. He was helding a licence of a light motor vehicle. The insurance company denied its liability on the ground that he was not duly licenced to drive a two-wheeler while the tribunal held the company liable. | |
| Political tug of war over trust nominees JAWALAMUKHI, Jan 6 — The recasting of the prestigious Jawalamukhi Temple Trust, the term of which ended three months ago, is currently caught in a tussle, allegedly due to political interest. The reconstitution of the trust has given rise to a tussle between the Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Ramesh Chaudhary, and the Chairman of the state Temple Advisory Committee, Rana Kashmir Singh. As both of them belong to Jawalamukhi, each of them wants his nominees to be installed in the trust. It may be recalled that under the provision of the Hindu Religious Places and Endowment Act, 1984, the trustees of the shrine are nominated by the state government for a period of three years. Various temples of the state have been taken over by the government and the management of the temples is being constituted by the civil administration. The trustees are there to advise the administration in the management of the temple affairs. The meetings of the trusts are presided over by the Deputy Commissioners concerned who are holding the charge of temple commissioners. Traditionally, “baridars” of the shrines are given 40 per cent share of the total income. However, these temples have become the centrestage of politics. It is learnt that Mr Chaudhary, who is also the local MLA, recently submitted notices of members of the trust to the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal. Rana Kashmir Singh reportedly objected to the names and has taken strong exception to the non-inclusion of the names of his supporters. He wants an equal number of his nominees on the panel. There have been numerous incidents of disagreements and hot exchanges over temple issues between the supporters of both leaders during meetings in the past. The members even came to exchange blows. |
| Three arrested for killing Nepali PALAMPUR, Jan 6 — The local police has arrested three persons in connection with the murder of Ram Bhadur, a Nepali labourer. Disclosing this to newsmen here today, a police spokesman said that the body of Ram Bhadur was found on the bed of Neugal river three days back. Earlier, it was considered as accidental death. But the post-mortem revealed deep injuries on the body and the police registered a case of murder under Section 302, IPC. Three local youths who had allegedly killed Ram Bhadur and thrown his body into the river have been arrested. It is also revealed that Ram Bhadur entered a house in a nearby village at midnight with an intention to commit burglary. The three youths caught him red-handed and beat him to death. To avoid the police, they threw his body in the river bed. The three accused were produced in the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Purinder Vaidya, who remanded them to police custody. |
| Regulatory panel chief Gupta sworn in SHIMLA, Jan 6 — Mr S. S. Gupta, Member Operations (state power board), was today sworn in as the one-member State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Mr A.K. Goswami, Chief Secretary, administered the oath of office to Mr Gupta at a simple ceremony here. A 21-member committee will be constituted soon to advise the commission. It will have representatives from various sections of consumers, besides officers of the government and the board. Talking to newspersons Mr Gupta said he would be functioning more like a facilitator than a regulator. He said similar commissions set up in other states did not make much headway as they laid too much stress on regulation without understanding the complexities of power sector. He said for the success of reforms it was essential to improve the efficiency of the state electricity boards and pass on their benefits in form of cheaper electricity to the consumers. Regarding the trifurcation of the board, Mr Gupta said “unbundling” of the public undertaking was not mandatory and states could evolve their own models for carrying out reforms. There could be no straightjacket formula which could be applied to all states. Under the reforms, the emphasis was on segregation of generation, transmission and distribution to bring in efficiency and check power losses. This could be achieved without dismantling the state electricity boards. He said besides the regulatory functions, the government could also assign it other functions like formulation of power policy, licensing and other matters concerning the power sector. | |
| Road link plan may not benefit HP SHIMLA, Jan 6 — The ambitious Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna to provide road link to villages may not help Himachal Pradesh much unless norms fixed for the implementation of the scheme are relaxed. Under the scheme villages with population over 1,000 in plains and 500 in hills are to be linked with roads over the next three years. In the second phase to be completed by 2007, villages with a population of more than 50 in plains and 250 in hills will be covered. However, in Himachal most villages with population of more than 1000 have already been connected by road. Out of the total 16,721 villages about 11,054 are yet to be linked with road. Of these, only 1100 have a population of more than 500. There are over 5500 villages with population up to 250 which urgently require road link. The government wants that norms for selecting the villages should be relaxed and the state should be allowed to take up smaller villages in the first phase itself. In fact, it wants the Centre to let the states decide which villages are to be taken up first. A senior officer of the Public Works Department said the government was likely to take up the matter with the Centre soon. He said some other states like Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh had also sought relaxation in norms. In all, over Rs 3,354 crore will be required to connect all left out villages. Over the next six years the cost of road construction in the hills has become quite high and at present the average cost comes to about Rs 12 lakh per km. The Centre has allocated a meager Rs 90 crore under the scheme for the year 2001-02. At this rate the state will get only about Rs 600 crore over the next year. Engineers feel that implementation of the scheme will depend on the availability of funds. At present, the Centre does not seem to be in a position to provide over Rs 500 crore annually required for effective implementation of the scheme, to the state.
Canvassing for ZP chief’s post begins MANDI, Jan 6 — Canvassing has set in for the covered post of zila parishad chief election for which is scheduled for Monday. All politicians of the district, including ministers, are camping in the district headquarters. The HVC supremo Mr Sukh Ram, Forest Minister, Mr Rup Singh, Food and Supplies Minister, Mr Mansa Ram and Minister of State, Mr Prakash Chaudhary, are busy in mustering support for their candidates. The post of the zila parishad President is reserved for a Scheduled Caste woman. Of the 36 wards, 4 were reserved for Scheduled Caste women in the district. Badamo Devi, Man Dassi, Padma Devi and Umawati had been elected from four wards. However, three other powerful women of the Scheduled Castes also got elected from the general wards. Two of them are advocates Paro Devi and Punam while the third is Kalawati, wife of Food and Supplies Minister. | |
| HVP leaders resent merger with LJP SHIMLA, Jan 6 — The decision of Mr Mohinder Singh, former PWD minister, to merge his newly formed Himachal Vikas Party (HVP) with the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has caused another split in the party. Senior party leaders have not endorsed the decision and they maintain that Mr Mohinder Singh was not authorised to do so. Mr Kewal Ram Chauhan, senior general secretary, and Mr B.R. Chauhan, president of the district unit of the party, have denied the claim of the LJP that HVP had been merged in it. The two leaders said during the last meeting of the state executive held on December 22, majority of members were against merger with the LJP. It was decided that the case for registration of the new party would be pursued with the Central Election Commission and simultaneously, possibilities of remerger of the HVP into the parent Himachal Vikas Congress would be explored, they said. It was also decided that some senior leaders would meet Mr Sukh Ram, HVC supremo, in this regard. Mr O.P. Rattan, President of the HVP, had clarified that the future course of the party would be decided after taking the rank and file into confidence, they added. | |
| Villagers unaware of Consumer Act: CM UNA, Jan 6 — People of the state, particularly in the villages, are not aware of the Consumer Protection Act under which each district of the state has been covered. This was stated by Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, today while addressing a meeting here today. Earlier, he had inaugurated building of the District Consumer Forum here. Professor Dhumal said while purchasing consumer goods, people must get bills from shopkeepers and if the goods purchased were not satisfactory, they must file their complaints with the Consumer Forum and get necessary compensation. He said the BJP-HVC government had not only sanctioned a project to channelise the Swan river but also started its first phase from Jhalera village to Santohgarh village. Professor Dhumal called upon the youth to adopt agriculture in a big way for which the state government would provide all possible help, including irrigation facility. |
| Lahaul-Spiti awaits flights SHIMLA, Jan 6 — Resentment prevails among the tribesmen of the snowbound Lahaul and Spiti over the failure of the government to introduce helicopter flights. Mr Prem Chand, president of the district unit of the Himachal Vikas Congress, has said that not a single helicopter flight has taken off from here during this winter. As result, the local people as well as a large number of employees have not been able to come out. Both the Rohtang pass and the Kunjum pass have been closed and there is no other way to move out of the area. He urged the government to start flights to Killar, Keylong and Udaipur. HPNVP merged into Housing Board SHIMLA, Jan 6 — The Himachal Pradesh Nagar Vikas Pradhikaran (HPNVP) has been formally merged into the state Housing Board. The government today issued a notification to the effect that the Nagar Vikas Pradhikaran, after its dissolution and transfer of assets and liabilities to the board, has ceased to exist. The decision is part of the government’s plan to downsize the administration by merging the public undertaking engaged in overlapping functions.
Youth crushed to death SHIMLA, Jan 6 — Mohan Singh (22), a local youth, was crushed to death under a private bus on Circular Road here today. The youth got down from a moving bus and was crushed under its rear wheels. Renuka Dogra was expelled: Cong SHIMLA, Jan 6 — The State Congress committee has clarified that Ms Renuka Dogra, a former office-bearer of the Youth Congress, had been expelled for anti-party activities last year by Mr Sat Mahajan, the then PCC chief. A press note of the party said Ms Dogra had no locus standi to issue statements against senior Congress leaders and interfere in the party affairs. |
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