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| Wednesday, January 31, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Pro-Pak slogans: plea
to book policemen Dhumal clarifies on
plan allocation HP closes down Kala Pul
zoo Minister refutes
Stokes’ allegation Honour for CPRI
scientist |
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BBMB raises dredger
capacity Kangra ZP poll put
off for third time IT project for
Hamirpur Court moved on
civic poll Kunihaar pond
to be beautified HP to set up more
health centres Sukh Ram: truth
has prevailed INTACH for setting
up museum Satellite phone
exchange opened Body found from
fodder stack Pahari sabha’s
plea on census HP transfers
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Pro-Pak slogans: plea
to book policemen SUNDERNAGAR, Jan 30 — In the incident of raising pro-Pakistan slogans in Dinak village on December 17 when panchayat poll result was being declared in Dinak village in this subdivision, the police has arrested four persons of Dinak village but no action has been taken against police officials in whose presence the slogans were raised. In Dinak village half of population is Muslim. Police officials on duty at Dinak village denied that slogans were raised. When media highlighted the incident the Deputy Commissioners Mandi, ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter and SDM Sundernagar was entrusted with the job. The SDM Sundernagar recorded the testimony of 73 persons comprising of polling officers, police officers and other witnesses and submitted 100-page report including 18 pages of conclusion report to the DC Mandi. The DC Mandi forwarded this report to SP Mandi for taking action. On this Sundernagar police has registered a case under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code and arrested four persons. No action has been taken against the police persons in whose presence the slogans were raised. The SP Mandi, Mr J.R. Thakur when contacted said at this stage no action was being taken against the eight police officials in whose presence the slogans were raised. The officials of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal have demanded action against the police officials. The police earlier had registered a case against the Hindus for spreading rumours. Now when the FIR has been registered on the basis of inquiry report the action should also be taken against guilty police officials. According to senior lawyers the police officials have committed offence punishable under the provisions of Indian Police Act (U/S 29 of Indian Police Act) and under the IPC as they had not discharged their duties. Dhumal clarifies on
plan allocation HAMIRPUR, Jan 30 — Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, said today it was wrong to say that the plan allocation of the state had been reduced by Rs 338 crore. He said the annual plan of Rs 1,720 crore was approved by the Planning Commission. However, he said a sum of Rs 1,382 crore was a core plan and it was wrong on the part of Congressmen to say that it stood shelved. Addressing a public meeting at Manwin village, he clarified that the rest of the plan allocation would be met with either getting relief from the Prime Minister or taking loans from other sources. He said the government was committed towards the development of the people of the state and for this money would not come as a hindrance. He alleged that the bad economic condition of the state was the result of the misutilisation of funds by previous Congress governments. These governments gave wrong figures to the Central Government and presented tax-free budgets. This led to deficit in the budgetary estimates of the state every year. He said it was due to the right planning on the part of his government that the state was progressing well. He said the credit culture that was adopted by the previous Congress government was not a good tradition to run the administration. Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated an ayurvedic dispensary at the village. A Jain saint gave the building for the dispensary. He said villages where people would provide land would be linked with roads. The Chief Minister described the reports regarding the closing of many primary schools in the tribal belts of the state as baseless. He said only those schools would be closed where the strength of students was negligible. Mr Ishwar Dass Dhiman, Education Minister, and Ms Urmila Thakur, Parliamentary Secretary, were also present on the occasion. |
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HP closes down Kala Pul
zoo SHIMLA, Jan 30 — The intervention of the Supreme Court in ensuring implementation of the norms laid down by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) for keeping animals in captivity has started yielding result, with the state government ordering closure of Kala Pul zoo in Dharamsala, which has been functioning without the mandatory approval since the past 12 years. This is the second zoo to be closed down in the past one month. Earlier, the Municipal Committee Zoo at Solan was closed. According to Mr A.L. Sharma, Chief Wildlife Warden, animals of the Kala Pul Zoo, which included two sambhars and a pair of barking deer, will be shifted to the Gopalpur Nature Park in due course. He said the main problem in shifting them immediately was that a female barking deer was pregnant and as such it would not be possible to use tranquilisers without which the animal could not be moved out. Keeping this in view, the department has decided to convert temporarily the zoo into a rescue home for animals. The animals, until they were shifted to Gopalpur zoo, would remain in Kala Pul zoo but these would not be displayed for the public. The CZA had inspected the zoo in 1997 and refused to grant approval to it as it found not only lacking in basic infrastructural facilities but also unsuitable for keeping animals. The inspection team in its report, pointed out that the site on which the zoo, was located was a very sleep hill and was unsuitable for keeping animals. Moreover, climatic conditions also were not congenial to the health of animals. The area of the zoo was inadequate and the animals were under threat from predators, particularly leopards. It had also observed that the zoo with just six animals was not serving the cause of conservation of wildlife and as such did not deserve approval. The government had been, however, unwilling to close the zoo as it could have adverse political implications. Consequently, it continued to function even though the CZA had made it clear that, it could not be granted approval because of shortcomings like unsuitability of site and small area, which could not be rectified. However, with the Supreme Court taking a serious notice of the plight of animals kept in captivity with utter disregard of the norms set by the CZA, in the wake of largescale death of tigers in the Nandankanan zoo in Orissa, the state had no option but to close down the zoo. In fact, the apex court had asked all states to file affidavits that they were following the guidelines of the CZA. Himachal Pradesh had also filed an affidavit which it could not have done without complying with the norms. |
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Minister refutes
Stokes’ allegation SHIMLA, Jan 30 — Mr Vidya Sagar, Agriculture Minister, has ridiculed the statement of Mrs Vidya Stokes, state Congress president, alleging that farmers’ problems were not being addressed by the government. Terming the allegation as false and politically motivated, he said the national agricultural policy had been announced by the Centre and on its basis the state government was formulating an action plan which would be specific and take care of all issues related to agricultural development. The government was also creating regulated markets in the potential areas were the farmers could dispose of their produce at remunerative prices. During the past three years four new markets had been established with a cost of Rs 5.20 crore and the construction of nine new markets was in progress at various places, he added. He said the government had also made assessment of crop losses due to drought and had taken up the matter with the Centre for relief. The Centre had already identified Himachal Pradesh as one of the eight drought affected states hence it was incorrect to say the state government had not taken initiative in declaring the state drought-hit, he added. The Agriculture Minister said the government had introduced crop insurance scheme for five major crops — maize, paddy, wheat, barley and potato — from rabi 1999-2000 season which covered loss to crops due to drought. The government has also committed to providing agricultural inputs to the farmers at cheaper rates. The government was providing 100 per cent transport subsidy on all agricultural inputs besides 50 per cent subsidy to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, backward areas and IRDP farmers in case of improved seeds and machinery. Similarly, the government had provided 50 per cent subsidy to small and marginal farmers and 30 per cent subsidy to others. Subsidy of fertilisers had also been continued. During 1997-98 Rs 10.57 crore were spent on subsidies on inputs whereas for the year 2000-01 a budget provision of Rs 17.20 crore had been made for this purpose, he added. Mr Vidya Sagar added scientists were going to the fields and providing the latest technology to the farmers. The government had recruited 120 agriculture extension officers, 34 agriculture development officers and 90 block-level officers so that farmers could get adequate extension services, he added. He said the government was also keeping a close watch on the impact of the WTO agreement and it would be ensured that the interests of the farmers of the state are safeguarded. The department was supplying certified seed only for which no complaint had been received, he added. Honour for CPRI
scientist SHIMLA, Jan 30 — Dr Jai Gopal Sharma, a senior scientist at the Central Potato Reserach Institute (CPRI) here, has been appointed visiting scientist by the Third World Academy of Science (TWAS), Italy, for a period of three years. Dr Sharma will have access to the centres of excellence at the international level in his field of specialisation. Dr Sharma is currently working on potato germ plasm conservation and management and its characterisation. Dr Sharma will be primarily working on potato at the International Potato Centre, Lima (Peru), which has the largest repository of potato germ plasm in the world. With this
associate ship, the CPRI will be able to improve the genetic stability of conserved potato germ plasm which is essential for breeding new potato varieties.
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BBMB raises dredger
capacity SUNDERNAGAR: Engineers of the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB) with those of the I.H.C., Holland, and Mazagon Docks Ltd (MDL), Bombay, upgraded a 20-year-old dredger, increasing its capacity three-fold. The dredger had been operating at only half its capacity. According to an expert from the MDL, this type of work has been done here for the first time at Sundernagar. He pointed out that this could be completed in just a month owing to the dedication shown by the BBMB staff. In the Beas-Sutlej Link Project, which is of 990 MW capacity and is being run by the BBMB, the waters of the Beas have been diverted to the Sutlej and at Slappar, 18 km from here, electricity is produced. The waters of the Beas are collected here in a balancing reservoir, about two km long and 400 metres wide, which provides silt-free water to the Dehar powerhouse. Power generation was started in 1997. At the reservoir, the silt is removed with the help of dredger and moved to Suketi khud. In order to provide silt-free water to powerhouse, the BBMB purchased an IHC Beaver-1500, a dredger made in Holland. Dredging operations were started in 1983. The silt disposal was started in two shifts but as the silt intake was heavy the dredging is being done in going on three shifts since 1995. Initially the silt disposal was satisfactory but with the passage of time the dredgers capacity decreased considerably. Besides it also started giving trouble. For the smooth functioning of the powerhouse, a new dredger was needed which would cost about Rs 12 crore, which the BBMB could not afford. Under these circumstances the move to upgrade the dredger with a modified hydraulic and electric system was initiated last year. A plan was formulated for modification of the dredger. On October 1, the dredger was taken out of the reservoir for dry docking-cum-modification. Its system was changed and a new system designed by the I.H.C. introduced. It is now called electro-hydraulic dredger. Work was completed on October 30 and after two days testing, the dredger went into operation on November 2. |
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Kangra ZP poll put
off for third time DHARAMSALA, Jan 30 — The election for the Chairman of the Kangra Zila Parishad was put off for the third time today for want of a quorum as members belonging to the Congress did not turn up for voting. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.C. Kapil, deferred the election to February 5 as the required quorum of 38 in the 56 member Zila Parishad was not there. The election to be held on February 5 will be decided with a simple majority if the quorum is not completed. After staying away from the election on January 16 and 22, the BJP members today turned up for the voting and marked their attendance. On the other hand the Congress today appeared to be a completely divided House with conflicting views among the senior leaders whether to go in for voting or abstain. The Congress as well as the BJP are claiming to have a majority in the zila parishad. However, with over half a dozen floating votes, the two rival parties are themselves not sure of their position. Senior BJP ministers, including Mr Rajan Sushant, Mr Vidya Sagar, Mr Ramesh Chaudhary and Mr Kishan Kapoor were present at the zila parishad hall, the venue for the election. On the other hand the All-India Mahila Congress chief and Rajya Sabha member, Mrs Chandresh Kumari, MLAs — Mr Chander Kumar and Mr G.S. Bali and Mr N.C. Prashar and Mr Vikram Katoch were present. There are chances of cross-voting from both the BJP as well as the Congress as a consensus on the candidates to be fielded by them has not been arrived. While Mr Navneet Sharma, a strong contender for the post of Chairman from the Congress, is being opposed by Mr Vijai Singh Mankotia, it is reliably learnt that the Agriculture Minister, Mr Vidyasagar, is strongly opposed to the candidature of Mr Jagdamba Prasad from the BJP. Senior Congress leaders from the district today seemed to be sharply divided over the issue of abstaining from the election. In fact, some of the Congress members owing alegiance to a Congress MLA went to the election hall despite the party’s decision to stay away. A senior Congress leader today went to the extent of demanding that the party candidate be chosen strictly on caste lines. He stressed that the party would either support a Rajput or an OBC member whether he belonged to the Congress or the BJP. Meanwhile, with the election being deferred to Febuary 5, the winter sojourn of the government beginning on February 2 is likely to be postponed. It is expected that now the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, will start his winter stay from February 9. |
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IT project for
Hamirpur HAMIRPUR, Jan 30 — A project aimed at bringing information revolution in Hamirpur district will be launched from April this year. This “lokmitra yojna” is the Himachal version of the Gyandoot project undertaken in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh in 1999. Under the NABARD-sponsored pilot project, 25 information centres will be opened at 25 selected places of the state, where telephone connectivity is stable. Four of these information centres would also be located in Hamirpur town. Mrs Anuradha Thakur, Deputy Commissioner, who is the creator of this project, says that the Rs 48 lakh project will provide access to the farmers, traders, and others to have information regarding prices of food grains, vegetables, and their complaints. The Deputy Commissioner said now the people would be able to send their complaints by paying a nominal fee of Rs 10 to the in charge in the centres. The in charge would send complaints to the district administration through a computer network and the reply would be available within 10 days. She said that similarly latest market rates of vegetables, fruits and other items would also be made available. You will pay a nominal fee, and get the wanted information. Moreover, through the project, the people of Hamirpur district will also be able to send and receive the information regarding land records, income certificates, caste and domicile certificates, demarcation applications and health facilities etc. The Deputy Commissioner said a meeting of all village pradhans, SDOs, SDMs and other Panchayati Raj functionaries would be held here on February 6 to finalise the modalities of the project.
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Court moved on
civic poll SOLAN, Jan 30 — Mr Ajay Mittal, Congress backed candidate who lost to his BJP rival by a margin of eight votes in the recently held civic poll from ward 6 of the local municipal council, yesterday filed a petition in the court of the SDM, seeking annulment of the same elections. In his petition, filed under Section 283 of the Municipal Act (1994) read with HP Election Rules (1994) he contended the “entire election process from ward 6 had been conducted in violation of the provisions of the said Act and Rules”. His main contention was the “grave irregularities had been committed in the preparation of electoral rolls.” He had submitted a list of 29 persons whose names also figured on the rolls of other municipal wards or nearby panchayats. The petition also contained a list of seven persons of Nepalese origin who had been registered as voters in violation of the provisions of the Act, which debars foreigners from being enrolled on the electoral rolls. According to another provision of the Act, a person who was not ordinarily a resident of the ward could not be registered as a voter. The petitioner had submitted that while there was no question of foreigners finding a place on the electoral rolls, a voter could ordinarily not be deemed to be a resident of two different wards. Mr Mittal, contending that the “irregularities in the registration of the voters as cited in the petition had led to grave miscarriage of justice and fairplay” had prayed the elections from his ward be declared null and void. |
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Kunihaar pond
to be beautified KASAULI, Jan 30 — The historical pond at Kunihaar will be beautified to increase tourism in this town. This was disclosed by Mr Roop Dass Kashyap, state Minister for Rural Development and Housing, at Kunihaar, about 45 km from here, on Sunday evening. He has asked the Tourism Department and the IPH to conduct a survey and explore the possibility of developing the place as a tourist destination. He was speaking on the occasion of the 17th death anniversary of a former Development Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Thakur Haridass, who was associated with the developmental activities in the state. A sum of Rs 1 lakh was announced for the construction of link roads in Kunihaar and Harkot panchayats by the minister. He also said if these two panchayats can be merged to form a nagar panchayat, the effort can go a long way in promoting the basic development in the region. He also gave Rs 4,000 to the children who presented a cultural programme on the occasion. Others present on the occasion included Mr Virender Kashyap, Chairman Marketing Board, Mr C.L. Gachli, Vice-Chairman, SC and ST Development Corporation, Mr Sunder Lal Verma, General Secretary, HVC, Mr Keshav Ram, Mr Amar Singh Thakur, Director, Marketing Board and pradhans of various panchayats. A blood donation camp was also organised. |
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HP to set up more
health centres JAWALAMUKHI, Jan 30 — Under the state government’s programme to streamline the health services Rs 50 crore has already been released for the department of Health and Family Welfare of providing staff quarters and operation theatres. This was stated by the state Health and Family Welfare Minister, Mr Jagat Prakash Nadda, here today. He said the government had demanded Rs 250 crore from the World Power Project for providing the infrastructure in various health institutions. The government had also signed an MoU with some companies for setting up health centres at all district headquarters and important towns. Mr Nadda said the government was preparing guidelines for medical officers. These would be issued shortly, he said. A proposal to construct toilets for the attendants of the patients in hospitals is under consideration. Talks with Sulabh International were going on, he said. Mr Nadda said a private institution would be set up to train paramedical staff to fill 200 posts lying vacant in the state. During that period, 100 trained nurses from Punjab would be appointed on contract basis. He said 200 staff nurses, 150 male health workers and 50 laboratory technicians and radiographers each were being trained in the state. Four posts of Joint Director and eight posts of deputy director would be regularised, he added. Sukh Ram: truth
has prevailed SHIMLA, Jan 30 — Mr Sukh Ram, President of the Himachal Vikas Congress and former Union Communications Minister, has hailed the verdict of the Delhi High Court discharging him in the case filed by the CBI against him for showing favours to a private firm in the purchase of telecom equipment as “vindication of his honour”. He said he was made a victim of conspiracies solely because he brought about radical change in the ministries as the Minister of Communication. The case registered by the premier investigating agency was false, baseless and politically motivated. The truth had ultimately prevailed and his faith in the judiciary had been vindicated, he added. |
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INTACH for setting
up museum CHAMBA, Jan 30 — The Chamba chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has expressed concern over the inordinate delay in setting up of a proposed tribal museum and art gallery at the Bharmaur and Pangi subdivisions which has been pending with the government for the past about three years. In a recent letter to the state government, the convener of the Chamba chapter of INTACH, Mr Harish Chander Sharma, said despite the fact that a site had been selected within the Chaurasi temple complex for the construction of the proposed art gallery and even the Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM), Bharmaur and other revenue officials had been directed to take the necessary steps to acquire or transfer the land, work had not started as yet. Sufficient funds were made available by the government for this purpose, he added. Mr Sharma requested the Himachal Pradesh Government to take the necessary steps to set up the tribal museum. SOLAN, Jan 30 — The Chief General Manager, Himachal Telecom Circle, Mr N.S. Gill, today inaugurated a satellite-linked telephone exchange at Ronhat village in the neighbouring Sirmaur district. He lauded the role of officers and staff of the Solan Telecom Circle, comprising Solan and Sirmaur districts, in speedily providing the satellite link to Ronhat, which hitherto had only one junction that broke down frequently on account of a difficult geographical terrain. Mr Sapan Kumar Bose, General Manager, Solan Telecom Circle, said the new link had been provided at a cost of Rs 66 lakh. |
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Body found from
fodder stack DHARAMSALA, Jan 30 — The body of Hans Raj (35), resident of Dargela village near Shahpur, was found hidden in fodder stored for animals. According to the police, the body was discovered by a woman who had gone there to fetch fodder when she found the body stacked at one place. A case has been registered in the Shahpur police station under Section 302 of the IPC. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination. Pahari sabha’s
plea on census SHIMLA, Jan 30 — The Himachali Pahari Sabha has urged residents of the state to record Pahari as their mother tongue during the current census. The sabha which held its meeting here yesterday under the chairmanship of its founder-president, Mr N.C. Prasher, emphasised that Pahari was the main language of communication in the state and this reality should be reflected in the census. It also urged the government to provide impetus to various schemes started by it to preserve and propagate the “Pahari” culture.
HP transfers SHIMLA, Jan 30 — The Himachal Government today posted Mr Puran Chand Kashyap, Additional Director, Industries, as Special Secretary, Animal Husbandry. Mr Subhash Mehta, Commissioner, Departmental Inquiries, will be the new Additional Director, Industries. Mr Subhash Ahluwalia, Director, Youth Services and Sports, will hold the additional charge of Commissioner, Departmental Inquiries.
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