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April 9, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Rally brings warring BJP factions closer Virbhadra addresses rally Sukh Ram addresses
rally at Ghatti HPTDC staff seek CBI probe into graft Memorial to Capt Kalia inaugurated |
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School sans facilities Winery project not beneficial: sabha “Adopt IT for society’s uplift” Power staff call off agitation Cooperatives resume milk supply Arrest murderers: SFI
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Rally brings warring BJP factions closer Shimla, April 8 It was for the first time in the past three years that Mr Shanta Kumar addressed a party rally in Hamirpur, the district to which Prof Dhumal belongs. The presence of dissidents and the praise showered by the Union Minister on the Dhumal government sent the right signals to the rank and file of the party and the people at large. The “show of unity” by the two seniormost leaders is likely to help raise the party workers’ morale, which has been at its lowest in the wake of Tehelka expose and the revolt by four ministers and three legislators. The relations between Prof Dhumal and Mr Shanta Kumar had touched a new low during the recent political crisis which brought the party on the verge of a split. It was only after the intervention of the Sangh Parivar that the crisis was resolved amicably. The speedy implementation of the agreement worked out by the RSS leaders between Mr Dhumal and the rebels has also helped to patch up differences. The reinduction of sacked ministers and the inclusion of three Shanta loyalists in the state executive, including Mr Mohinder Sofat who was facing disciplinary action for anti-party activities, has to a large extent mollified the dissidents. The result was there for all to see in the large turnout at the rally, with both factions taking pains to make the event a success. It seems that a beginning has been made and if the both sides continue in the same vein, the problem of infighting will be over sooner than later. Besides implementing the accord worked out by the Sangh Parivar in letter and spirit, the party leadership will have to ensure that no more irritants are created. Meanwhile, the declaration of Mr Sukh Ram, the HVC supremo, at the rally that the Dhumal government would complete its full term, is also reassuring for the BJP. The HVC’s relationship with the BJP has not been very smooth and Mr Sukh Ram did not fail to mention it. He said his party was a beneficiary of the recent political crisis as Mr Dhumal had to partially concede his demand for giving the Public Works
portfolio to the only HVC minister, Dr R.L. Markandey. Prof Dhumal did not give independent charge of the portfolio to Dr Markandey but attached him for the purpose. The cancellation of Mr Vajpayee’s programme did belie the state’s hope for securing much-needed financial assistance from the Centre. The mobilisation of cadres for Mr Vajpayee’s visit also turned out to be an exercise in futility. Virbhadra addresses rally Una, April 8 Speakers at the rally alleged that under the BJP-led Government, development has stopped and there has been increase in corruption. Mr Virbhadra Singh alleged that the present government headed by Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal has shattered economy of the state due to its wrong policies. He said he had decided to launch a programme and address public meetings throughout the state and inform people about the corruption that had started in the state and at the
Centre. |
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Sukh Ram addresses
rally at Ghatti Solan, April 8 Mr Sukh Ram, while addressing a rally at Ghatti, about 10 km from here, today, said that the Chief Minister Mr P. K. Dhumal’s policy of setting up more cement plants would prove to be ecological disaster for the hill state. Large-scale mining of limestone and felling of trees normally associated with the cement industry was bound to disturb ground water resources and destabilise land mass. Ironically, while the state would not be able to make any significant gains from these plants, the cement lobby
would become powerful enough to pose threat to any government in the state in the near future. Mr Sukh Ram rued that Mr Dhumal had not heeded his advice against hiking the water and power tariffs, adding that he had suggested that a few crores that the Chief Minister hoped to rope in by way of these hikes could be easily collected by levying a tax of Rs 100 on each truck taking out cement clinker from the state. Clinker is mainly burnt limestone, subsequently finely grounded into cement. He said Mr Dhumal could not hope to gain much by pursuing policies that burdened the common man and let the rich cement lobby enjoy tax concessions. The HVC supremo also criticised his coalition partner over its failure to make the government employees justify the expenditure incurred on their upkeep. Mr Sukh Ram said he had so far desisted from taking any drastic measure by way of making the BJP partners correct its anti-people policies. The main reason for this was that the BJP leadership would try to cover up its failures under the pretext that it was not allowed to run its full term, at the time of the next election. The Congress had laid more stress on begging from the Centre than on making efforts at making the state’s economy self-reliant. |
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HPTDC staff seek CBI probe into graft Dharamsala, April 8 The HPTDC Employees Union today reiterated its demand for a CBI inquiry into all cases of corruption, embezzlement and women exploitation since 1980. The office-bearers of the union expressed resentment over the statement of the management that all such matters were the internal issues of the corporation which could be sorted out. Mr Balbir Singh and Mr Rajkumar, senior vice-president of the Dharamsala region and the president of the Mandi region, respectively, regretted that while the employees of the HPTDC were putting in their best to keep up the image of the corporation, certain senior officers were only concerned about their personal benefit and comfort. The state vice-president of the HPTDC Employees Union, Mr Sunil Kaul, said hefty medical bills of senior officers, despite objections, were being cleared, whereas even meagre medical bills of the junior staff were not being cleared causing them great inconvenience. Citing an example, he alleged that the medical reimbursement of the wife of an officer for Rs 89,145 was cleared while a junior
employee died as he could not avail medical aid since he did not get money from the corporation. Mr Kaul alleged that all rules and regulations were for the junior staff while the senior officers could get away with anything. “Despite the ruling of the Supreme Court, the daily-wage earners who have been working with the HPTDC for years, are being given a break after 89 days of service. At the same time relaxations have been made in the qualifications for certain officers who are occupying important posts”, he regretted. The employee leaders said only 25 per cent of the employees in the Dharamsala region had so far received their salaries as their was no money for their pay. |
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Memorial to Capt Kalia inaugurated Palampur, April 8 Speaking on the occasion Mr Shanta Kumar said Himachal Pradesh was land of brave soldiers who had laid down their lives in every battle fought before and after independence for the unity and integrity of the country and nation should never forget their supreme sacrifices. He said Captain Kalia was just 20 years old when he was posted in Kargil and was the first officer to report about large scale intrusion of Pakistan soldiers into the Indian territory. Mr Shanta Kumar said while on patrol he was captured alive by the enemy and tortured by burning the body with cigarettes, piercing ear-drums with hot iron rods, removing eyes, teeth before chopping organs of the body. He said efforts would be made for the completion of this project and there would be no shortage of funds for the second phase. He said he had already given Rs 30 lakh and in future more money would be made available by him. Thakur Roop Singh, H.P. Forest Minister presiding over the function said that the state government was committed to fulfil the promises made for the welfare of families of martyrs in the state. He said most of such projects had either been completed or under construction. He assured the wards of martyrs that state government had adequate funds for such projects and hoped that same would be completed at the earliest the Minister said that Saurabh Van Vihar had been completed in a record period of less than two years. He said while laying the foundation stone of this project in June 1999 he had given two years time for its completion to his department and the same had been achieved before the completion of two years. He announced that master plan for the second phase of Saurabh Van Vihar was ready and funds would be sanctioned soon. Addressing the gathering Ravinder Singh Thakur, H.P. Minister for Technical Education urged Mr Shanta Kumar for the setting up of Himachal Regiment in the Indian Army. He said the state had highest number of soldiers in armed forces, therefore, the Union government should take up this issue on priority. Mr Thakur said the nation was conversant with the sacrifices made by the youth of the state not only in Kargil but also in other wars fought by the country. He said if the Himachal Regiment was set up it would open more avenues of employment to youth of the state. |
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School sans facilities Kumarhatti The school was built in 1960 and the two new rooms came up in 1995. The cement on most of the walls has peeled off due to the substandard quality of material used in the construction. The floor is also completely broken. Students and their parents are always in panic as the roof and walls of the school are in dilapidated condition. The woes of the students can be judged from a letter, written recently by them to Mr Ramesh Chauhan, president of the local Chewa panchayat, pleading to improve the conditions of the school. “We are forced to attend classes in such a building which can collapse any time”, lamented the students in the letter. Despite all this the school building has not been declared unsafe. Interestingly, the condition of the old rooms to some extent appears better than the new rooms. Most windowpanes are either missing or in the bad condition. The quality of the blackboards is such that nothing can be written on them. The school staff have now themselves arranged the new blackboards for the students. Similarly at the Barog primary school, classes are taken under an open sky due to the lack of proper sitting arrangement. According to some school teachers lack of funds also hampers work. The two rooms are insufficient to meet the strength of 100 students. The new building that was constructed some time ago is of no use as it is away from the main school building, laments a school teacher. We cannot have classes in the new building as our limited staff get further divided in this case, she adds. “We have been demanding for a long time to upgrade this school to the middle grade but to no avail. This has forced the children of the Barog area to look for other schools for higher education, alleges Mr Sanjay Kumar, vice-president of the Barog panchayat. |
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Winery project not beneficial: sabha Shimla, April 8 The state committee of the sabha, which met here today, said the contract farming which the Indage India Company planned to introduce in the state for growing grapes required for the winery had not been a success in other states and it had only harmed the economic interest of the farmers. The company had claimed that the project would help diversify the apple-based economy. Several issues, like price at which fruit would be procured by the company, had to be settled before going ahead with the project. The government, it alleged, was more keen on safeguarding the interest of the multi-national corporations rather than the growers. The decision of the government to agree for a meagre share of 10 per cent in the winery project in which the foreign company had major
stakes was tantamount to surrender of state’s economic interests. The merger of Agro-India Packaging Limited which made a profit of Rs 2.50 crore this year, with HPMC, and subsequent transfer of some of its valuable assets to the company and would enable it to set up the project at minimal costs. |
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“Adopt IT for society’s uplift” Shimla, April 8 He was inaugurating 32nd midterm symposium on E-convergence and technologies for Disaster Management organised by the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) here yesterday. He said that disaster management in Himachal Pradesh was very necessary in view of its falling in the earthquake zone. Prof Yash Pal, eminent scientist speaking on the occasion said that any society not so engaged in technology creation was bound to become a permanent dependant society. |
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Power staff call off agitation Shimla, April 8 Mr Prasad, who assumed charge early this month, held talks with officials and also addressed the employees during his three-day visit to the project. He advised various category employees not to complain or agitate against one another and bring their problems directly to his notice. The employees were free to write to him and he would ensure that justice was done to them. After going around the project, Mr Prasad directed the engineers to undertake more protection work to prevent damage to the project from floods in the Sutlej in future. He expressed the hope that the project would be completed by 2003. The failure of the Himachal Government to contribute its share towards the cost would not hamper the work. He met Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, here today and informed him about the progress of the work. He reportedly urged Mr Dhumal to entrust some more projects in the Sutlej basin to the NJPC. He favoured the immediate handing over of the 480 mw Rampur Project to be constructed downstream the Nathpa Jhakri Project. Mr Prasad also met Mr A.K. Goswami, Chief Secretary, before going back to Delhi. |
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Cooperatives resume milk supply Mandi, April 8 Mr Moudgil conceded the demands of the milk producers. The quantity and quality of the milk would be determined at the collection centres in their presence, he added. Milk producers were satisfied with the assurances given by Mr Moudgil and decided to resume the supply of milk from today. |
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Arrest
murderers: SFI Shimla, April 8 The two organisations said that even three days after the “murder”, the victim’s father-in-law and husband, who were the suspects, had not been arrested. They demanded that the property of the suspects should be confiscated and the parents of the deceased be compensated suitably. |
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Shops gutted Hamirpur, April 8 Most of the victims were petty traders halwais, PCO and dhaba owners. The fire broke out due to short-circuiting and engulfed three gas cylinders kept nearby. The fire was brought under control only when fire tenders from Hamirpur reached Bhota for fire fighting. |
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Rain in Shimla Shimla, April 8 The fashionable Mall and the historic ridge “maidan”, the hub of tourists activity, wore a deserted look as the sudden rain forced pedestrians and tourists to scurry for rain shelters.
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