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Sunday,
May 20, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Tibetans hail Paula’s appointment Spy story a Chinese “smear campaign” Freak rain may save apple crop from ruin Park that beckons wildlife lovers One gets life term for murder Ten hurt in clash over Rs 2 PM’s Kulu visit from May 23 |
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| Hoteliers offer to build parking lots Shimla, May 19 The Himachal Pradesh Hotels and Restaurants Association has urged Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, to allow hotel owners to develop on a cooperative basis planned parking lots which have not come up so far owing to shortage of funds. Panel to probe Rozi's
death Woman’s head
shaved off
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Tibetans hail Paula’s appointment Dharmsala, May 19 In a statement issued here yesterday, the Minister for Information and International Relations in the Tibetan government, Mr T.C. Tethong, said that the appointment of such a senior official as the Tibet Coordinator, would send a clear and strong message to the world and to China, about the seriousness of the Bush administration’s commitment to facilitating negotiations between Dharamsala and Beijing to resolve the issue of Tibet peacefully. With the appointment coinciding with the presence of the Dalai Lama in the United States of America, the Tibetan administration is hopeful that the Tibetan spiritual leader, would have a meeting with Ms Paula
Dobriansky. At present the Dalai Lama is in Portland on the Western Coast and will be completing the last leg of his tour in Washington.. Mr Tethong said that Ms Dobriansky’s appointment as America’s new Tibet coordinator will be a source of enormous encouragement to the people, of Tibet, who look towards America to take the leadership role in restoring their lost rights and freedom. “We are confident that Mr Dobriansky’s vast experience and knowledge of global affairs will enable her to enhance the effectiveness of her new office,” added Mr Telhong. The minister, called upon the new Tibet Coordinator, to seriously bring about a much-needed sense of urgency in her responsibility. The people of Tibet, who for the past 50 years have seen their fundamental rights systematically destroyed, their life style undermined and their identity threatened, deserve unrelenting attention of the world, he added. Ms Paula Dobriansky, the new Special Coordinator on Tibet, is at present the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, and is the highest-ranked official to hold the post. She will hold the Tibet portfolio in addition to her existing responsibilities, making her the third US Coordinator for Tibet policy. While Gregory Craig, was the first special coordinator, the second, Ms Julia Tuft, had paid a visit to Dharmsala, last year. |
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Spy story a Chinese “smear campaign” Dharamsala, May 19 In a strong reaction, the secretary in the department of information and international relations, Mr Thubten Samphell, said the spy story was absolutely false, as the Tibetan movement was based on non-violence as advocated by the Dalai Lama. “To send two people to Tibet to set themselves on fire is against the principles of Tibetan Buddhism, which considers taking a life, especially one’s own, as a grave negative act,” said Mr Samphell. The Chinese official news agency,
Xinhua, has come out with a story, that two spies sent by the Dalai Lama have been caught by the Chinese. It stated that the mission of one of them was to set himself ablaze, while the other was to videotape the self-immolation incident. It stated that one of them was caught last year while the other was arrested on May 5, recently. Mr Samphell, said since the Chinese Government has made this accusation, it was their responsibility to prove the veracity of this accusation. “They can only do this by giving these two Tibetans a fair and free re-trial, without fear or favour, so that the international community can get to the bottom of this accusation,” said Mr Samphell. He added that the international media must be given unfettered access to these two Tibetans so that the free press can get to the bottom of the story and unravel the truth. The Tibetan official, and the timing of the “self immolating spy” incident seemed strange as one failed to understand as to why China waited for one full year before making the sensational news. He said the answer to this lay what was happening on the issue of Tibet around the world. “The US Congress is in the process of debating a resolution on the Tibetan Policy Act, while at the same time the Bush Administration has appointed a
special coordinator for Tibet issue,” said Mr Samphell. He further said the Dalai Lama was currently on an extremely successful tour of the USA and was scheduled to meet President Bush, sometime next week. Mr
Samphell, said that a part from this the Chinese authorities will use the spy story as an excuse to bring about increased law enforcement, strict surveillance and repressive measures, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the 17 Point Agreement, failing on May 23. While stating that it was now the responsibility of the Chinese Government to prove the allegations, Tibetan officials said they had no control over Tibetans who had signed up for unto death hunger strike organised by various NGO’s like the Tibetan Youth Congress and the Cholka Sum. |
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Freak
rain may save apple crop from ruin Shimla, May 19 The weather god has been unkind all through, leaving little hope for the growers whose crops, particularly in lower and mid hill areas, have almost wiped out by the prolonged dry spell. However, the current spell of widespread “unseasonal” rains can revive their fortunes and bring some returns in otherwise lean year. The fruit setting has been extremely poor due to unfavourable weather conditions but the belated rains will help in increasing the size of the fruit and compensate the hapless growers to an extent. Dr
R.P. Awasthy, Vice-Chancellor of the Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, maintains that frequent spells of rains over the next one month will increase the percentage of “A” and “B” grade apple which fetch high returns. Normally, the superior grades account for about 50 per cent of the total production but it could go up to 80 per cent if the weather god obliges with more rain. The latest reports being received by the Horticulture department from the field also give an indication to this effect. The total production has been estimated to be around 70 lakh boxes, as against the earlier assessment of 40 lakh to 45 lakh boxes. Last year, the state produced 1.94 crore boxes of apple. The Shimla district is likely to turn out 42 lakh boxes as against 1.50 crore boxes produced last year. In Kulu, the other main apple producing district, the production has been assessed at 19 lakh boxes as against 40 lakh boxes, produced last year. The vagaries of weather have been taking a heavy toll of fruit crops of late. This year the situation turned worse as there was hardly any snow, considered as white manure for the orchards, during winter. The lack of snow denied the apple plants the minimum chilling hours. On average 1,200 to 1,600 hours of chilling is essential for a good crop. But this year in lower and mid hills the chilling period ranged from just 600 to 800 hours. In fact, in some areas the orchards blossomed a fortnight before the usual time of March-April. Moreover, in case of some varieties, dependent on pollinabtion like Golden, flowering occurred before the main varieties. This led to poor pollination which in turn affected fruit setting. The crop prospects continue to be bleak for lower hills like Rajgarh, lower Kulu valley, Sirmaur and Chamba area, where the production may not exceed 15 per cent of the normal. In the mid hills the situation has improved marginally and the output will range from 20 to 25 per cent of the normal. In high hills, the crop, though below normal, is good in some areas like Kotkhai, Kharapathar, Chhajpur Khadrala and Kinnaur. The growers are only hoping that there are no premature droppings due to drought or hailstorms over the next two months. |
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Park that beckons wildlife lovers Kulu The park is also one of two places in India where “anything more than a remnant population of the western tragopan is known to survive” (Garson and Gaston, 1985). It is the only viable protected area in the world which has a unique Himalayan biological diversity and protected endangered and threatened species such as the chir, the serow, the musk deer, the Himalayan thar, the Himalayan brown bear and the snow leopard. There is an exceptionally good population of monals in the temperate zone of the park. The GHNP is home to more than 200 bird species. Of the 51 species of pheasant in the world, seven are found in this park. Illegal hunting is believed to be a common activity. Unauthorised grazing and the collection of minor forest produce are done during a period which coincides with the breeding of many birds. They are very sensitive and cannot tolerate even the least human disturbance. Another common offence is that of causing fire. Forest fires are known to occur over large areas in May-June and October-November. There are 49 glaciers of varying sizes. Occasional avalanches in the winter and landslides in the rainy season have been reported. Frost and hailstorms occur frequently. The water sources in the upper slopes tend to dry up in the summer. All these factors play an important role in the decline of wildlife. The best periods for visiting the park are April to June and September to November. During these periods the weather and visibility are good and it is easier to spot animals. Various camp sites and nature trails and the construction of additional roads have been planned to enhance the tourist facilities in the park. The director of the park says that villager-friendly activities, which involve very little cost but yield high incomes, are being popularised in the buffer zone of the park. He says the dependence of villagers on the natural resources of the park will decrease if the productivity of the land and forest near the villages concerned is enhanced with the help of residents and the local NGOs. The park management has started alternative income generation activities like the establishment of about 100 sites for vermicomposting and the formation of women saving and credit groups and village ecodevelopment committees. It has set up 10 major nurseries for high-value medicinal plants. In addition, training workshops are also being organised to make people aware of the necessity of preserving the forest wealth. |
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One gets life term for murder Sundernagar, May 19 According to the prosecution the accused gave a beating to deceased on the night of October 25 and 26 1999 the deceased later on shifted to Military Hospital Chandimandir, Chandigarh where he died on October 28. The police arrested all accused and filed charge sheet against them under Section 302, 147, 120-B and 149 of the Indian Penal Code. The prosecution examined 23 witnesses, including eye witnesses, expert witnesses, official witnesses and court witnesses. The court accepted arguments of counsel of the four (acquitted) accused that involvement for these accused was not proved as they were not identified properly by witnesses. More over there was material contradiction between the testimony of two eye witnesses. The court did not agree with the submission of the counsel of accused Vijay Kumar that case was not made out against him. The court accepted the plea of the district attorney that the accused Vijay was involved in the commission of offence and there was sufficient evidence on record to connect the involvement of accused Vijay with the crime. The Court in 30-page judgement held that prosecution was able to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt against Vijay Kumar whereas it was not able to prove the case regarding the other four accused, so the court convicted Vijay Kumar. The order was announced on May 17 the copy of which was made available yesterday after the announcement of order. The convict was ordered to be sent to central jail Nahan HP. |
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Ten hurt in clash over Rs 2 Solan, May 19 Even as the three seriously injured were rushed to the Zonal Hospital here, the Dean, College of Horticulture, Dr D.R. Sharma, ordered suspension of five students. Another was expelled from the hostel after a preliminary inquiry. After consultations with other senior dons, the Dean later announced the constitution of a three-member inquiry committee headed by Dr Y.D. Sharma, Head, Department of Floriculture, to probe the incident. According to an F.I.R. registered by a first-year Horticulture student, Rajeev Kumar, five students — Sandeep Bhuria, Virendra, Rajesh Sagar Chand and Rakesh Kumar — came to his hostel room and beat him up. When Ashwini and Javed, two fellow-students, tried to intervene the two were roughed up. According to another F.I.R., registered by Sandeep Bhuria, named as one of the assailants in the earlier FIR, six students — Anish, Vikrant, Mukesh Niranjan, Anurag and Dinesh — entered his room and attacked him. When three other students — Rajesh, Sagar and Rakesh — tried to intervene, they were also attacked. The S.P., Mr Rakesh Aggarwal, said he was awaiting medical report of the injured students and action, if any, would be taken after that. He said he had suspended Sagar Chand, Rakesh, Sandeep Bhuria, Rajesh Kumar from classes and Virendra from the hostel till further orders. A section of students blocked traffic on the Rajgarh road, in protest against the positive action. |
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PM’s Kulu visit from May 23 Manali, May 19 Kulu Deputy Commissioner A.J.V. Prasad said Mr Vajpayee would stay at his farmhouse at Prini village, near Manali, on the left bank of the Kulu-Manali road. Elaborate arrangements had been made by the district administration for his stay. A Foolproof security arrangements were being made for his stay here. There was no official information yet regarding public engagements of the Prime Minister, he said.
UNI |
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Hoteliers offer to build parking lots Shimla, May 19 A deputation of the association led by Mr Ganesh Dutt, vice-chairman of the state Housing Board, met Mr
Dhumal, here yesterday and impressed upon him that the problem of parking could be solved to a large extent if hotels which had their own land along the circular road were permitted to construct parking lots by relaxing the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and setback norms. The deputationists suggested that MoUs should be signed with the hoteliers for developing the proposed parking lots which the administration had failed to construct all these years. They also drew the attention of Mr Dhumal towards the undue harassment of private bus operators from other states because of which tour operators of Maharashtra and Gujarat had virtually boycotted Shimla as a tourist destination. Mr Dhumal informed them that instructions had already been issued to police in this regard. |
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Panel to probe Rozi's
death Shimla, May 19 The Forest Minister, Thakur Roop Singh, said the other members of the committee were Mr Vinod Rishi, Director, Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Darjeeling, Prof V.K. Peshin, coordinator, Indian Wildlife Health Cooperation and Dr P.K. Malik, senior Reader, Wildlife Institute of India,
Dehradun. |
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Woman’s head
shaved off Mandi, May 19 When contacted, Mr J.R. Thakur, S.P., said yesterday that a case had been registered against Sansar Chand and four others. According to the police, the victim had married Sansar Chand, but the marriage had ended in a divorce. Recently she had returned home to Sansar Chand who accepted her for the sake of children. She allegedly did not mend her ways due to which Sansar Chand and four others ‘punished’ her by shaving off her head. |
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