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Tuesday,
May 29, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Election-like
atmosphere in Himachal Complaint
against MLA for assault Govt
directives being “flouted” Stokes
demands crop insurance scheme Taxi
operators flout rules with impunity |
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Human
rights body holds meeting ‘Publish
pact with NTPC’ Reduction
in tribal sub-plan flayed Move to
withdraw DD powers opposed Australian
envoy calls on Governor Release
of INTUC state chief sought Bridge
over Sutlej opened to traffic HP
staff body’s office-bearers Brig
Bakshi to be WB consultant
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Election-like atmosphere
in Himachal Shimla, May 28 The ruling BJP is trying to cash in on the internal feuds of the Congress which is divided into Virbhadra Singh and Vidya Stokes camps. Although the Assembly elections are bout 21 months away, leaders of all parties are making efforts to make their presence felt. The HVC, which is supporting the BJP government of Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, is also holding statewide rallies. The CLP leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, is on a tour of the interior areas. He will address rallies in the far-flung Pangi valley, including Killar, this week. He recently addressed a large rally in Sirmour district at a place adjoining the Theog constituency of Ms Stokes. This was probably done by his supporters to show his strength in his rival’s domain. Ms Stokes is wooing the youth to make her rallies successful. However, not many sitting legislators of the Congress are with her and she is taking the help of a parallel leadership which her group has created in several areas. She has starting taking back those persons who had been earlier expelled during the regime of Mr Virbhadra Singh on charges of anti-party activities. Mr Virbhadra Singh and Ms Stokes have not come on a common platform, except on two occasions when a Congress rally was held at Nagrota Bhagwan in Kangra in the presence of Ms Mohsina Kidwai, Congress General Secretary, and earlier in an anti-BJP government rally here. However, groupism in the party came to the fore on both occasions. Both of them have addressed separate rallies in several districts. Prof Dhumal is watching carefully the developments in the Congress. There are allegations that one group of the Congress is in contact with him as it wanted him to continue as Chief Minister rather than Mr Virbhadra Singh coming to power. The HVC leader, Mr Sukh Ram, is undertaking a statewide tour and it is being said he is preparing for contesting the next elections without an alliance with the BJP. |
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Complaint against
MLA for assault Dharamsala, May 28 Employees of the hotel in their complaint to the police have alleged that they were beaten up and abused by the MLA, his friend, driver and the gunman on the night of May 26. Demanding police action, they said the driver and gunman of the MLA forced their way into the hotel at about 12.30 a.m. and asked them to remove vehicles from the road. The six employees, Zulfi Ram, Sevan Singh, Shuba
Karan, Akash, Des Raj and Shekar Dev, made a complaint to the police yesterday after a counter complaint had already been filed against them by the driver of the MLA. Medical examination of two employees, Sevan Singh and Shubh
Karan, was also done. The driver of the MLA, Naresh Pathania, said on Saturday at about 10.30 p.m. when he was coming back from Hotel Bhagsu Nag with Mr Rakesh Pathania and his family, he found the road obstructed due to haphazard parking of tourist buses and jeeps outside Hotel
Surya. He alleged that when he, along with the gunman of the MLA went inside the hotel to ask the drivers to remove the vehicles, they were abused by the employees of the hotel. In his complaint to the police he demanded that action should be taken against the employees of the hotel for misbehaving and wrong parking. In the past also, there have been problems due to wrong parking of vehicles outside hotels on the road leading to the HP Tourism Development Corporation hotel, Bhagsu Nag. The road to the hotel gets obstructed often, especially for tourist
coaches. Mr Rakesh Pathania, when contacted, said his name was unnecessarily being dragged into the issue. He said he was in no way involved in the incident. |
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Govt directives being “flouted” Dalhousie, May 28 Ms Asha Kumari said the state government had already issued instructions not to release water and electricity connections to those who had not got the constructions approved or had violated the provisions of the approval granted by the Department of Town and Country Planning. Ms Asha Kumari expressed surprise over the fact that water and electricity connections were released even to those whose constructions were declared unauthorised and added that in many cases, the Department of Town and Country Planning was a silent spectator. |
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Stokes demands crop insurance scheme Solan, May 28 Ms Stokes, while addressing a press conference here, said the farmers in the state had been devastated due to successive draughts and inclement weather over the past three years. The crop insurance scheme could not be introduced in the state due to the failure of the government to do the necessary groundwork like survey of crop areas and expected yields, she alleged. This had lead to avoidable losses to farmers, she said. Ms Stokes demanded that the government should act without further delay in introducing the crop insurance scheme in the state. She criticised the government over the alleged total breakdown of law and order situation in the state. She demanded immediate increase in the strength of the police force in all interstate border areas and number of vehicles at the disposal of the police force in such areas. She decried the state of neglect of health and educational institutions. Most dispensaries in the state were without adequate staff and stock of medicines, she said. Many schools were functioning without the requisite staff, she added. |
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Taxi operators flout rules with
impunity Kumarhatti, May 28 According to rules, the taxi operators can carry passengers only at a fixed amount, but inquiries revealed that they were carrying passengers by charging the bus fare between Dharampur and Subathu. Sources said the taxi operators also carried passengers on the way which they could not do under the rules. They doubled their fare in the evening when there was no bus service to Subathu from Dharampur. The situation has reached alarming proportions as the taxi operators almost force passengers to sit in their taxis. Scuffles between private bus operators and taxi operators have become a routine affair as the taxis have cut into the occupancy rate in the buses. “We have to follow certain rules and we can not delay the bus timings for want of passengers whereas this is not the case with taxi operators who often carry passengers beyond the sitting capacity by offering fares equal to a bus”, lamented a private bus operator. Most of the taxis running between Dharampur and Subathu are packed to capacity often endangering the lives of passengers who prefer to travel by a taxi hoping to be dropped at a place of their choice. Some of the residents complained that a nexus between the authorities concerned, the local police and the taxi operators had led to the current situation. Meanwhile, the RTO, Solan said he had received complaints in this regard and he intended to conduct raids to stop this illegal trade. |
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Human rights body
holds meeting Kasauli, May 28 While addressing a gathering on the occasion various speakers highlighted the organisation’s achievements and urged the people to put up a joint fight against the corrupt forces which have maligned the society. The president of the Himachal Pradesh unit of the organisation, while speaking on the occasion, said the organisation had sought a ban on gender-determination tests in Punjab. He alleged that despite specific laws in this regard, the state government had failed to keep a check on such clinics and the trade was flourishing. |
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‘Publish pact
with NTPC’ Bilaspur, May 28 Addressing mediapersons here today, Mr Verma said since both the government and the NTPC were keeping this written agreement as a “closely-guarded secret”, the people of the state and particularly, the dam oustees, had every reason to believe that there was something in it which would harm the interests of the state and the oustees. |
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Reduction in tribal
sub-plan flayed Shimla, May 28 Mr Virbhadra Singh, who was addressing farmer’ rally at Keylong in the tribal district of
Lahaul-Spiti, said the previous Congress government provided 9 per cent tribal sub-plan for the development of the area, but the present BJP government reduced it. Mr Virbhadra Singh was given a rousing reception on his arrival in the district. He was accompanied by Thakur Kaul Singh, MLA and former Speaker. The former Chief Minister, who is touring the remote tribal areas, accused the BJP government of being anti-Himachali and anti-employees. It had failed to protect the interests of the weaker sections and the tribal areas, he alleged. He alleged that corruption was rampant and the office of Chief Minister had become a fountain head of corruption. Although the state was facing an acute financial crisis, but funds were being diverted to unproductive expenditure and nepotism was being encouraged. As a result of faulty economic policies and fiscal mismanagement, the state had been pushed to the brink of financial bankruptcy. Thakur Kaul Singh accused the Dhumal government of selling the interests of Himachal Pradesh and said that the tribal and backward areas were suffering because of shortage of staff in schools and health institutions. |
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Move to withdraw DD powers
opposed Bilaspur, May 28 In a signed statement here today, association district president Premlal Sharma said the proposal, if implemented would cripple the functioning of high schools and it would also block all promotion chances of trained graduate teachers. The association demanded that since more than 50 per cent posts of principal in government senior secondary schools were lying vacant, they should be immediately filled and the proposal to abolish several posts in the Education Department should be dropped. The association’s general house would be held here in the Government Senior Secondary School for Girls on June 5 at 11 a.m. to consider the plan of action regarding the long-pending demands charter. |
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Australian envoy calls on Governor Shimla, May 28 They exchanged views on issues of mutual interest and the Governor presented Mr Laurie a Himachali cap and a scarf. The High Commissioner was accompanied by Mr Kerry Groves, First Secretary, Australian High Commission. |
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Release of
INTUC state chief sought Nurpur, May 28 He alleged that the arrest was politically motivated. He warned that the INTUC workers would block traffic at Parwanoo if the state government did not release Mr Amerjit Singh within 24 hours. |
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Bridge over Sutlej
opened to traffic Shimla, May 28 The bridge has been constructed under project Deepak of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) following the washing away of the old bridge in last year’s flood. The chief engineer of the project, Brig B.M. Bakshi, said the bridge had been constructed at a height of 60 ft from the river-level. All six bridges on the highway, which were washed away in the flood, have been constructed at higher levels. |
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HP staff body’s office-bearers Nahan, May 28 The following were elected office-bearers: president — Mr Ved Prakash Sharma; general secretary — Mr Geeta Ram Tomar; senior vice-president — Mr Madan Singh; vice-presidents — Neelam Chauhan, Mr Kuldev Thakur, Mr Anup Sharma and Mr Omkar Sharma; treasurer — Mr Subhash Chaudhry; and joint-secretary — Mr Parveen Seval. |
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Brig Bakshi to be
WB consultant Shimla, May 28 Brig V.K. Negi has been appointed chief Engineer of the project and will take over on June 1. During his 27-month stint in the BRO, Brig Bakshi was instrumental in keeping the Leh-Manali highway open for troops during the Kargil conflict when the Srinagar-Leh highway was under constant fire by the enemy. |
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Cong session Shimla, May 28 |
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Constable shoots himself Dharamsala, May 28 According to the Additional Superintendent of Police Mr Ram
Lal, the Constable reported for the duty at 6 am and within minutes shot himself with the revolver in the police post. The body has been sent for post-mortem. |
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