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Tuesday,
September 18, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Virbhadra loyalists at work HP set for aromatic oil
industry
France to set up food park in HP
Buddha festival
concludes
Need to educate workers stressed |
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Facelift for historic
tank BJP govt ‘anti-Dalit’
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Virbhadra loyalists at work Dharamsala, September 17 The Congress is holding a rally at Palampur on September 19 where the former Chief Minister will be arriving with senior leaders, including party MLAs. This is the third rally which will be addressed by Mr Virbhadra Singh in Kangra after two successful shows at Nagrota and Jawali earlier. Virbhadra loyalist and MLA from Palampur B.B.L. Butail has taken the responsibility for the rally which is likely to be attended by party workers from the adjoining constituencies of Baijnath, Sulah, Thural and Palampur. Out of the five Assembly segments in Palampur and Baijnath subdivisions, barring Rajgir, which was earlier represented by Kangra DCC chief M.R. Goma, all are dominated by Virbhadra loyalists. The All-India Mahila Congress President and Rajya Sabha member, Mrs Chandresh Kumari, is expected at the rally. The Assembly segment of Thural, which has been represented by her earlier, falls in the subdivision. With Mrs Chandresh Kumari joining hands with Mr Virbhadra following differences between her and the HPCC chief, Mrs Vidya Stokes, the Virbhadra loyalists are in an upbeat mood. Surprisingly, the Kangra DCC chief, Mr Goma, is keeping himself away from the rally and is learnt to have said that he has not been taken into confidence. Though the organisers of the rally say they had sent invitations to the HPCC chief, Mrs Vidya Stokes, and all other senior leaders, it is unlikely that those belonging to the rival camp will attend the rally. Congress leaders from the area are making efforts to mobilise a gathering at the rally. Apart from Mr Butail, a diehard Virbhadra loyalist, Mr Sudhir Sharma, Congress candidate and son of former minister, Sant Ram, and the Congress candidate from Sulah, Mr Jagjivan Pal, are busy making arrangements for the rally. With the Stokes camp holding a workers’ meeting in Kangra two months back, the Virbhadra loyalists are out to prove that the former Chief Minister remains a leader of the masses with a following in Kangra. Out of the four Congress MLAs from Kangra, three of them, Mr Chander Kumar, Mr B.B.L. Butail and Mr G.S. Bali, owe allegiance to Mr Virbhadra Singh. Last month Mr Virbhadra Singh addressed an impressive rally at Jwali. The HPCC chief Mrs Vidya Stokes, despite an invitation by the local MLA, Mr Chander Kumar, did not turn up. With elections approaching near, the Congress has held rallies all over the state. The rival political party, the BJP, has yet to hold any major show in Kangra district which has 16 Assembly segments. In fact, the HVC chief, Mr Sukh Ram, had chosen Kangra as the venue for the
anniversary celebrations of his party. |
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Virbhadra to hold rallies in
Kinnaur Shimla, September 17 Mr Virbhadra Singh’s supporters are leaving no stone unturned for an impressive turnout in his rallies. The next rally is being held at Palampur in Kangra district on Wednesday. Although the BJP has been trying to portray him as opposed to Kangra people, yet large gatherings at his recent public meetings at Jawali and Lambloo village of Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal’s home constituency have unnerved the ruling party as well his detractors within the Congress. Mr Virbhadra Singh is considered the only crowd puller in the Congress party in the state and the boycott of his rallies by various PCC leaders has failed to dampen the spirit of his supporters. A majority of the Congress legislators has been participating in his rallies. He will begin a week-long tour of the tribal areas of Kinnaur and Spiti from September 28 when he will visit the Sangla valley, Kalpa, Pooh, Chango, Spilo, Tabo, Kaza, Pin valley and Losar and other places. He is also scheduled to address a rally at Karsog on September 27. |
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HP set for aromatic oil
industry Shimla, September 17 The state has the potential for hosting geranium, lavender, rose and tagetes oils industries as the Palampur-based Institute of Himalayan Bioresources Technology (IHBT), which reportedly has the knowhow in these oils, which are being imported from China and various European countries. The Adviser (Biotechnology), Dr P.K. Khosla, told the TNS here today that the technology for cultivation and processing of these plants for extracting these valuable oils was available with the IHBT which had established demonstration models at Khundian and Kulu. He stressed the need for strengthening the bio-base of herbal and medicinal plants by documenting and patenting these followed by mass multiplication. These plants were being taken out of the state by the drugs industry at present. Dr Khosla said a complete package had to be worked out for those engaged in bio-technology farming so that the industry flourished, particularly in rural areas. He said Himachal Pradesh had a great potential for organic farming which fetched higher price in the market. The state government would function as a facilitator in this field and strengthen research and development in the universities. A Rs 2 crore project had already been sanctioned for the university. The state government was preparing a document on the vision for development of biotechnology during the Tenth Plan for submitting the same to the Centre which had decided to give top priority to this field in the next Plan. Stress would be laid on research, high quality human resource development, bio-technology in rural sector and setting up of bio-tech parks. Bio-tech parks were proposed to be established at Waknaghat and somewhere between Shahpur and Jogindernagar. |
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France to set up food park in HP Shimla, September 17 The French Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr Jean Glavany, conveyed this to Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, when he met him at Krishi Bhavan in Delhi today. It was also decided that a high-level delegation of experts, headed by Bernard de Montferrand, Ambassador of France in India, will visit Himachal Pradesh soon to work out the modalities in this respect. Mr Dhumal informed that Himachal Pradesh was a major source of horticulture and agriculture produce for which imparting of scientific knowhow was a must so that value-added products could be produced by the people of the state. In addition, there was also a great scope for floriculture in Himachal Pradesh, he added. The Chief Minister said the setting up of this park would benefit farmers of the state and go a long way in strengthening their economy. The Union Minister for Rural Development, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, the Union Minister for Food Processing and senior officers of both countries were present during the meeting. |
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Buddha festival
concludes Shimla, September 17 Presiding over the concluding function, Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister, said the teachings of Buddha were equally relevant in the 21st century. He said the government had taken up the case of opening an institute in the state for the development of Buddha literature, which would benefit the people of the country. |
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Need to educate workers stressed Parwanoo, September 17 This was stated by Dr Suraj Bhan, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, while speaking at the inauguration function of the 44th Foundation Day celebrations of the Central Workers’ Education Board here yesterday. He was the chief guest at the function. Mr Kishori Lal, Industries Minister, Himachal Pradesh, presided over the function. Dr Suraj Bhan said the strength of India lay in the labour force and it was necessary to educate the labour class so that the development of society took place in the right direction. The Governor appealed to trade union leaders and labourers to adopt a positive attitude towards work and the nation. He said no nation could progress in the absence of national spirit and commitment. Appreciating the efforts of the board, he stressed the importance of the role of teachers, who could play a big role in bringing about equality, national integration, social justice and national unity. He emphasised that good workers should be rewarded and this would develop healthy competition among the workers. Presiding over the valedictory function late in the evening, Mr Kishori Lal, stressed the need to tap human resources to the maximum possible extent to cope with the growing global competition. He said there was need to create a worker friendly environment for industrial peace, harmony and progress. He added that a harmonious relationship between the employer and the worker was essential. Expressing the need to strengthen the workforce keeping in view the challenges being posed by the WTO and the international market, he condemned exploitation of the labour class and asserted that the state government was committed to the welfare of the labour class. |
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Facelift for historic
tank Nahan The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rakesh Kaushal, had asked Mr B.D. Thakur, the then Executive Engineer, Irrigation and Public Health, Nahan, to prepare a detailed plan for the renovation of the Pucca Tank. Mr Thakur drew up plan to be executed in three phases at a cost of over Rs 51 lakh. The proposal was forwarded to the Himachal Pradesh Government by the Deputy Commissioner who underlined the importance of the 250-year-old tank. The state government has now cleared the proposal and agreed to release Rs 20.14 lakh for the execution of the first phase of the project. Nahan town, district headquarters of Sirmaur, was established by King Karan Parkash as the capital of the erstwhile Sirmaur state in 1621 AD. However, in the heart of the town there was no perennial source of water, which made the rulers of the state give importance to the construction of water tanks. The Pucca Tank is the biggest among the five tanks of Nahan. It was constructed by King Vijay Parkash in 1749 AD. At the time of the erstwhile Sirmaur state these tanks not only met the water requirements of the town but also influenced the climate at the micro level and helped maintain the green cover. These tanks used to be a perennial source water. Owing to increased water requirements of the town. a piped water supply scheme was implemented in 1911 by Maharaja Shamsher Parkash of the state. However, even after the introduction of piped water supply, the old tanks did not lose their utility. The pipe system of Nahan town was designed in such a manner that whenever there was an overflow in the main reservoirs at Lal Kothi and the hospital area, the excess water got discharged into the Kalisthan and Pucca Tanks. The “baolis” in the town are now in a dilapidated
condition. A huge amount of silt and waste material have collected in the Pucca Tank, which has been neglected for many years. The Deputy Commissioner said for the renovation and beautification of the Pucca Tank Rs 10.17 lakh would be spent during the current financial year. Another instalment of Rs 10.17 lakh would be received during the next financial year. He said NGOs and others were ready to start kar seva soon at the Pucca Tank with the assistance the district administration and the Municipal Council. The work to be undertaken in the first phase included the removal of silt and the construction of retaining walls, a drain along the tank and a siltation chamber apart from relaying of the sewer. |
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Hand-pumps a boon for rural
women Shimla, September 17 Earlier in summers water scarcity used to be acute that the demand had to be met through deployment of water tankers and trucks and in some cases mules had to be provided. The success of hand pumps on experimental basis in 1990, however, changed all this. The first hand pump was installed at Haritalyanger in Bilaspur district, following which a big programme was launched in the state in 1991-92. During 1997-98 there was a target to intall 715 hand pumps with an outlay of Rs 7.39 crore where as 717 hand pumps were installed. The years 1998-99 witnessed a considerable hike in the installation of hand pumps, when 792 hand pumps were installed at a cost of Rs 9.30 crore. In the following year 790 hand pumps were installed under the state head and 229 through decentralised planning against a target of 704 hand pumps. As many as 698 hand pumps were installed in 2000-2001 at a cost of Rs 6.10 crore. A target to install 650 hand pumps in various parts of state has been set for the current financial year. So far 395 hand pumps out of the targeted 400 for the drought-affected areas have been intalled at a cost of Rs 4 crore. At present 9,935 hand pumps are providing safe drinking water facilities in the state. It has also been decided by the state government to hand over all hand pumps to the panchayat raj institutions for maintenance. The panchayats have already taken over the 3,015 hand pumps under their control. So far the people residing in 55 towns, 16807, villages and 32498 habitations have been provided with the drinking water facilities. Over 4000 habitations are being provided drinking water under the Prime Minister Gram Yojna. An outlay of Rs 7683.84 lakh has been proposed to cover habitations during 2001-2002, including installation of hand pumps as well. |
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BJP
govt ‘anti-Dalit’ Hamirpur, September 17 Talking to mediapersons here last evening, he said in the home district of the Chief Minister itself, Dalits were being framed in many cases, beaten up and their women paraded naked at a village. The police had not registered any complaint, he said. He said the BSP would continue to work for providing reservation to Dalits and oppressed classes of society. He said the party would sweep Vidhan Sabha elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. He announced that Mr Gopi Chand Attri, a senior leader of the Janata Dal (United), had decided to join the party. Mr Attri would be candidate from Bamsan Assembly segment, he added. |
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Village heads’
plea to govt
Hamirpur, September 17
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