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Tuesday, January 22, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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Cong fails to project united front Virbhadra refutes land-grab charges Kainthla panel report to be BJP poll plank
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China sets free Tibetan musician HP to expand road network 25 years gone but no cement plant PARWANOO DIARY BADDI DIARY Woman’s body found hanging
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Cong fails to project united front Dharamsala, January 21 Prominent Virbhadra loyalists, including the All-India Mahila Congress President and Rajya Sabha member, Mrs Chandresh Kumari, party MLAs — Mr Chander Kumar and Mr B.B.L. Butail — and the state NSUI president, Mr Kewal Pathania, were conspicuous by their absence at the first major rally organised by the Stokes faction in Kangra district. It was the presence of a former HPCC chief and senior Congress leader, Mr Sat Mahajan, along with a large number of his supporters from Nurpur, at the rally which came as a surprise. Mr Mahajan had so far been maintaining distance from both rival factions by remaining neutral. In fact, a large number of people at the rally had specially come from Nurpur to make the show of strength by the Stokes faction a success. Apart from a former minister, Mr Vijai Mankotia, and the Kangra DCC president, Mr M.R. Goma, a party MLA, Mr G.S. Bali, also made efforts to mobilise crowd for the rally. Addressing party workers at the rally, Mrs Stokes said, though the BJP had succeeded in dividing the people of the state by using the card of regionalism in 1998, yet it had miserably failed to come up to expectations of the public. “It is imperative to have a strong and stable government so as to override regional and parochial tendencies which can otherwise endanger the concept of unity in diversity,” she stressed. The Congress chief said the BJP stood exposed on the issue of corruption and “anti-people” policies like water and power tariff hike, user charges in hospitals, privatisation and complete sellout of Himachal’s interests in signing of MoUs for major power projects. She accused the BJP-HVC regime of non-performance, fiscal mismanagement and failure on all fronts. “Frequent and arbitrary transfers and humiliating postings were being given to public servants who were proving to be inconvenient for the government,” she regretted. Mrs Stokes said the Congress on coming to power would given maximum percentage of reservation to the other backward classes (OBCs) as per the recommendations of the commission set up for the task. She reiterated her party’s commitment to protect the interests of women, youth, farmers, OBCs, SCs and STs and other weaker sections of society. “Seeing the steep increase in the number of educated unemployed youth, the Congress will chalk out a programme where one member from every family will be provided a job,” she assured. Mrs Stokes said the common man was feeling insecure, especially after the December 13 attack on Parliament. She regretted that even Himachal was threatened with the
spill over of militancy and exhorted Congressmen to thwart any move of the divisive and anti-social forces. Those who were present at the rally included Mrs Viplove Thakur, Mr Harsh Mahajan and Mr G.S. Bali, MLAs, Mr Vijai Mankotia, Mr Goma, Mr Kewal Pathania, a former MP, Mr K.D. Sultanpuri, a former HPCC Chief, Mr Gian Chand Totu, and the state Youth Congress President, Mr Sukhwinder Singh.
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Virbhadra refutes land-grab charges Shimla, January 21 Mr Virbhadra Singh, talking to mediapersons here, said he did not possess even an inch of land more than the prescribed ceiling of the law. He said he had offered to surrender the surplus land, if any, after having detected a bona fide procedural mistake under which the land belonging to his mother after her death in 1994 was transferred in the name of his elder daughter under Section 4 (4) of the Land Ceiling Act. But subsequently, after having come to know that the provision had been amended and the land could not be transferred to a daughter, he applied for a correction in the revenue record. Mr Virbhadra Singh said he had moved an application before the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) in this regard on his own and not after receiving a notice from him as was being claimed by some BJP activists. Mr Virbhadra Singh produced a copy of the inventories of the private properties of rulers of states merger in Himachal Pradesh published by the Centre and said that all properties were listed in the document and an attempt was being made to mislead people on the issue in view of the elections. The private properties of former rulers have been determined in the document, he said. He said the 1,300-bigha deodar forest, about which some people were trying to create confusion, was listed in the document at serial No 9. Some such persons were recently admitted into the Congress by the PCC chief, MsVidya Stokes, he said. He said the “land disputes” being raked up by some vested interests had already been adjudicated up to the level of the Supreme Court. The then
Lokayukata, Mr Justice Mishra, who was a former judge of the Supreme Court, on a complaint of Mr Ram Lal Suri, had given a report observing that the allegations of land-grab were baseless, he said. These allegations were also rejected by the anti-corruption court and the high court, he claimed. Mr Virbhadra Singh said the government was not taking any action against those who had grabbed forest and government land and was trying to make him a scapegoat. Mr Virbhadra Singh said the Congress had been demanding in the Assembly and outside that the government should appoint a sitting judge of the high court as the commission for enquiring into the incidents of violence of March, 1998, but the demand had been rejected and a retired Sessions Judge, Mr H.D. Kainthla, was appointed for the purpose. He rejected the report of the commission which held him “vicariously” responsible for these incidents and indicted five MLAs. |
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Kainthla panel report to be BJP poll plank Shimla, January 21 A two-day meeting of the party’s state executive which concluded yesterday at Bilaspur finalised its strategy to retain power in the state. In a move to neutralise the impact of the anti-incumbency factor, which has been playing a decisive role in the elections over the past two decades, the party decided to focus on issues like the Kainthla Commission report and irregularities in the enforcement of land laws to pin down Congress Legislative Party leader Virbhadra Singh and other party men. The Kainthla Commission, which indicted Mr Virbhadra Singh and some Congress legislators for the incidents of political violence in the wake of a hung Assembly in March, 1998, has provided the much-needed ammunition to the ruling party to attack the Congress. Similarly, party strategists feel that by initiating action to rectify the irregularities in the enforcement of the Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, the Land Ceiling Act and state Land Reforms and Tenancy Act will enable the party to put prominent Congress leaders belonging to erstwhile ruling families like Mr Virbhadra Singh and Ms Asha Kumari on the mat. The party also plans to exploit the Vajpayee government’s diplomatic victory over Pakistan in the post-Sept 11 attacks period. The global fight against terrorism will be used to push the nationalist agenda of the party. The party had organised “vikas yatras” in all Assembly segments two months ago to inform people about the achievements of the Dhumal government. However, the lukewarm response to the “yatra” in most places convinced party bosses that the performance of the government on the development front alone will not help the BJP to win the elections. It has to somehow attack the Opposition to gain political mileage. To galvanise the party machinery at grass-roots level and effectively pursue the issues, the party has decided to organise political conferences in all 68 Assembly constituencies over the next few months. The Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, and other senior party leaders will be present at these conferences. The tone of the party’s campaign will be set by none other than Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who will address a rally here on March 24 to mark the completion of four years of the Dhumal government in office. The party’s foundation day on April 6 will also used to mobilise workers. Functions will be held in each Assembly constituency on the occasion and the workers will hoist the party flag in their houses and business establishments. The party has also taken a serious notice of the growing incidents of indiscipline at the constituency level. Mr O.P. Kohli, National Secretary, in charge of Himachal affairs, has emphasised the need for maintaining discipline at all levels and advised workers not to raise party matters in the Press. Mr Jai krishan Sharma, the state party President, has warned that strict action would be taken against erring party men. |
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Tourists throng Shimla, Kufri Shimla, January 21 A good number of tourists have arrived here from the neighbouring Chandigarh and Punjab. Although today was a bright sunny day, but the cold wave swept the state capital and the surrounding areas. Kufri was the first destination of the fresh tourists, who thereafter converged at the Ridge where they had a good time. Many of them also went around the Mall and visited the Jakhu temple where the hill was full of snow. Local residents had a difficult time in coming down from the Jakhu area as the frozen snow had made the roads slippery. However, the occupancy in the hotels here was not up to the expectation of the owners as many tourists from Chandigarh and other nearby places returned in the evening. PTI adds: Water pipes were frozen at many places in Shimla and thick ground frost hampered vehicular traffic as entire Himachal continued to reel under a piercing cold wave which continued unabated even though today and day temperature rose marginally as sun shone over large tracts of lands. Shimla had coldest night of the season with mercury dipping to -4°C in the upper areas of the town. Thick ground frost and slippery road conditions hampered the movement of vehicles in the morning but normalised as the day advanced. The avalanche threat loomed large over the high altitude tribal areas which groaned under biting cold wave conditions with the mercury staying between -16°C and -24°C. |
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China sets free Tibetan musician Dharamsala, January 21 In a statement issued here today, the joint secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations, Mr Dawa Tsering, said it was only after pressure was mounted by various human rights organisations, parliamentarians and several governments that the Chinese released Ngawang who was reported to be suffering from serious ailments. He said Ngawang had gone to Tibet to film a documentary on traditional performing arts when he was taken into custody for allegedly engaging in “separatist activities”. He added that the musician had reached Detroit yesterday where representatives of the International Campaign for Tibet would look after him. The Tibetan Government-in-Exile said China must release other prisoners like the Panchen Lama, Chadral Rinpoche, Ngawang Sangdrol and Tanak Jigme Sangpo who had been arrested for standing up for the basic freedom and rights of Tibetans.
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HP to expand road network Shimla, January 21 The efforts to expand and improve the road network in the rural areas have got a big boost with the introduction of the pradhan mantri gram sadak yozna (PMGSY). The state government has formulated rural road plans for all 12 districts, which have been approved by the State-level Standing Committee on PMGSY. As many as 3082 villages having a population in excess of 250 are yet to be provided connectivity with allweather roads. Of these, 2338 roads having a length of 13643 km have been identified under the scheme. In all, Rs 2,784 crore will be required for providing road connectivity to them. Last year, Rs 60 crore was provided under the PMGSY to the state for the construction of 127 roads. The allocation was doubled for the current year and 219 roads have been approved for construction. From this year, all roads under the PMGSY will be drawn from the approved district rural road plan. The plan envisages to construct 275 roads in Chamba district, 450 in Kangra, 80 in Hamirpur, 110 in Una, 172 in Bilaspur, 425 in Mandi, 114 in Kulu, 9 in Lahaul Spiti, 359 in Shimla, 114 in Solan, 169 in Sirmaur and 38 in Kinnaur. The roads would open new vistas of social-economic development in the state. In addition, the funding for the construction of roads in the state is also being arranged from NABARD and 199 schemes had been got approved. The roads important from agriculture and horticulture point of view were being given priority under the scheme. The state government is laying special emphasis on the construction of roads and bridges in the tribal belt of the state. With the dedication of Sagnam-Mud road constructed at a cost of Rs 4.15 crore in the Pin valley at Sagnam, the last village, Mud of Spiti, has been connected with the rest of the world. The state has a total motorable road length of 22553 km, of which 11251 km. is metalled. Cross drainage has been provided in 11306 km. The road density of the state is 40.50 km per 100 sq. km. The allocation of funds for this sector has been increased by almost, 250 per cent in a period of three years. Since 1998-99, an amount of Rs 808.77 crore had been spent on the construction of roads in the state and 2283 km of roads and 185 bridges have been constructed during the period. In all 232 villages have been provided road connectivity. As many as 2807 km of roads has been metalled during which is one-fourth of the total metalled road length in the state. Besides, 2109 km of roads have been provided cross drainage. Road connectivity to all villages in next three-four years will give the much needed boost to the rural economy in the state and make people living in the far-flung areas self-reliant. |
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25 years gone but no
cement plant Chamba, January 21 The minister conceived the plan of setting up the cement plant way back in 1977 when he was the minister for public works. Twentyfive years have elapsed but the proposed cement plant could not be set up and the inordinate delay in the clearance of the cement plant has now shattered the hopes of residents of the area. According to official sources, the Rs 650 crore plant would have an annual production of 1.5 million tonnes of cement. The plant was expected to give employment to 10,000 persons including 4,000 skilled technicians, besides indirect employment to local people, they said. Moreover, despite the fact that most of the areas of Chamba district had a wide scope for development of industrial complexes, the district lacked medium and large-scale industries, they said. The site at Hatli in the Bhattiyat area of Chamba district for the proposed project still waiting to be developed though it falls in the constituency, which is being represented by the Minister for Industries himself. The site is located adjacent to the National Highway No. 20 (Pathankot-Manali highway). The minister four years ago had promised to set up industries based on the local produce from herbs, agriculture and horticulture, but failed to do so. |
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PARWANOO DIARY Parwanoo At a meeting here, the employees have urged the Chief Minister to sanction payscales on scale -to-scale pattern as adopted earlier from January 1, 1996. The members of both associations have appealed to the Chief Minister to give necessary directions to the Board to withdraw the order No. 9/HPSEB/9Sectt/2001 dated December 12, 2001 in the larger interest of the employees INTERACTION MEET: An interaction meeting of the representatives of various trades was held here in the Income Tax office to hear the grievances and educate the Income tax payers. Ms Sunita
Dugal, Income Tax Officer, presided over the meeting. Matters regarding 1/6 scheme, payment of advance tax and other matters were discussed. The taxpayers were told to pay taxes honestly. They were asked to visit the local office to sort out any problem. Ms Duggal informed the people present in the meeting that the date for filing the returns in Form No. 2C has been extended to March 31, 2002. TRAINING CAMP: A seven-day training programme under the Prime Minister Rojgar Yojna was organised here in the office of the Member Secretary, Single Window System. In all, 35 beneficiaries participated in the training camp. This camp was important for those seeking loans under this scheme or loans sanctioned disbursed to start their own venture under the self-employment scheme. Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjay
Lakhanpal, who was the chief guest in the valedictory function, gave away the certificate to the participants. Dr Mehta, member secretary, Mr Anant Ram, Extension Officer, (Ind) and Mr Ashok Sharma, Extension Officer were present on the occasion. AIDS AWARENESS: The Regional Director of Publicity, Nahan, organised AIDS awareness programme here for the truck operators and truck drivers. A documentary film was shown to the people. The programme was inaugurated by Mr Amarjeet Singh Bawa, the president of local truck union and president of Himachal Pradesh
INTUC. Regional Publicity Officer Hemant Kumar Chuhan said that the directorate has been organising programmes on anti-smoking, AIDS and family planning in Dharampur block. FAREWELL TO AC: A warm farewell was given to Mr Sanjay Sharma, Assistant Commissioner on his transfer as SDM, Poanta
Shahib, Nahan district by the Government Officers Association of Parwanoo. A dinner was hosted by the Association in his honour. Superintendent of Police, Solan and other officers of the district attended it. It is important to mention here that Mr Sanjay Sharma, had a long stay here as the Assistant Commissioner. Mr Yogesh Bali and the other employees of the Assistant Commissioner’s office bid him a hearty farewell as he was a popular official.
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BADDI DIARY Baddi Addressing a meeting after inaugurating two tubewell schemes at Sherawalli village of Nalagarh tehsil, he said the government was according top priority to the farming community. The scheme being funded by the NABARD would benefit the farmers of Changar area by irrigating about 900 bighas of arable land. A sum of Rs 65 lakh has been spent on the scheme. Felicitating the people on the occasion of the New Year, the minister said that a number of development works had been undertaken in their area which included construction of about 120 km of roads for which Rs eight crore was incurred. Funds have been sanctioned for the repair of various link roads and bridges in the Nalagarh sub-division, he said. To facilitate the students of far-flung areas studying at Nalagarh Degree College, Rs 1 crore 25 lakh has been sanctioned for the construction of a 90-room hostel, the Minister said. He also informed that a 100-bed additional building had already been constructed in Nalagarh hospital to help patients. It would soon be made functional, the minister indicated. To spread green revolution in the Changar area of the sub-division, as many as 40 tubewells had been installed here which will benefit the farmers by increasing their yield and thus raising their economic status, he said. The government was undertaking development works in the Nalagarh constituency in a planned manner. He also lauded the efforts of the officials of irrigation, public health and electricity departments for the developmental works being executed in the area. OFFICIALS’ VISIT: Industries Director P.C. Dhiman and Himachal Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation Managing Director R.D. Dhiman visited this industrial area on Friday. They also visited Unichem Laboratories and Birla Industries. They inspected a 700-bigha site close to the Vardmaan Mills which is proposed to be acquired by the government for setting up of an apparel unit. The State Government, which is providing a number of incentives to the industrialists to invest in the State has attracted investors by providing a five-year tax holiday. The government is encouraging unemployed youth in the State to go in for small-scale ventures without depending on government jobs. The setting up of more industries in the area will generate more employment avenues for the local youth and the State Government has made it mandatory for the industrial units to provide at least 65 per cent jobs to the Himachalis. Stress is also being given to promote units using locally available raw material like fruits. HOSPITAL OPENED: Sub-divisional Magistrate
K.C. Chaman inaugurated a hospital here recently. It was set up by Bhojia Charitable Trust to serve the people of this town. This town is inhabited by a large number of industrial workers who were in dire need of a hospital. A team of five doctors will be permanently posted here who will provide speciality healthcare including dental care. There is also a provision for conducting tests for the patients who will be taken to their hospital near here in a van. This facility will be permanently made available to the people. To help the industrial workers, recreation facilities after the usual closure hours will be provided to them. A number of camps are being conducted by the doctors of the dental college in which thousands of industrial workers were checked and provided medicines. They propose to organise more such camps in the coming days. In addition, a tuberculosis check-up camp will be organised from January 30 to February 6 in which specialists from PGI, Chandigarh will attend. The hospital also plans to adopt some patients and would take full care of their treatment. The hospital has taken a lead in developing community health service in the area.
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Woman’s body found hanging Mandi, January 21 The police took the body, which bore bruises, into its possession and registered a case against her mother-in-law under Section 306 of the IPC. After a post mortem, the body was handed over to her parents. The mother-in-law has been arrested by the police. When the deceased was being cremated, her husband, Duryodhan, jumped into the pyre. He was rescued, but his legs got burnt and he was immediately rushed to the hospital. SHO Kali Dass Sharma who is investigating the case ruled out the possibility of a murder. |
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Two die of asphyxiation Kumarhatti, January 21 Mr Kartik Bagh and his wife, however, managed to open a door on the next day. The police was informed and the bodies were taken to the Community Health Centre at Dharampur, where a post-mortem examination was carried out. |
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