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Tuesday,
February 26, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Punjab
debacle won’t affect Himachal BJP: Dhumal Virbhadra: BJP govt should quit Dhumal
asked to contest from Kangra Dissidents lash out at BJP
leaders 5-crore project for Vidhan Sabha |
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Himachal to promote IT services: CM Sainik Rest Houses in ‘deplorable’ state 8-cr handicraft project for HP Farmers help make ‘kuhal’ operational Bumper crop of Japanese orange 2 foreigners with 12 kg charas held 56 deodar sleepers seized Man killed as truck falls into khud
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Punjab debacle won’t affect Himachal
BJP: Dhumal Shimla, February 25 He suspected that a “deliberate attempt” was made to influence the electorate in Uttar Pradesh by a section of the media which was not stopped by the Election Commission from giving the exit polls after the three phases of polling. He demanded a complete ban on exit polls by the Election Commission, he said. The Chief Minister said the ruling BJP in Himachal was already pursuing the agenda of development and its leaders were always meeting the expectations of the people. Mr Dhumal said the defeat of the BJP-SAD combine in Punjab should be treated as a warning signal for the Congress here because it has been a tradition that when the party wins in Punjab, its performance in Himachal Pradesh is poor. When the Congress bagged 10 of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab in 1999, it was completely routed in Himachal Pradesh. Moreover, he said the geographical and political situation in this hill state was different and the Assembly elections were a year away. He said the BJP government got knocked down in the newly formed state of Uttaranchal because the expectations of the people there were high after having achieved a separate state. One of the reason for the defeat of the BJP-SAD government in Punjab was delay in abolishing octroi because of which the benefit did not reach people. Mr Dhumal said while the Congress made corruption the main election plank, one of the Prime Ministers belonging to their party was punished by the court for being involved in a corruption case. Meanwhile, the poor performance of the BJP in three states has demoralised party activists, but the Congress is in high spirits. The enthusiasm of Congress activists was visible at Ghumarwin where the CLP leader. Mr Virbhadra Singh, addressed a public meeting today. Mr Virbhadra Singh and other legislators said the Congress was on a come back spree in all states under the leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi. |
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Virbhadra: BJP govt should quit Hamirpur, February 25 He said the results proved that electorate had rejected the policies of the BJP. He also demanded the resignation of the BJP government at the Centre. Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, Mr Virbhadra Singh said people were fed up with the Dhumal government and added that the Congress was ready for Assembly elections in the state. He said that corruption was rampant in the state and prices of essential commodities had soared since the Dhumal government came to power in 1998. |
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Dhumal
asked to contest from Kangra Nurpur, February 25 He asked Congress leadership if they had any claimant for the post of Chief Minister from Kangra. He further alleged that previous Congress governments had discriminated against the district. Mr Pathania said the absence of senior Congress leaders from the district in the rally of the CLP leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh at Fatehpur in Jawali subdivision on Saturday proved that the Virbhadra government which had ruled the state for 12 years had discriminated against the district. |
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Dissidents lash out at BJP
leaders Hamirpur, February 25 The workers’ meeting was held at Dhaneta under the chairmanship of Mr Kamal Nanda, a veteran party leader, who is also the pradhan of the local gram panchayat. Mr Narendra Thakur, former Hamirpur district BJP chief and Mr Dhian Chand Sharma, convener of the Nadaunta bachao and Baldev Sharma hatao manch, also attended the meeting and extended support to their Nadaun counterparts in their struggle against Mr Mandyal. The meeting decided to organise a preeti bhoj (community lunch) for the workers of the area at Dhaneta on March 31. The meeting formed a five-member committee comprising Mr Mansha Ram Padha, Mr Jai Chand Pathania, Mr Ayodhya Dass, Mr Sunder Jain and Mr Braham Dutt Sharma, retired DSP, as its convener to make arrangements for the preeti bhoj and the meeting to take place on the occasion. The tone of the party workers who spoke one after the other was harsh and they blasted their leaders for ignoring them on all occasions. They alleged that while grassroot party workers who had remained loyal to it since the party’s formation were being ignored, those who had joined the party during and after the Assembly poll were thriving. They said they would not tolerate any further humiliation and fight for their rights. They demanded that someone from among the grassroot workers was given the party ticket from the area in the next elections. They said that if the party leadership repeated its mistake, it would have to face the consequences in the next elections. Many workers also alleged that corruption had become a routine affair in the area and people were highly upset over the new work culture. Activists of the Nadaunta bachao and Baldev Sharma hatao manch, on this occasion, extended their full support to their colleagues in the Nadaun area and decided to fight jointly on all issues. Mr Chander Mohan Kapil, a prominent leader of the manch, told the workers about the harassment being meted out to the manch activists by the police and the administration at the instance of the Nadaunta MLA, who is also the district BJP chief. He said when manch leaders refused to end their agitation against the party MLA, they were harassed by the senior police officers of the district. He, however, said that the manch would go ahead with its agitation against Mr Baldev Sharma till he was removed from all key posts. Former district BJP chief Narendra Thakur who had organised a friends meet at Hamirpur last month gave an account of his meeting with the Chief Minister and said he would continue to fight for the rights of the workers. He said he was lured with the post of the chairperson of a corporation to stop his tirade against the party bosses but he declined the offer of the Chief Minister. He also extended his full support to the Nadaunta manch and the cause of the Nadaun party activists. Mr Nanda, the organiser of yesterday’s meet, while talking to The Tribune on phone claimed that it was a success. The maximum participation of party workers from all nooks and corners of the Nadaun area proved that they were opposed to the working style of the party MLA and the party bosses. He said before organising a preeti bhoj at his Dhaneta residence on March 31, the party activists would organise two more friends meets at other places in the constituency, including Nadaun. The veteran party leader, who was indisposed yesterday, was pained to say that the party bosses had learnt no lesson from the Punjab debacle and were working in a dictatorial manner. He said that the time had come when these leaders should go in for introspection and listen to the workers who had sacrificed their all for the formation of the party in the Himachal Pradesh and Hamirpur district in particular. Mr Mandyal, BJP MLA of the area, was not available for comments. He was reported to be out of station. |
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5-crore project for Vidhan Sabha Shimla, February 25 Speaking on the occasion, Thakur Gulab Singh said that a Rs 5-crore project had been sanctioned for infrastructure development, modernisation and computerisation of the Vidhan Sabha. He said with installation of the close circuit TV, a record of the proceedings of the Vidhan Sabha could be kept, besides its live telecast within the complex and Himachal Raj Bhavan. He said that the public address system installed about 20 years back has been replaced and every member given a facility of a separate microphone at his seat. The Speaker said that to ensure foolproof security in the complex, surveillance cameras had been installed at all gates. He hoped that the system would tighten security arrangements. The Budget session of the Assembly is starting here tomorrow. |
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Shimla has fresh snowfall Shimla, February 25 It suddenly started snowing in the night and by the morning the roofs of houses and trees turned white. This has dipped the temperature after two days of bright sunshine. Higher and mid-hills in Himachal Pradesh today received fresh snow while lower hills were lashed by rains and sleet as biting cold wave continued unabated in the state. |
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Himachal to promote IT services: CM Shimla, February 25 Stating this after launching Internet services of Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) here today Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, said the state had already taken lead in promoting information technology in the state by framing a comprehensive policy and setting up a separate department for it. Millennium Telecom Limited, a subsidiary of the MTNL, had entered into an agreement with the State Electronic Development corporation to provide a host of web-enabled value-added services which would not only improve the functioning of the government but also benefit businessmen, traders and farmers, particularly the fruit growers. The Chief Minister said the joint venture would help introduce web-enabled tendering facility and set-up call centres, application development centres, Internet data centre and other facilities in a phased manner. All this would create employment in knowledge-based industry. He said the government had already taken necessary steps to produce the required trained manpower in the state. Himachal Pradesh University had introduced IT courses at various levels and an institute of international standards was coming up at Vaknaghat, near here, in the private sector. Besides, IT parks were being set up in the state to promote the IT industry in a big way. Mr Rajiv Aggrawal, Chief Executive of Millennium Telecom, said the objective was to make MTNL a universal telecom service provider to meet the diverse needs of people for telecom services and allied applications on a one-stop basis through service level agreement using multi-service, flexible, customised access supported by a strong billing system. It intended to roll out a roster-based telecom network and create various facilities like application development centres, Internet data centres and for payment processing gateway. It also proposed to be a certifying authority in due course to provide digital signatures at affordable price for boosting e-commerce applications. Further, it would make investments in telecommunications and IT-enabled services (including that of e-governance) in the state in association with the state government with the recommendations of TRAI coming out for opening Internet telephony. The MTNL was looking forward to taking full advantage of the new opening. |
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Sainik Rest Houses in ‘deplorable’ state Kulu, February 25 He said for the first time a senior officer of his rank had been posted at the helm of affairs. He hoped that Brigadier Dogra would rein in all ranks of his department, who, he alleged, had miserably failed in looking after the interests of ex-servicemen, war-widows and their dependants. He alleged that the Sainik Rest Houses in the state were in a deplorable condition as was evident from various letters to the editors of national dailies from time to time. Major Sharma said the serving and ex-service ranks should be provided accommodation on priority as and when asked for in these rest houses. He hoped that the new Director would ensure a decent standard of accommodation and service in these rest houses at least on par with the civil circuit and rest houses. The Sainik Houses at Keylong was an example of utter neglect. He said that by no stretch of imagination, the unexplained and wasteful expenditure of Rs 30,000 spent on the upkeep and white washing of the Sainik Rest House at Kulu could be termed as a welfare measure. He further said that the HP Ex-Servicemen League was the true representative of all ex-servicemen and war-widows of the state and it had been duly recognised by the state government so far as welfare activities were concerned. He suggested that all district presidents of HP Ex-Servicemen League should be involved in welfare activities by the Sainik Welfare Department for better coordination. |
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8-cr handicraft project for HP Mandi, February 25 He said the three-year project would be executed jointly by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) and the District Industries Centre Mandi. A modern comprehensive infrastructure unit would be set up in the district to promote handicraft activities and provide self-employment to 500 families in the beginning. The project envisaged to provide training in various handicraft items, including carpets, metal and wooden handiwork, traditional knitting of socks, bamboo and leather handicraft products. He said three community facility centres would also be set up in the district to provide training and technical assistance to handicraft workers. The Chief Minister further said work on various development projects in the town would be accelerated and added that the motorable bridge on Suketi would be shortly started with financial assistance from HUDCO. He assured that the work of modern bus stand would also be started. |
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Farmers
help make ‘kuhal’ operational Shimla,
February 25 The farmers of the area were deprived of the only means of irrigation owing to the indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned and large-scale encroachment on and around the course of the Kuhal. The affected farmers of the Sudhreh area started making efforts to rejuvenate the defunct kuhal about eight years ago and later formed a development committee under the name of “Krishak Vikas Sangh Gamroo Kuhal”. Headed by Captain B.S. Thapa, an ex-pradhan of Sudherh Gram Panchayat. More than 100 farmers carried out “shramdan” for over six months to restore the kuhal. The Soil Conservation Department also joined in and took up the restoration work of Gamroo kuhal and got it executed through the Krishak Vikas Sangh. The National Bank for Agricultural Rural Development (NABARD) provided Rs 8.51 lakh for the purpose. A number of works, like a headwall diversion dam was built at the source apart from raising retaining walls on all nullahs. At some points, water was even required to be carried through big pipes and structures to check soil erosion were also built. It was an arduous task and was completed with the joint efforts of the “Krishak Vikas Sangh “and the Soil Conservation Department. The Deputy Commissioner of Kangra gave Rs 1 lakh for the restoration of the kuhal which again was damaged due to flash floods. After clearing the debris and repairing the damage on account of flash floods during heavy rain last year, water in the kuhal was again released on November 1, last year. The Sangh will also carry out regular maintenance of the kuhal. Almost, the entire cultivable land in the Kangra valley is irrigated through a strong network of age-old “kuhals” which serve as arteries for the agricultural land. |
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Bumper crop of Japanese orange Mandi The unique character of the imported variety is that it is ripe for plucking in April-May, when no citrus fruit is available in the market. This fruit, known as ‘natsudai dai’ in Japanese, means orange colour in summer. This semi-wild fruit is found in central Japan. According to horticulture scientists, it is the natural hybrid of ‘mandarin into pumello’. The climate of the mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh resembles the belt where ‘natsudai dai’ is grown and where all citrus fruits are found. Besides this, apples, peas and persimmon are also grown there. The seeds of this fruit were first brought to Himachal Pradesh by Dr Chiranjit Parmar in 1990. He had gone on a seven-week tour of Japan on the invitation of Japanese Society for Promotion of Science to deliver lectures on Himalayan wild fruits in Japanese universities and horticulture research stations. In Shimane province he was impressed to see the summer orange fruits lavishly hanging on lush green trees. He tasted the fruit which was delicious. On his way back, he brought seeds of summer orange and sowed them in flower pots at his laboratory in the University of Horticulture and Forestry at Nauni in Solan district. To his joy the seeds sprouted and he succeeded in raising 35 plants which he distributed among his friends in different parts of the state to study their growth and performance. He lost contact with friends in Solan and Sirmour when he resigned from the university and entered into the private sector here at Mandi. He kept watching the growth of the plants in this district. A plant grown in Maniana village 5 km from here, always remained under his regular observation. The tree has been bearing fruit over the past three years and it is laden with a bumper crop this year. Dr Parmar hopes that the fruit would be success in Himachal Pradesh. He suggests that the Horticulture Department should set up nurseries of this plant and distribute them to fruit growers in the first phase. The summer orange would yield good income for them. Interestingly the size of the fruit on plants grown here is larger. Although the colour of the fruit turns yellow even in the month of December, yet they get ripe in April-May. In December the taste is sour, when ripe in April the fruit is sweet. Normal plucking season is April, but the fruit remains safe on the tree up to May end. |
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2 foreigners with 12 kg charas held Shimla, February 25 With this, the total seizure of charas this year has reached 78 kg, along with 7 gm of drug powder. As many as 43 persons, including 18 foreigners, have been arrested. According to the Superintendent of Police, Kulu, Mr N.V. Venugopal, the Italian national was arrested while he was carrying 5 kg of charas in a bus in Bajaura. He had wrapped the charas in a polythene packet which was concealed in a suitcase. He said 7.2 kg charas was seized from the possession of Ram Chander, a resident of Bharatpur district in Nepal, while he was travelling in a private bus which was on its way from Kulu to Mandi. |
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56 deodar sleepers seized Mandi, February 25 Stating this, Mr Vineet Kumar, DFO, said the truck had been impounded under Section 52 of the Indian Forest Act. The case would be taken up by the Divisional Forest Officer, Mandi, who is the authorised officer under the Indian Forest Act. |
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Man killed as truck falls into khud Nahan, February 25 According to information, the illfated truck was coming towards Dadahu. According to the local police, Amer Singh, a Lab Technologist in the Health Department, died on the spot. He hailed from Tikkary village in the Renuka area of Sangrah tehsil. The injured Rajbir Singh, driver of the truck, Sunil Kumar, and Mahinder Pratap are reportedly residents of Badon village. Rajbir Singh has been referred to Zonal Hospital here. |
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Lightning strikes
power station Solan, February 25 |
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