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Sunday,
March 10, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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No enthusiasm in Cong for RS seat Potable water remains distant dream for population Wildflower Hall wears deserted look
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‘Onus on teachers has increased’ Shimla, March 9 Dr Suresh Kapoor, Professor of Law and Dean of Studies, HP University, while speaking on the valedictory function of a three-week refresher course in management organised by the Academic Staff College, HP University, said in the present scenario of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation, a sea change had been observed in the business arena and the responsibility of teachers had increased manifold as they had to act as future managers in this corporate world.
Residents resent shifting of classes Plus two exam dates alarm parents Soldier
cremated with honours Himachal to
set up
passport cells
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No enthusiasm in Cong for RS seat Shimla, March 9 No one from either group of the Congress has so far come forward to seek ticket for contesting the election. Neither has a meeting of the election committee of the party been convened, although March 14 is the last day for submitting papers with the returning officer, Mr Ajay Bhandari, secretary of the Assembly. The seat is being vacated by a senior Congress leader and president of the All-India Mahila Congress, Mrs Chandresh Kumari. It is learnt that the CLP Leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and the PCC chief, Mrs Vidya Stokes, held a preliminary discussion on the issue and were expected to meet again in a day or two. Their decision over the choice of the candidate will be acceptable to the high command, partymen said. On the other hand, the BJP camp is humming with activity over the issue and at least 38 names were considered by the election committee of the party two days ago. Senior leaders along with the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, are camping at Delhi and the candidate is expected to be announced any time. Although besides Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, a former MLA from Shimla, several other candidates, including Mr Mohinder Pandey, Mr Radha Raman Shastri and Mr Mohinder Natha Sofat, were the front-runners, Mr Bhardwaj has reportedly emerged as the strongest contender. A Congress leader said there was no enthusiasm in their circles as with their strength in the Assembly, it was not possible to have their candidate win. The Congress faced some embarrassment in the last election for the Rajya Sabha seat when some of its members voted in favour of the HVC nominee. |
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Potable water remains distant dream for population Kumarhatti A recent visit to some villages under Dharampur and Solan blocks selected on a random basis showed startling facts about water scarcity. In some areas the villagers are forced to use untested water, hence endangering their health. The lame excuse of inadequate funds, inadequate number of hand pumps, an alarming decline in the underground water level due to long dry spells caused by abnormal swings in the weather conditions and political considerations are some factors that can sum up the situation. The situation is grave in certain government schools there is no arrangement for drinking water for students. The panchayat resolutions to install hand pumps in Government High School, Badhalag, and Primary School, Anaji, have been in vain as according to the IPH, it has no money to carry out the work of hand pump installation, rues Mrs Kanta Devi, president of the Bhadhalag panchayat under Dharampur block. A considerable population of this panchayat have to fetch water from places 2 km away. The situation becomes worse in summers when they have to trudge more than 4 km for the sake of a bucket of water. Those with IPH connections are no better due to the short duration of water supply. A similar situation prevails in Solan block’s Bhojanagar panchayat. In some areas non-completion of water-lifting projects have adversely affected water availability. According to panchayats representatives and villagers, these schemes are non-operational for want of required funds since long. The non-completion of the Ghaliana waterlifting scheme due to department bottlenecks and political considerations has deprived residents of Barog of adequate availability of drinking water, says Mr Sanjay Kumar, vice-president of Barog panchayat. The most deplorable situation is in Ravidaspura, Subathu. This locality is dominated by Dalits. It has only one hand pump. |
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Wildflower Hall wears deserted look Mashobra (Shimla), March 9 The hotel virtually wore a deserted look as the main lobby was empty. There were no tourists to be seen on the sprawling forest area outside. Although the employees of the hotel tried to present a brave face to the visiting mediapersons, yet there were visible signs of worry in their eyes. Mr Baladi, Managing Director of the Civil Supplies Corporation, was yesterday appointed Executive Director of the Mashobra Resorts which runs the hotel. The joint venture participation of the Oberois in the Rs 100-crore hotel has been terminated by the state government. He discussed various matters with the officials of the hotel in the card room. He refused to comment, but said the legal takeover of the hotel took place yesterday and other formalities were now being completed step by step. The General Manager, Mr Andrews Sardana, refused to comment. Other employees were also tightlipped. The state government has not come out with any official statement on the issue of either the takeover of the hotel or about cancellation of the joint venture agreement by the Cabinet. This has most probably been done because the Assembly was in session and the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, might make a statement in the House where the hotel was thoroughly discussed in the last winter session. The hotel has 75 employees on its permanent rolls and another 40 on a contract basis. Of the 84 rooms in the hotel, only three were reportedly occupied today. The original building at the site of the new hotel, which was occupied by the commander-in-chief of the British army, Lord Kitchner, in 1902, was gutted in 1993. The state government signed a joint venture agreement with the Oberois in 1995 and the construction was completed a couple of months ago. Although the state government has taken over the world-class hotel, but doubts are being expressed whether it will succeed in running it on professional lines or will it meet the fate which other hotels of the government-owned HPTDC running through. Right in the beginning apprehensions were expressed over the success of the joint venture as the earlier experiments in this direction have been bitter. |
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‘Onus on teachers has increased’ Shimla, March 9 He advocated that being a teacher of management, they had to guide and train students to make them more capable to meet the present challenges of this corporate world. Prof Yoginder Verma, Director, Academic Staff College, HP University, while welcoming the chief guest said the success of any programme depended on the active participation of the participants. He advised the participants that the end of the programme should be considered as the beginning of their new horizons. Dr Suresh Kumar, Professor of Management and the coordinator of this programme, said technology had become a major determinant of economic growth and there was a dominance of information technology. He further highlighted that in order to popularise the management education in the country the quality was to be ensured and resources were to be generated. Dr Kulwant Pathania, Deputy Director, Academic Staff College, said that in such refresher courses, teachers got an opportunity for exposure and update their selves about the latest changes in the subject and also got apprised of the researches being done in their field. As many as 25 teachers of various universities and colleges from Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Assam participated in the course. |
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Just another day for them Kasauli, March 9 Mired by the hardships of earning a livelihood, the women engaged as construction labourers along the Kalka-Shimla highway have little hope of breaking loose from the shackles of economic drudgery. Champa, a lean sari-clad woman, employed as a construction labourer at one such site, has no idea of what the Women’s Day is all about. Her only concern is how to supplement her family’s meagre income by toiling hard in the sun. In order to make both ends meet for a family of three small children and a husband, also engaged in similar work, her concern remains to work more and provide two square meals to the family. Asked about the future of her children, she says, “ I want my children to be educated and do something meaningful in life when they grow up.” But how she will manage educating them with the meagre resources and frequent migration is a question she is unable to find an answer to. The children, playing nearby in mud and sand, crave for whatever little attention she manages to pay them in between her work. With the smallest one tied behind her back, she hardly has a moment to spare to look at her other children. Ganga, her companion at work, is plagued by an equally lamentable plight with not even proper clothing to sustain herself in the cold of this hilly tract. These women, who, by the sweat of their brow, earn just a morsel, have no place to reside even as they are all the time engaged in construction work for the more privileged and richer section of society. Dwelling in make-shift thatched huts, these women find no end to this toil. Yet the future holds no promise of a bright tomorrow. The International Women’s Day has given an opportunity to women to organise functions to debate on the relevance of the fairer sex and highlight their importance in society. Yet few have even thought of using this as an opportunity to visit the lesser-privileged and deprived women and promise them some hope. No social organisation has come forward to adopt children of these hapless women. |
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Residents resent shifting of classes Chamba, March 9 According to the residents, the science classes were shifted last year to Pathankot (Punjab) and the commerce classes were shifted this year to Una (Himachal Pradesh). A team of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Samiti, which carried out an inspection of this vidyalaya took this decision. The samiti reportedly observed that there was chaos and anomalies in the vidyalaya as the classes were not being conducted to the norms and parameters prescribed for Navodaya Vidyalayas. The vidyalaya is without a playground and there is no proper water supply system. When contacted over the phone, the principal of the vidyalaya, Mr Bhushan Kumar, admitted to these shortcomings and said he was at the mercy of the samiti and could not do anything to retain the classes with the vidyalaya. |
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Plus two exam dates alarm parents Kangra, March 9 They alleged the board to benefit a particular section of the teaching community was appointing them for theory examinations as superintendents and deputy superintendents. The same group was being appointed as practical examiners. This was creating mess, with the practical examinations getting delayed. When contacted the HP Board of School Education Secretary, Mr Vikas Labroo, said the rescheduling of dates for the practical examination for plus two at this juncture was not possible. He, however, appreciated the concern of the parents and assured that the board would take effective steps next year. |
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Soldier cremated with honours Mandi, March 9 A contingent of the Army and the police fired several rounds in the air to salute the martyr and reversed the arms as mark of respect to the departed soul. A stream of mourners converged on the village which plunged into a pall of gloom as the news of Pradip Kumar’s death was conveyed to the family. He leaves behind his parents, wife and a nine-month-old daughter. |
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Himachal to
set up passport cells Shimla, March 9 These cells will be under the direct control and supervision of respective Deputy Commissioners. The Additional District Magistrates will be designated as District Passport Officers except in Lahaul and Spiti district where the Subdivisional Magistrate, Keylong, will be designated as the District Passport Officer. |
Anti-ABVP front Shimla, March 9 |
Suresh Bhardwaj Shimla, March 9 |
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