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Wednesday,
August 14, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Rift in
BJP over dists Review
water tariff hike, board urged NJPC
blamed for delay in Rampur project Forest
staff form joint front CBI probe
sought into temple case |
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Dharna by
Kisan Sabha members 1 dead,
40 hurt in mishaps Pollution:
HC notice to Chief Secy BSNL
cellular services in Kangra soon YC activists burn CM, Naik effigies Baby
boy has heart on right side ITBP
expedition to Kinner peak
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Rift in BJP over dists Shimla, August 13 The coming together of Mr Shanta Kumar, Union Minister for Rural Development, and other two MPs, Mr Maheshwar Singh and Mr Suresh Chandel, is quite significant. The leaders, all former presidents of the state BJP, have taken up the issue with Mr Arun Jaitley and Mr O.P. Kohli, party General Secretary and Secretary, respectively, and drew their attention to the crisis triggered in the party by the move. Not only leaders but even the rank and file of the party had been sharply divided right up to the Assembly constituency level on the issue, they told the two
leaders. Worse, statements and counter statements were being issued by partymen to further aggravate the crisis. All this was not only causing embarrassment to the party but also putting them in an awkward position. Each Lok Sabha constituency comprised 17 Assembly seats and party leaders and workers from most of these were demanding district status. They pointed out that this situation had been created because the move was initiated and pursued without consensus in the party. They also expressed reservations regarding the timing and financial viability of the proposal. With just a few months to go for the Assembly elections there was no need for opening the Pandora’s box. Further, the government had stopped the recruitment of even daily wage workers and backed out of its election promise to regularise them on completion of five years’ service on the plea that it was facing an acute financial crisis. However, the proposal to create new districts, which would put much more burden on the state exchequer, was being pushed through ignoring the financial implications. In such a situation the position of the party would become indefensible before the electorate, particularly before lakhs of unemployed youth, they observed. The stand taken by the senior leaders has lent added significance to the visit of Mr Jaitley to the state capital on August 18. The creation of new districts will be a major issue during meeting. Senior party leaders and officers blame the wrong approach of the leadership for the messing up of the issue. Such an emotional issue, which would affect the life of people for times to come, should have been taken by evolving a statewide consensus. If this was not possible, efforts should have been made to reach at an agreement among the political parties on the issue, they maintained. However, the leadership failed even to consult its own party leaders. |
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Review water tariff hike, board urged Kumarhatti, August 13 In a letter submitted by the members to the president of the board today, resentment has been expressed against the failure of the board authorities to honour commitments made before signing the resolution by members. It was assured to the members that the tariff would be hiked after increasing water supply to civilians and in 2002-2003 it would be reduced from Rs 20.44 per thousands litres to Rs 12. Ironically even after the completion of three months, instead of reducing the tariff, it had been enhanced to Rs 21.84 per thousand litres, the members said. They have urged to convene a meeting of the board to discuss the matter again. |
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NJPC blamed for delay in Rampur project Shimla, August 13 Mr Chander Singh Mandyal, general secretary of the union, alleged that the employees of the NJPC had been creating a rift within the board under the influence of the management. He alleged that the management of the NJPC had been recruiting staff to promote their personal interests. He said recently 11 stenographer-cum-typists had been recruited from Bihar from where the recent Chairman and Managing Director and Director (Finance) hailed. He further alleged that the initial cost of Rs 4300 crore had increased to 10,000 crore due to non-productive expenditure by the management which had been executing the project from Delhi. He alleged that meetings were being organised in “five star hotels” in Delhi and crores of rupees spent on the TA and DA of the officers. Mr Mandyal urged the state government to take stock of the situation and safeguard the interests of unemployed youth in the state in general, and the employees of the board in particular, while signing the agreement on the Rampur hydel project. A minimum of 50 per cent employees should be taken from the board and all recruitments should be at an equivalent level, he said. |
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Forest staff form joint front Mandi, August 13 Mr Hem Raj Shastri, chairman of the federation, told mediapersons that the government had adopted an “evasive attitude” towards the problems of the field staff. He lamented that 800 posts of Forest Guards, 142 of Deputy Forest Rangers, 42 of Forest Rangers and 62 posts of Assistant Conservators were lying vacant in addition to hundreds of posts of other cadres. Mr Shastri regretted that such a government attitude could lead to large-scale smuggling of timber. There had been no recruitment in the department during the past 10 years. He said in such a situation it was virtually impossible to safeguard the open forest wealth. He said if the vacant posts were not filled at the earliest the strength of
the department would be reduced to half by 2005, when a large number of the existing field staff would retire from service. The federation threatened to launch a direct action if the government did not take immediate steps to resolve their problems by the end of the month. Meanwhile, following were elected office-bearers of the federation: chairman — Mr Hem Raj Shastri; vice-chairman Mr Dev Raj and Mr Joginder Paul; general secretary — Mr C.L. Joshi; and chief advisers — Mr L.C. Patyal and Mr Sanjay Sen. |
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CBI probe sought into temple case Kangra, August 13 Stating this here at a press conference organised at the site where a relay fast is being held, the state chief of the mahasabha Mr Nalinder Gautam, criticised the BJP government for taking no action against the guilty officials. He said on the one hand the BJP was exploiting religious sentiments of the Hindus by raising the issue of the Ram temple, but on the other it protected the guilty officials allegedly responsible for a pilferage from the Bajjreshwari temple, one of the 52 ‘shakti peeths’ of the country. He said inquiries ordered into the misappropriation proved an eye wash only. He alleged that a politician was patronising the guilty officials. |
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Dharna by Kisan Sabha members Kumarhatti, August 13 The activists raised slogans against the state government for charging high rates for the land to be regularised under the land reforms programme. They described the government decision as a poll gimmick. Talking to The Tribune, Mr Kuldeep Singh said the government had offered to buy a total of three lakh bigha that included 1,23,835 bigha land which was under dispute. The state government, he said, had decided to charge double rates for land which was already in the possession of farmers. The government move would deprive poor
farmers of their land since they were not in a position to pay exorbitant rates under these reforms. |
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1 dead, 40 hurt in mishaps
Dharamsala, August 13 Kangra District additional police chief N.D. Sareen said a 22-year old youth, Anil Kumar, fell down from a bus when its door opened suddenly at Narwana village near here today. He was seriously injured and taken to the Dr R.P. Government Medical College Hospital here where he succumbed to his injuries. The private bus was on way to the district headquarters. In another accident, 40 persons were injured, six of them seriously, when a private bus on way from Manali to Dharamsala fell into a 90-foot-deep gorge at Ghatta village on the Pathankot-Mandi highway this afternoon. The bus conductor, stated to be serious, has been referred to a hospital at Palampur.
UNI |
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Pollution: HC notice to Chief Secy Shimla, August 13 The matter was brought to the notice of the court through a letter written by Avantika Sanghi, a law student of Delhi University. While treating the letter as a petition, a division Bench comprising Chief Justice W.A. Shishak and Mr Justice L.S. Panta further directed the respondents to file their reply within six weeks. The petitioner alleged that polythene bags and other kinds of garbage could be seen in public places in Manali and Rohtang. She said huge buildings in the Manali area had destroyed the beauty and greenery there. |
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BSNL cellular services in Kangra soon Dharamsala, August 13 The General Manager of the BSNL for Dharamsala zone, Mr O.P. Sikka, said efforts were on to bring major towns and national highways under cellular services of the BSNL. Mr Sikka said in the first phase residents of three towns of tourist importance, Dharamsala, Palampur and Dalhousie would be provided mobile phone facilities by the month-end. He said work on the setting up of towers along the Pathankot-Manali national highway was going on and within a month services would start. Mr Sikka said the tariff had not been decided as yet but would be competitive with other private cellular operators. He said small and distant exchanges had been linked with main exchanges through sophisticated system which had improved the services. After the rains services in all exchanges would be improved, he added. |
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YC activists burn CM, Naik effigies Shimla, August 13 They also submitted a memorandum, addressed to the President of India, to the administration demanding action against those involved in the scam. They also demanded immediate sacking of Mr Naik and Mr Dhumal, name of whose kin figures prominently among the allottees of petrol stations and LPG agencies. |
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Baby boy has heart on right side Shimla, August 13 According to Dr Ramesh Chand, the baby, born on August 7, was suffering from dextro cardia (developmental defect) because of the heart position on the right side of the chest. This defect, he said , was clinically proved after the birth. However, all other physiological activities of the baby were normal. |
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ITBP expedition to Kinner peak Shimla, August 13 The expedition team cleaned the base of the mountain by removing plastics, tins and other non-biodegradable garbages. It also planted saplings and collected information about fauna and flora during the week-long trek from August 6. |
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