H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

HP aided schools’ staff threaten to resume stir
Kangra, August 31
More than 1,200 employees of 58 Himachal Government-recognised and 95 per cent aided schools today threatened to resume their agitation if the government failed to disburse their remaining 34 per cent wages at the earliest.

HRTC staff to step up stir
Nurpur, August 31
The Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) Employees Federation has decided to intensify its statewide agitation by launching the fourth phase of the agitation from September 1.

Petition against HP toll tax
Parwanoo, August 31
The decision of collecting toll tax at entry to the state by the government has hit residents so hard that social organisations of the areas had been forced to challenge the decision in court of law, said Mr Manoj Sharma, president of the Parwanoo Welfare Society.

Police firing range encroached upon!
Dharamsala, August 31
The Kangra police has virtually failed to protect its property. Interestingly, the huge tract of land that has been encroached upon is within the town limits and a police firing range is located on it. Despite regular firing practice encroachments have increased showing senior officials apathy.

Warning fails to deter BJP rebels
Hamirpur, August 31
Unruffled by the warning of senior BJP leaders, party dissidents have decided to go ahead with their plan to contest the next Assembly elections on 25 seats. They have selected candidates for 18 of them, according to Mr Kamal Nanda, pradhan of the Dhaneta gram panchayat.

BJP to hold camps in HP constituencies
Shimla, August 31
A meeting of national office-bearers of the BJP will be held here on September 15. Mr Venkaiah Naidu, president of the party, office-bearers, and the heads of front organisations will also participate in the meeting. A rally will be organised on the occasion.

Voters right to recall stressed
Kangra, August 31
If the elected representatives fail to discharge their duties for the benefit of Indian People, the people must have right to recall them Mr B. Satya Narain Reddy, a former Governor, told his correspondent here yesterday.

Rs 9.5 lakh grant for Una hospital
Una, August 31
Under the Union Health Department-sponsored ‘Major and minor works for the construction of labour room’, the Una zonal hospital has been sanctioned a sum of Rs 9.5 lakh.

Thefts on the rise in Dharamsala
Dharamsala, August 31
Thieves today decamped with household goods worth more than Rs 30,000 from the house of a teacher, Mr Raj Kumar. The house is located in Depot Bazar, one the most thickly populated areas of the town.

HP aided schools’ staff threaten to resume stir
Our Correspondent

Kangra, August 31
More than 1,200 employees of 58 Himachal Government-recognised and 95 per cent aided schools today threatened to resume their agitation if the government failed to disburse their remaining 34 per cent wages at the earliest. They described the delay in the disbursement of full salaries as a violation of the apex court directions and against the spirit of the agreement reached between their representatives and the government on March 7.

The spokesman for the Himachal Pradesh Government-recognised and 95 per cent Aided Schools’ Employees Union, Mr Sanjeev Kapoor, told mediapersons here today that the apex court had directed the state government to pay salaries to these employees regularly. He said the government had agreed in writing during a meeting with representatives of the union on March 7 that full payment would be made by June 30 this year.

He said the government had disbursed only 66 per cent of the salaries after 18 months. He said an 18-day relay fast by employees had been called off following the written agreement with the government.

He said on enquiring from the authorities concerned about the delay, they had been informed that funds were not available. Mr Kapoor asked if funds for the salaries of these 1,200 employees were not available, then why was the government thinking of carving out new districts in the state.

Mr Kapoor demanded immediate disbursement of the remaining part of the salaries.

HRTC staff to step up stir
Our Correspondent

Nurpur, August 31
The Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) Employees Federation has decided to intensify its statewide agitation by launching the fourth phase of the agitation from September 1. The working committee of the federation which convened its meeting at Jassur yesterday under the chairmanship of its president, Mr Rajnesh Sharma, expressed resentment over the failure of the state government to convene any meeting with the federation. It has been agitating peacefully since July 15.

Mr Abdul Rafiq Kazmi, spokesperson for the employees, in a statement issued here today said the agitation had been launched to save the HRTC which had been incurring an annual loss to the tune of Rs 45.57 crore because of its social obligations. The government had failed to release its due grant-in-aid, he added.

He lamented that it was for the first time that HRTC employees had not received their allowances and other dues. The government had allotted profit-earning routes to private bus operators whereas the HRTC had been plying 800 buses on loss-incurring routes, he alleged.

A disciplinary committee comprising five members was also formed.

Petition against HP toll tax
Our Correspondent

Parwanoo, August 31
The decision of collecting toll tax at entry to the state by the government has hit residents so hard that social organisations of the areas had been forced to challenge the decision in court of law, said Mr Manoj Sharma, president of the Parwanoo Welfare Society.

Mr Sharma said the society had recently filed a writ petition in the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which had been admitted and notices issued to the authorities, including a private company which had been authorised by the government to collect tax at the Parwanoo barrier. Mr S. S. Chohan, a local advocate, had appeared on the behalf of the society.

Mr Sharma said the resolution for filing the petition was also supported by the Parwanoo Industries Association, the Lions Club of Kalka and the Residents Welfare Association.

It may be mentioned that the state government gave the contract to a private contractor to collect toll tax at the Parwanoo barrier in May 2002 which was strongly opposed by residents of the area. Following this rallies and bandhs observed by the residents.

The office-bearers of the Parwanoo Welfare Society and other social organisations of the town including Mr R. K. Goyal, Mr Ram Gopal Garg, president, Yuva Beopar Mandal, Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, general secretary, Beopar Mandal, Mr B. N. Kataria, Parwanoo Industries Association, have said the tax had adversaly affected tourism and other industries of the state.

They have also condemned the lack of law and order at the barrier and harassment to people due to traffic jams.

Police firing range encroached upon!
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, August 31
The Kangra police has virtually failed to protect its property. Interestingly, the huge tract of land that has been encroached upon is within the town limits and a police firing range is located on it. Despite regular firing practice encroachments have increased showing senior officials apathy.

Certain influential persons who have constructed shops and other structures on the land, have reportedly filed applications with the revenue authorities for the regularisation of the encroachments.

The Kangra police owns more than 200 kanals near Chiran Khud, which is a few yards away from the office of the district police chief. Due to the indifferent attitude of senior police officials certain persons occupied a portion of land facing the main road and constructed sheds which have now been converted into buildings.

Moreover, the migrant Rajasthani labour has also set up a slum area on the piece of land. No one has bothered to get the encroachments removed which now may result in a long legal battle between the department and the illegal occupants.

The SSP, Mr Sanjay Kundu, was not available for comments, but a senior official confirmed that there were encroachments on police firing range land and attempts were now being made to get it vacated.

Warning fails to deter BJP rebels
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, August 31
Unruffled by the warning of senior BJP leaders, party dissidents have decided to go ahead with their plan to contest the next Assembly elections on 25 seats. They have selected candidates for 18 of them, according to Mr Kamal Nanda, pradhan of the Dhaneta gram panchayat.

Talking with this reporter on phone today, he said leaders of other parties had approached them but they would keep their option open, as they were members of the BJP first.

He, however, clarified that they would continue to oppose those leaders who were responsible for harming the cause of the grassroot party workers and isolating them from the organisation.

BJP to hold camps in HP constituencies
Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 31
A meeting of national office-bearers of the BJP will be held here on September 15.

Mr Venkaiah Naidu, president of the party, office-bearers, and the heads of front organisations will also participate in the meeting. A rally will be organised on the occasion.

Meanwhile, the state unit of the party has decided to hold two-day training camps for party workers in all 68 Assembly constituencies in view of the coming elections. A meeting of the party held here today under the chairmanship of Mr Jaikrishan Sharma, state president, also decided to make party offices functional in all districts. Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, will preside over political conferences to be held in the constituencies.

Create ante-mortem medical data: expert
Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 31
The absence of a system for maintaining ante-mortem medical data of individuals in the country is the main hurdle in the effective use of forensic science to investigate cases, according to Dr D.K. Ghosh, an eminent forensic scientist and state medico-legal adviser.

But for the availability of ante-mortem dental X-ray records, the case of Naved Mintezer,an Israeli national who went missing from the old forest rest house in Manali in September, 1997 ,would never have been solved, he told The Tribune before leaving for Montpellier, France, to present a paper on the case at the international conference of forensic scientists being held from September 2 to 7.

“Forensic science has been advancing with each passing day but it was not being utilised much in the country for investigating cases, mainly because there was no data bank to establish the identity of key persons involved in the cases. In western countries a complete record, right from dental indexing, blood stain cards and other relevant data of the persons visiting the hospitals for a checkup, was maintained. The data bank facilitated successful forensic investigations in most cases, particularly suspicious deaths. It is high time that an effective mechanism was put in place in the country to help create an ante-mortem data bank. It will go a long way in improving the conviction rate which was woefully low because of the failure of the investigating agencies to provide foolproof evidence to nail the culprits”, he observed.

Forensic odontology and dental evidence was used to solve the case of the missing Israeli only because the Israeli government had provided the ante-mortem dental records of the missing persons, he added.

Army may allow fair in Subathu
Our Correspondent

Kumarhatti, August 31
In a significant development that could help ease the ongoing tussle between the Army and civilians at Subathu cantonment, 19 km from here, over various issues the former has given an indication to agree on the holding of a Gugamari fair on Army ground.

It may be pertinent to add here that the authorities of Subathu, 14 Gorkha Training Centre had earlier refused to allow the holding of the fair on Army land following instructions from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on account of security reasons.

Today Major-General M.P. Singh visited Subathu. Confirmed sources said Col Raghuwinder Kapoor, Commandant of 14 GTC and President of Subathu Cantonment Board, apprised the Major-General about the religious sentiments attached to the fair and requested him to allow the fair on the present location to which the latter has given some positive signs subject to certain conditions.

Major-General M.P. Singh also inquired about the location for the proposed shifting of the government girls senior secondary school.

He took serious exception to the unplanned and illegal construction in the cantonment and instructed the local Army authorities to take appropriate action against the defaulters. Meanwhile reliable sources in the Cantonment Board office have revealed that the fair would surely be held on the same location.

Dhiman plants sapling, promises more trees
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, August 31
An area of 252 hectare would be brought under forest cover this year in Hamirpur district by planting 2.50 lakh saplings of different species at an estimated cost of Rs 33 lakh. This was announced by Mr I.D. Dhiman, Education Minister, presiding over 53th Vanamahotsava at Guleta village about 8 km from here yesterday.

He said at present 220 sq. km is under forest cover in Hamirpur district. He said forest cover in Himachal Pradesh was 38 per cent and during last four years an area of 561 sq. km had been covered under aforestation drive in the state. He said that forest play a vital role in maintaining the fragile Himalayan eco-system. He said the state government had formulated an ambitious plan to bring 5 lakh hectare of additional land under aforestation.

He said a new scheme of joint forest management with community participation named ‘Prishkrit Sanjhi Van Yojna’ has been started from last year.

Earlier, Mr Dhiman planted a sapling of teek.

Mr R.C. Kang, Conservator Forests, Bilaspur circle, welcomed the minister.

Mr Payare Lal Sharma, Chairman, Zila Parishad and Mr R.S. Mankotia, Chairman, block samiti, also spoke on the occasion.

DFO P.L. Chauhan was also present.

Voters right to recall stressed
Our Correspondent

Kangra, August 31
If the elected representatives fail to discharge their duties for the benefit of Indian People, the people must have right to recall them Mr B. Satya Narain Reddy, a former Governor, told his correspondent here yesterday.

Mr Reddy, a member of the APIPFT was in the district in connection with the three day tour to Tibetan localities.

Rs 9.5 lakh grant for Una hospital

Una, August 31
Under the Union Health Department-sponsored ‘Major and minor works for the construction of labour room’, the Una zonal hospital has been sanctioned a sum of Rs 9.5 lakh.

Chief Medical Officer Gulshan Narang said the grant would be utilised in the construction of septic and aseptic labour rooms besides a minor operation theatre.

The new complex is proposed to be constructed in the open space behind the gynaecological ward, said the CMO. UNI

Thefts on the rise in Dharamsala
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, August 31
Thieves today decamped with household goods worth more than Rs 30,000 from the house of a teacher, Mr Raj Kumar. The house is located in Depot Bazar, one the most thickly populated areas of the town.

It may be recalled that there have been several thefts in various localities recently and the police has failed to nab the culprits. Thieves decamped with a Xerox machine from a shop in Depot Bazar and stole goods worth more than Rs 2 lakh from the Tibetan school.