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Saturday,
October 5, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Delimitation likely before poll Exercise restraint, BJP leaders told ‘United BJP ready to face Cong’ Farmers lose crops worth
Rs 30 crore |
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Kangra tea industry in crisis Dam oustees’ houses ‘not demolished’ Social worker dead Classes suspended
after clash HP
declares 2 local holidays
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Delimitation likely before poll Shimla, October 4 An indication to this effect was today given by Mr B.B. Tandon, member of the Central Election Commission and the Delimitation Commission, who was here to review the preparations for the Assembly poll to be held in February, 2003. Mr Tandon said the commission had taken up the delimitation work in Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland, where the Assembly elections were due early next year on priority. The endeavour was to complete the work in the shortest possible time so that the elections were held for delimited constituencies. He said there would be no rotation of reserved constituencies but their number could increase or decrease in a state if there was a significant change in the percentage of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. However, the total number of constituencies would remain the same. The boundaries of existing constituencies would be redrawn within the districts. The commission had already procured the population data based on the 1991 Census and other relevant information like administrative set-up and geographical features. It would soon formulate draft proposals which would be discussed with associate members of the state at the meeting of the commission. Besides, the four Lok Sabha MPs, five legislators were associate members from the state, he said. Thereafter the commission would publish draft proposal and invite objections from the public. It would also conduct public hearings before finalising the proposals. In the next phase, delimitation would be carried out in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Rajasthan where elections were to be held in November, 2003. The delimitation in 28 states and two Union Territories would be completed within two years, he said. Referring to elections in Himachal Pradesh, Mr Tandon said electronic voting machines (EVMs) would be used for the first time in the state. The Election Commission had already supplied 8,000 EVMs to the state which had 6,230 polling stations. The commission would give intensive and extensive training to familiarise poll officials and voters with the EVMs. Officials would be trained until they became fully proficient in handling the machines. Besides, mock polling would be held in each polling station to let voters to use the machines. Leaders of political parties would also be invited to inspect and use the machines and satisfy themselves that there was no scope for manipulation. He said special campaign had been launched to prepare photo identity cards. At present out of the total 39.79 lakh voters in the state only 26.60 lakh had the cards. The draft electoral rolls would be published on November 7 and claims and objections would be settled by November 30. Besides working days, the election officials would be available for filing claims and objections on November 9,10,23 and 24 which were holidays. |
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Exercise restraint, BJP leaders told Kangra, October 4 Mr Vidaya Sagar today told this correspondent that the meeting was called by the two-member team comprising Mr Ram Swroop Sharma and Mr Ganesh Dutt, Organising Secretary and BJP spokesman, respectively which was authorised by the state BJP chief Mr Jai Krishen Sharma to sort out the issue. The meeting besides Mr Ram Swroop Sharma and Mr Ganesh Dutt was attended by Mr Vidaya Sagar, Mr Dulo Ram and Mr Kamal Padda, Kangra district BJP chief and general secretary, respectively and the meeting lasted for five hours. Mr Ganesh Dutt, party spokesman, when contacted said. “The misunderstanding between the Agriculture Minister and the Kangra district BJP executive has been cleared and everything has been reconciled”. He said things had been sorted out at the meeting and the two sides were asked to maintain restraint before issuing any statement to the media regarding the party’s internal affairs. When asked about the demand raised by the Agriculture Minister for disciplinary action against BJP leaders for holding the September 22 meeting here and subsequent resignation of Mr Sagar’s 73 loyalists, Mr Ganesh Dutt replied that everything had been sorted out and the resignations stand withdrawn and demand for disciplinary action had become meaningless. Regarding the protest resignation of the Kangra BJP mandal president, Mr Prem Barsola, once a loyalist of Vidaya Sagar. Mr Ganesh Dutt said the resignation of Mr Prem Barsola had been accepted by the BJP state high command and the new mandal president would be nominated on October 8, by the Kangra BJP executive from amongst the 15 members of the Kangra BJP
mandal. |
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‘United BJP ready to face Cong’ Solan, October 4 Mr Saini, who addressed a press conference here today, lauded Mr Dhumal for curbing factionalism and promoting cohesiveness in the party. Obliquely admitting that the recent comeback of the Congress in several states, especially neighbouring Punjab, had become a cause of concern to the BJP, the minister said that “now that Amarinder’s government had started sliding down the popularity graph, things had started looking perkier for us.” He said the present government’s decisions like re-introduction of Octroi, re-imposition of charges on power used by the farmers, a sweeping ban on the filling up of government posts had led to a general sense of disillusionment amongst the masses. This factor was bound to cast its shadow on the fortunes of the HP Congress in the coming general elections as the euphoria generated by the recent electoral victories in other states would have completely died down by that time. Mr Saini said that the Union Minister, Mr Shanta Kumar, would lay the foundation stone for the Lohun Khud bridge, a joint venture of the Punjab and Himachal Governments, on October 25. He said that since the Union Ministry had already released the entire project cost money of Rs 4.37 crore, the bridge is likely to be completed before the onset of the next rainy season. He parried a question on the possibility of the Himachal Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, attending the “Shanta Kumar function” saying that the foundation stone laying ceremony of the bridge was being done in the Punjab territory. “However, I would extend a personal invitation to Mr Dhumal,” he added. |
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Farmers lose crops worth
Rs 30 crore Hamirpur, October 4 Dr H.R. Sharma, Deputy Director of Agriculture, told this correspondent here today that the total production of maize during the kharif season was around 38,000 metric tonnes as against the target of 75,000 metric
tonnes. He said the worst-affected were those farmers who had sown paddy and vegetables. They lost almost whole of the crop. He said the department was doing its best to help the farmers. |
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Richard Gere attends religious meetings Dharamsala, October 4 More than 10 senior religious leaders represented the Tibetan side, while many renowned scientists such as the physics Nobel Prize winner Dr Steven Chu and genome scientists from the MIT also participated in the deliberations. Sir Richard Gere and Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn were also present during the discussions. The Dalai Lama not only inaugurated the meeting but also participated in the deliberations, the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinlay Dorjee, was also present as an observer. Later, the delegates called on the Dalai Lama for seeking his blessings. |
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Kangra tea industry in crisis Palampur In a number of villages people have uprooted tea bushes and converted tea land into concrete jungles. Under the provisions of the Land Revenue Act, there is a blanket ban on the sale of tea gardens. However, the state government is granting permission for the sale of tea gardens to influential persons and outsiders through the back door. The recent decision of the Himachal Government to grant permission for the sale of a 100 acre (1050 kanals) tea garden in Palampur to a private party of Delhi has caused widespread resentment among local residents. Such permission is normally granted in special cases of utmost importance like the setting up of defence units, cantonment and other government establishments but in the past three years several persons have managed permission overnight for the sale of tea gardens. Many outsiders, particularly from Delhi and adjoining states, have also succeeded in buying tea gardens and other landed property in the region. Various social organisations — the Palampur Citizens Council, the Palampur Bachao Samiti and the save Palampur Front — have condemned the recent decision of the government and urged Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to rescind it immediately lest these organisations should be forced to launch an agitation. Mr Rajan Sushant, Revenue Minister, who was here recently, expressed ignorance over the decision, claiming that he was not consulted before granting permission to a Delhi-based party. He said no outsider should be allowed to buy such a big landholding. Even the Government of India has suggested to the state government to bring more land under tea plantation. Therefore, there was no justification for granting permission for the sale of tea gardens in the state to outsiders. Mr Brij Behari Lal Butail, a senior Congress leader and local MLA, who is also a big tea grower, criticised the state government for granting permission for the sale of a 100-acre tea garden to an outsider. The government was adopting double standards in such cases. It had become difficult for small tea growers to get permission for the sale of even one kanal of land in their tea gardens. Over 4,000 applications of small land owners and tea growers have been awaiting permission for sale. He demanded a high-level probe into this scam. |
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Dam oustees’ houses ‘not demolished’ Bilaspur, October 4 In a statement issued here today, he said the Bulldozer had razed to ground only houses of those people who are not oustees as these structures were constructed overnight after the serving of notices to villagers and hence these structures were illegal. He said these structures were removed after due notice was given to them by the competent authority. Mr Gajadhar Singh said such persons do not enjoy the privileges of an oustee and question of their rehabilitation and allotment of plots to them do not arise. He said oustees of Mandi district villages would be rehabilitated at Kangoo near Silapad and after taking them into confidence. A colony site for them is being developed. Oustees of Bilaspur villages would be settled in Bilaspur district for which land had been selected in consultant on with the oustees and the process of development of this land was also in progress and plots would be allotted as per the agreement. |
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Social worker dead Kulu, October 4 She contributed a lot towards the people’s welfare by setting up a women tailoring centre, a computer training centre and a school for the blind children at the district headquaters here. Her funeral at her native
place, Soobagh village, 5 km from here, was well attended. |
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Classes suspended
after clash Shimla, October 4 The clash occurred when both groups were raising slogans against each other. Tension had been building up between SCA members since the past one week. The college Principal, said the police would be deployed on the campus to prevent any outbreak of violence. He blamed the student unions for violent incidents in the college. |
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HP declares 2 local holidays Shimla, October 4 The above holidays will not be applicable to the employees working on daily wages and will also not be holidays within the meaning of Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. |
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