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Sunday,
December 8, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP wants high command to defuse crisis Virbhadra’s men plan big for Sonia’s rally Panel to monitor govt projects soon Winter session unlikely |
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Plan to four-lane Parwanoo barrier point Bitumen plant smoke envelops town Private bus
operators call off stir Pvt practitioners to help combat TB Coop Bank chief, officials get ‘clean chit’ Rs 85-crore Nabard loan for HP More levy sugar for consumers Wheat crop wilting:
expert Tibetans hold procession Girls continue to outshine boys: study B.Ed seats to be allotted on merit: VC HP tops in recording
births, deaths Changer belt ‘neglected’ Cold wave sweeps tribal belt
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BJP wants high command to defuse crisis Shimla, December 7 Mr Jai Krishan Sharma, Himachal BJP president, has disapproved the action of Mr Shanta Kumar for raising his grievances against the Dhumal government in public. He said it was a serious matter and the party would send a report to the high command after deliberation for further action. Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, refused to comment on the outburst of Mr Shanta Kumar in the vijay yatra in Kangra district yesterday. The state leadership is not in a position to take action against a senior leader like Mr Shanta Kumar and it has left the matter to the central high command. The partymen, however, are worried about the fall-out of the ongoing tussle between the two factions, which has already caused much damage to the image of the government. Meanwhile, war of attrition between the Shanta Kumar and the Dhumal factions intensified with Mr Ganesh Dutt and Mr Randhir Sharma, both party spokespersons, rejecting the charge of Mr Shanta Kumar that delimitation proposals were manipulated by the government. In a joint statement here today, they said the allegation had created misgivings in the mind of the people and put a question mark on the competence and integrity of a constitutional body — the Delimitation Commission. The Delimitation Commission was approved by the Lok Sabha of which Mr Shanta Kumar was a member and the delimitation exercise was being carried out as per parameters laid down in the Act. The government supplied only the Information required by the commission and it was wrong to drag the Chief Minister into the matter. The party and the government had hailed the deferment of the delimitation exercise and had the commission been functioning under the government pressure, it would have insisted on the completion of the exercise before elections, they added. The two leaders also denied other allegations of the Union Minister. Regarding the removal of his name from the foundation stone of Neugal hydel project, they said the issue was raised before the Central leadership and he had assured that he would not raise the matter again. They also denied that he was slighted at public functions and not allowed to speak during the stone-laying ceremony of Parbati project and Kol dam project. They regretted that during the stone-laying ceremony of Vivekanand hospital in Palampur, protocol was not followed by making the Chief Minister, who was the chief guest, address the gathering before other speakers and the state Health Minister was not allowed to speak at all. They urged the Union Minister not to air his grievances publicly as it could damage the party. |
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I resigned as CM ignored me: Vidya Sagar Kangra, December 7 He said that he received Union Minister for Rural Development Mr Shanta Kumar at Lochi on the occasion the ‘vijay divas’ observed as victory day for those who opposed delimitation process of constituencies before the February 2003 polls. Mr Sagar said, “I cease to be a Minister today and I deem that my resignation has been accepted in view of the long delay in accepting or rejecting my resignation”. He said, “After the submission of resignation I received the Chief Minister on different occasions during his visit to this district as party worker and MLA but every time my presence was ignored. It has pained me”. He denied that he was joining Mr Shanta Kumar’s faction. |
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Virbhadra’s men plan big for Sonia’s rally Solan, December 7 The meeting had been convened to make plans for making the forthcoming Sonia Gandhi rally at Shilaroo in Theog, the home constituency of the Pradesh Congress Committee president, Mrs Vidya Stokes, a grand success. However, the real purpose was to chalk out a strategy for registering a visual impression on the minds of the visiting Congress supremo about Mr Virbhadra’s strength. The Virbhadra loyalists’ meeting had assumed importance as the Sonia rally at Shilaroo was being perceived by Virbhadra camp here as a move to boost the image of Mrs Stokes and possibly to project her as a “chosen state leader” in the backdrop of the Assembly elections scheduled to be held early next year. Besides entrusting specific tasks for mobilising maximum number of people for the Sonia Gandhi rally to individual leaders, the meeting passed three key resolutions. The first resolution categorically stated that any candidate unilaterally imposed by the central high command on the Congressmen of this constituency would be totally unacceptable. The issue of candidature must be decided on the principle of consensus. Given the nature of the composition of the grass root leadership of the party, this meant that the candidate must be a Virbhadra loyalist. It further stated the candidate must be a son of the soil and should have a proven record of service to the local people and must also have an undisputed hold on the grassroot workers both in the urban and rural areas of the constituency. The second resolution stated that the party workers must be aware of ‘sycophants’ who often tried to project a wrong picture of the relative holds over the electorate of Mr Virbhadra Singh and Mrs Vidya Stokes in the “Delhi durbar”. The third resolution enjoined upon party workers to converge in strength on Shilaroo on the rally day to make it a grand success. Party insiders said Virbhadra loyalists, who heavily outnumbered the Stokes group here, would try to utilise the Shilaroo rally to prove that their leader enjoyed mass support. |
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Panel to monitor govt projects soon Palampur, December 7 Mr Shanta Kumar said the Union Government had decided to set up vigilance and maintenance committees on state and district levels to
monitor all Union Government projects so that the funds earmarked for rural development by the government could be utilised properly. He said a notification to this effect would be issued by the government. He said the forum would start functioning in all the 550 districts of the country during the current financial year. The minister said the government would launch a Hindi magazine to highlight the problems faced by the rural people. It would cover all 2,32,000 panchayats of the country. Special incentives would be given to those journalists writing on rural problems. He said by 2004, all villages in the country would get tapped drinking water. He said out of 16 lakh villages in the country, 12 lakh villages had already been provided drinking water. But over 2,17,000 villages were getting polluted water, which needed attention. He said the government was not in a position to provide free drinking water to the people. Therefore, a new concept, people’s participation, has been evolved. Under the new concept, the government has decided to bear 90 per cent cost of all rural development projects and remaining would have to be contributed by the public. Later, on completion of these projects, residents would be responsible for their maintenance. He said the states were facing financial crises and had little funds to contribute their 50 per cent share. Therefore, the funds allocated by the government remained unutilised in the past four years. His ministry had decided to do away with all watershed development projects going on in the country since it was a mere wastage of funds. A new programme, swajal dhara, would be launched all over the country on December 25. Under this programme, rural drinking water supply schemes would be taken up on a large scale. |
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Winter session unlikely Shimla, December 7 An indication to this effect was given by Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, who told newsmen here today that the next session would be held after the Assembly elections. The session would be held only if some pressing issues cropped up during the period. Regarding his announcement about holding the winter session in Dharamsala, he said it related to the new Vidhan Sabha. Replying to a question, he said the resignation of Mr Vidya Sagar, Agriculture Minister, was under consideration. Referring to his demand for providing 27 per cent quota to the other backward classes in government jobs, Mr Dhumal maintained that 18 per cent quota had already been given as against 15 per cent OBC population. However, the government would not hesitate to increase it, if the Backward Classes Commission made a recommendation in this regard. He said he was of the view that all sitting legislators should get the party ticket, but it was for the party high command to decide. |
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Plan to four-lane Parwanoo barrier point Solan, December 7 The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Bharat Khera told The Tribune that initially a stretch of 100 metres on the national highway would be metalled using the most sophisticated technique to reduce wear and tear. A sum of Rs 50 lakh is proposed to be incurred on the four-laning alone where the existing barriers would not only be relocated but also uniformly built. While three lanes would be meant for the vehicles entering the state, the fourth one would be for the outgoing traffic. A remote video monitoring system consisting of four videos with the zoom and tilt facilities to enable a view of the goods being carried by the vehicles would be installed. Proposed to be installed at a cost of Rs 5 lakh, these cameras would be housed in the open and would be provided with waterproof and sunlight protective chambers. With the facility of viewing the traffic even in the dark, these would help provide round-the-clock vigil on the passing traffic. The presence of a CD writer would make it possible to record images for 24 hours. Officials in Solan, including the Deputy Commissioner, the Superintendent of Police, Excise and Taxation officials as well as the Divisional Forest Officer would be able to monitor the images in their respective offices and keep a check on the working of their staff. Besides ensuring discipline among the barrier staff, this would help check illicit trafficking, the Deputy Commissioner said. |
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Bitumen plant smoke envelops town Mandi, December 7 The stonecrusher was already causing pollution, but the problem was compounded when a multi-core bitumen pre-mix plant was added to it last week. Its chimney spews thick smoke polluting the entire town. The district administration has not taken steps to check pollution. Several organisations and individuals including the management of Dasham Patshai gurdwara have protested against the pollution near the crusher. Complaints have been made to the Deputy Commissioner, the Pollution Control Board and the General Manager of the Industries Department. So far nothing has come-out of it. Smoke affects old and sick people. Those suffering from breathing problems are hit the most. Residents of the Gurdwara complex, Housing Board Colony, residences of
Additional Deputy Commissioner, judicial officers, Bhiuli, Sauli Khad, Transport Area, Purani Mandi, Padal and the main town are the worst affected. Smoke spreads to far-off places like Jawahar Nagar, Palace Colony and Ganpati Road area. Officials here merely send a notice to the owners of the pre-mix plant and crusher. |
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Private bus
operators call off stir Shimla, December 7 The union decided to call off the agitation after Prof Dhumal gave an assurance that the government would consider its demands sympathetically. The main demands included increase in number of off-days for the purpose of tax from 46 to 60 and reduction in special road tax. HAMIRPUR: The strike by private bus operators entered its third day on Saturday. The district administration took steps to provide transport facilities to people here. Additional buses were provided from Shimla and Una. Buses of educational institutions were also pressed into service. An official spokesman claimed that the strike had no effect on the plying of government buses. The government buses were plying on all routes. KANGRA: District additional police chief Santosh Patial said private bus operators blocked the Pathankot-Mandi highway at Baijnath for half hour. However, they lifted the blockade after the authorities
persuaded them. He denied that the police resorted to any force. All SHOs have been directed to provide escorts to HRTC buses, if need be. |
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Pvt practitioners to help combat TB Kumarhatti, December 7 The disease, widespread in villages, often proved fatal as patients did not get timely treatment for want of required medical guidelines, he remarked. Private practitioners were being first contacted by patients for medical help and in 40 per cent of the cases, patients preferred to get treatment from them than at health centres, he pointed out. He explained that besides the treatment proving costly, the patient could not get adequate treatment, and they later discontinued the treatment. Under the new arrangement, it was planned to provide a few private practitioners with medicines and prescribed guidelines. They would work as a link between patients and the society. The medicines stocked with the private practitioners would be given free to the patients and the practitioners would be paid nominal charges, based on the number of patients attended to, he said. The society also planned to select volunteers to provide first-hand reports to the society if any TB case was detected in rural areas, added Dr Gupta. |
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Coop Bank chief, officials get ‘clean chit’ Bilaspur, December 7 This was declared by Himachal Minister of State for Cooperatives and Information and Public Relations here today at a press conference at Dhelera Rest House. The minister said that due to differences between Mr Krishan Kumar Kaushal and Bank Employees Union, some union leaders alleged irregularities and violation of rules by the Board of Directors. A preliminary inquiry found nothing tangible requiring action. Union leaders moved Himachal High Court for a stay on the functioning of Krishan Kumar Kaushal and the matter became subjudice. A statutory inquiry into all these charges was also ordered and this inquiry found nothing requiring action. On basis of two inquiries, the government filed a reply in the High Court giving results of inquiries. Now Union leaders have withdrawn the case from the court and the matter is closed. |
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Rs 85-crore Nabard loan for HP Shimla, December 7 A spokesman for the government said here that 36 road would be constructed at a cost of Rs 40.83 crore and 17 bridges at a cost of Rs 17.17 crore, covering almost all districts. Thirtyfive schemes each of irrigation and water supply would be executed at a cost of Rs 27.22 crore. |
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More levy sugar for consumers Shimla, December 7 Stating this here today, Food and Supplies Minister Mansa Ram said this would be in addition to the 700 gm levy sugar already being given to each consumer in the state. All consumers, including income tax payers, could avail themselves of the benefit of the enhanced quota of levy sugar during these two months, he added. The Minister said that the monthly foodgrains quota for the below poverty line families had been raised from 35 kg to 60 kg. He said wheat and rice would be supplied to these families at the rate of Rs 5.25 per kg and Rs 7 per kg respectively.
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Wheat crop wilting: expert Una, December 7 This was a major cause of concern for farmers in the district, who had not recovered from the severe financial reversals suffered because of the partial failure of their kharif crop due to the same reasons. Dr Nayital said reports of yellowing of the wheat crop had been pouring in from various parts of the district. The problem, he said, was more pronounced in cases where early or timely varieties had been sown in Una. The last rainfall was recorded on October 12 and the sowing, normally done after the first winter rainfall, was initiated by the farmers in anticipation of the annual rainfall pattern, usually beginning in the third week of November. Dr Nayital observed that with no sign of clouds in the sky, rain could be ruled out within the next one week. This meant that the farmers faced loss of the second cash crop in a row, he said.
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Tibetans hold procession
Dharamsala, December 7 The protesting Tibetans, who were carrying placards, raised anti-China slogans. They sent memoranda to United Nations High Commission for Human Rights and the President of People’s Republic of China, urging them to take immediate steps to save the lives of the two political activists and release them. Tibetan political activists Truiku Tenzin Delek and Lobasng Dhondup were charged of masterminding the Chengdu bomb blast April 3, 2002, and were handed over death sentence by Karze People’s International Court on December 2.
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Girls continue to outshine boys: study Shimla, December 7 A study conducted by the government to assess the impact of various “Medhavi Chhatra Yozna” (scholarship schemes), introduced over the past five years to help poor students pursue education beyond the high-school level has revealed that the girls have been doing much better than the boys. While the overall enrolment of girls at the plus-two level was only 42 per cent, they managed to secure 51.20 per cent of the 8,200 scholarships granted under various schemes. While the enrolment percentage of girls belonging to the Scheduled Tribes was as low as 31.30 per cent the percentage of these girls getting the scholarship was as high as 56 per cent. In case of the Scheduled Caste category also, the enrolment of girls was 42.60 per cent, whereas their share in the scholarships was 43 per cent. Similarly, the percentage of girls from other backward classes among the scholarship holders was 52. The same trend was visible in case of the general category girls who secured 54.50 per cent of the scholarships. The enrolment of girls has been showing a declining trend from the primary level to the plus-two levels, though the scholarship schemes have been quite successful in encouraging girl students in pursuing education after matriculation. The enrolment percentage came down from 47.40 for classes VI-VIII to 45.40 for classes X-XI and finally to 42 per cent at the plus-two level. Similarly, it declined to 31.30 per cent in case of the Scheduled Tribe girls at the plus-two level from 44.20 per cent classes VI-VIII and from 47.60 per cent to 42.60 per cent in case of the Scheduled Caste girls. |
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B.Ed seats to be allotted on merit: VC Shimla, December 7 The students gave a representation to the VC saying that they could not attend the counselling as they did not get a proper intimation. Prof Sharma said that those meritorious students who had taken admission by making payments would be given the benefit of subsidised seats. The VC said counselling would be held in the next couple of days and that seats would be allotted on the basis of merit. |
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HP tops in recording
births, deaths Shimla, December 7 Mr J.K. Banthia, Registrar General of India, stated here today that the registration of births was as high as 99 per cent and deaths 80 per cent, was highest in the country. He said to ensure compliance of registration at various levels which included panchayat, block, district and state-level, random surveys and cross checks should be made at regular intervals. He called upon the members of the departmental coordination committee drawn from Health, panchayat, local self-government, statistics, planning and women and child welfare to work in cooperation to ensure 100 per cent registration. He said seminars would be organised in the state for 4100 local registrars to sensitise them on the registration work and maintenance of ration cards and family registers of panchayat and local bodies. |
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Changer belt ‘neglected’ Kangra, December 7 They held a press conference and expressed concern over the deterioration in education. Girls had to walk about 7 km to go to school, they said, adding that there was no senior secondary school in the Changer belt. They also said there was no hospital in the area and patients had to be shifted on bed to nearest hospital which was at least 15 km. They said despite a population of more than 30,000 the belt was being ignored. They said they would launch a signature campaign for the removal of the Congress candidate from the Kangra Assembly segment. |
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Cold wave sweeps tribal belt Shimla, December 7 The twin tribal valleys of Lahual and Spiti reeled under biting cold with the minimum temperature ranging between minus seven and minus 12°C. Kulu, Kangra and Chamba valleys also experienced severe cold-wave conditions as the mercury dipped due to heavy snowfall on high mountain passes of Rohtang, Kunzam, Chansel and Saach. However, people in the state capital had some relief from biting cold due to bright sunshine.
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