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Friday,
March 21, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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HPSSSB
Chairman Katwal faces contempt Maintain ‘maryada’ of
Takhts, demands congregation
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3 killed in accidents Jail security guard shot at Posts of ADC to go: Virbhadra 
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HPSSSB Chairman
Katwal faces contempt Solan, March 20 Umesh had challenged the selection of two candidates, Ashwani Mahjan and Shaktipal Gautam, as scientific assistants from Bilaspur district. He had contended that besides being related to the then Health Minister, Mr J.P. Nadda, they also did not have the requisite experience and had been recruited on political considerations. Despite directions by the tribunal, the Chairman, did not act on the directions and did not consider the candidature of Umesh even after a six weeks of direction of the tribunal. This prompted petitioner Umesh to file contempt proceedings against the Chairman. The Chairman who now has been pleading innocence in all selections refused to comply with tribunal’s directions and did not appear in the contempt cases despite having been summoned twice. He is again summoned to appear in the case tomorrow. |
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Maintain
‘maryada’ of
Takhts, demands congregation Paonta Sahib, March 20 Nearly half a million people participated in the celebrations, which included holding of special kirtan
darbars, a kavi darbar, taking out of a procession and hoisting of “nishan sahib” and inauguration of a new residential block for pilgrims at the historic gurdwara here. The celebrations which started with the bhog of Sri Akhand Path on March 16 continued until yesterday afternoon and were attended by not only the devout from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal but also by a large number of non-resident Indians. All six resolutions moved by Jathedar Kartar Singh Takkar, a member of the Parbandhak Committee of Gurdwara Paonta Sahib, were unanimously adopted by the congregation. In one of the resolutions, the congregation thanked the previous Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, for naming the Kolar-Lohgarh Road after Baba Banda Singh Bahadur but urged both the Himachal Pradesh and the Central Government to denotify the land under Lohgarh Fort from a reserve forest for raising of a national memorial. The resolution said that Lohgarh was the capital of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur before he actually started the country's first war of independence against the Mughals from Lohgarh. In another important resolution, the congregation demanded that Sikh married women, if accompanied by their spouses, should be permitted to take “seva”, including kirtan, inside historic gurdwaras, including Sri Harmandar Sahib in Amritsar. By another resolution the congregation demanded that the appointment of Bhai Ranjit Singh as Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht should be restored. “Every effort should be made to keep all five seats of power of Sikhism, the
Takhts, free from politics and their ‘maryada’ must not be compromised. Sikh maryada should also be respected,” the resolutions said. By another resolution, services rendered by Baba Harbans Singh and Baba Sukha Singh — kar seva wale — and Jathedar Kartar Singh Takkar for getting the new 72-room residential block completed were appreciated. They were felicitated with presentation of “siropas”. The Himachal Pradesh Shiromani Akali Dal appreciated the efforts of Jathedar Kartar Singh Takkar in getting the new residential block completed despite stiff resistance from various quarters. Mr Harbhajan Singh, resident of the Dal, demanded that new Congress government in Himachal Pradesh must introduce teaching of Punjabi from of sixth to 10th class in various schools of the state. Both Mr Harbhajan Singh and Mr Paramjit Singh Chanana, general secretary of the Dal, said separate cases had been filed in the Shimla High Court for the resumption of teaching of Punjabi in 11 schools where it was discontinued last year and de-regularisation of services of volunteers who started teaching Punjabi in the absence of trained teachers. They said that the Dal would felicitate Mr Tarlochan Singh, Chairman, National Minorities Commission, in recognition of his services for the promotion of Punjabi and safeguarding the interests of minorities in various states. Eminent ragi jathas, including those of Bhai Kulwant Singh Tara, Bhai Baljit Singh, Bhai Amrik Singh Alwar, Giani Baldev Singh Kalyan, Giani Tarsem Singh Alamgir, Bhai Mohkam Singh, Bhai Ranbir
Singh, Bhai Mohinderjit Singh and others participated in the special kirtan darbars held during the four-day celebrations. Famous Sikh scholar Giani Sant Singh Maskin also gave discourses on
Gurbani. |
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3 killed in accidents Hamirpur, March 20 Manoj Kumar, 19 was killed when his bike collided with a Tata Sumo near Bhaleth village. Other man riding the bike received injuries and was admitted to the hospital. The driver of the Tata Sumo has been arrested and a case has been registered against him. In another incident, Pukhlen Mitlu, a first year student of the mechanical branch of the local NIT was drowned in the Beas river on Wednesday. The body has been recovered. The deceased belonged to Manipur. Members of the NIT Teachers Association called off their strike today and paid tributes to him. CHAMBA:
One person was killed on the spot and four others were seriously injured when their private lorry fell into a gorge near Katori Bungla on the Chamba-Pathankot highway, about 80 km from here, last evening, a PTI report said. According to a police spokesman, the deceased has been identified as Pravesh Kumar, owner of the lorry. The body has been handed over to his relatives. The injured had been admitted to a nearby hospital at
Kakira. |
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Jail security guard shot at Shimla, March 20 The victim was shot at on the road leading to the jail from Ghannati where Gurjan Singh and his four accomplices were waiting for him in a white Maruti car. Mr Naresh Kumar showed exemplary courage and presence of mind and pounced on the person who fired at him and managed to snatch the pistol. He then jumped down the steep hill and ran to safety. All this happened in a flash and the assailants could fire only one shot which chipped off the side of the face close to the left eye of Mr Naresh Kumar. Despite being injured, Mr Naresh Kumar walked through the jungle to reach a house and informed the jail authorities about the incident on telephone. He was rushed to the IGMC hospital. The police immediately launched a manhunt but the assailants escaped. The car which they used was found abandoned on the Ghannati-Bilaspur road this morning. Its number plate carried a fake registration number. According to the police, Gurjan Singh had an altercation with Mr Naresh Kumar while he was lodged in the Kanda jail. He had even threatened to kill him. He escaped from he prison custody from Chandigarh while the was being taken from Una to the Kanda jail after a court appearance in connection with the triple-murder case. The police has provided additional security at the hospital to ensure the safety of Mr Naresh Kumar. |
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Posts of ADC to go: Virbhadra Palampur, March 20 Speaking at a "meet-the-press" programme organised by the Palampur Union of Journalists here, the Chief Minister said the decision of the previous government was politically motivated because it was taken just 10 days before the assembly elections. He said the state government was already facing a financial crisis and the government planned to scrap all unwanted posts created by the previous regime. The Chief Minister said so far the state government had not received any proposal from the Transport Department for the enhancement of fares in the state, but at the same time it had become necessary for the government to review these as the HRTC was facing losses. He said the prices of fuel and spare parts had shown manifold increase in the past four years but the bus fares had not been revised accordingly. The Chief Minister categorically stated that there was no plan to withdraw the concessions granted in bus fares to freedom fighters, students, policemen, mediapersons and the handicapped. He said these concessions had been granted under social compulsions and the government could not do injustice to these sections of society by withdrawing the concessions. Mr Virbhadra Singh said all MoUs signed by the previous government for the execution of power projects would be reviewed soon and the necessary amendments, if necessary, would be made. He said he had received complaints from various organisations and individuals regarding these MoUs, alleging that if these were implemented, it would cause huge losses to the state. |
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No plan yet on HRTC fare hike Palampur, March 20 He categorically ruled out the possibility of withdrawal of concessional bus travel facilities to certain categories and said that the government was compensating the HRTC for this.
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