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Monday,
June 9, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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US Prof
favours quota for women Women stage dharna against water shortage Encroachment on govt land ‘regularised’ 3-member Indian team for world paragliding event 11 HAS officers
transferred |
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Demand to check pollution of Saal rivulet
500 examined for ENT problems CCI unit on verge of closure Bail for accused
in POTA case 9 more students contract chickenpox Two burnt alive in road mishap
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US
Prof favours quota for women Shimla, June 8 “By providing 33 per cent quota to women in the panchayati raj institutions, India has done a commendable job. It will help translate the concept of gender quality into a reality in the long run”, she observed during an exclusive conversation with The Tribune here today. Prof Kaufman, who is in the town as Director of the month-long summer law programme for US students feels that such steps were required even in the USA as there women had been lagging behind in politics. She also favoured reservation for the disadvantaged sections like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but does not support the move to extend the facility to the poor sections of forward castes. Instead the government should take steps to make education affordable for such sections. A similar situation existed in the USA due to a surfeit of racial minorities while there is no quota system for the disadvantaged sections, the universities have been able to give preference to them by considering “race” as a factor in the evaluation of application for admission, she explains. This kind of affirmative action to benefit racial minorities has also triggered off legal battles and in one such important case the US Supreme Court is likely to announce its verdict by the end of the month. Ms Grutter, an applicant who was denied admission by Michigan University, has challenged the policy of affirmative action on the ground that considering race as a factor was unconstitutional. She said the policy should stay in the larger interest of the country and to maintain high standards of education. Having students from the same stock does not make a “great classroom” whereas students from diverse racial and economic backgrounds provide a great opportunity to learn from interaction with each other. If the Supreme Court decides that the Constitution is “race neutral” or “colour blind” the fear is that it will lead to re-segregation on racial lines, a situation which existed prior to 1954 when the USA had segregated schools. Regarding her decision to hold the summer law programme in India every year, she said it was essential to have an indepth knowledge of legal systems of other countries and understand their cultures. India with one-sixth of the world’s population, a history of 5000 years and a vibrant democracy is important country to study and learn. Understanding its legal, political and cultural progress will also provide an insight into the issues faced by other developing countries around the world. In all 20 students drawn from all over the USA are attending the summer programme. Besides making a comparative study of constitutions of the two countries, they will also study issues involving women, affirmative action, human rights, environmental laws, interrelation between religion and law. For the first time four Indian students from the national university,
Kolkata, are also been attending the programme. |
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Women stage dharna against water shortage Hamirpur, June 8 It is worth mentioning here that all old water sources in the gram panchayat have dried up and people are forced to fetch water from far-off areas to quench their thirst. The district administration has deployed two tankers but they were not enough to meet with the requirement of the people of the gram panchayat. The women lifted the dharna only when the local gram panchayat assured them that water would be provided in jeeps if the water tankers failed to reach the inaccessible areas. A spokesmen of the villagers told The Tribune that if the authorities failed to provide water as per their demand, they would be forced to restart their dharna tomorrow. |
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Encroachment on govt land ‘regularised’ Palampur, June 8 Despite repeated complaints, the Municipal Council has initiated no steps to remove the encroachments on both sides of the road. In many cases shopkeepers have covered two to three feet portion of the road making movement of vehicles difficult. The situation has worsened after Assembly elections, not only the pedestrians, but the fire engine and ambulances cannot move because of encroachments on these streets. Accidents are take place daily in front of State Bank of India and on the Cinema road as every inch of land left on both sides of narrow Pathankot-Mandi National Highway has been encroached upon. These encroachments have also become a major traffic hazard and resulting in frequent traffic jams. Most of the residents of the town avoid coming to the Gurdwara and Cinema roads of the town as walking is difficult because the roads have became narrowed due to encroachments. Earlier, the Deputy Superintendent of Police took interest to regulate the traffic of the town by removing the encroachments. But in the absence of cooperation from local Municipal Council to the police and its half-hearted approach to remove the same, the encroachments reappeared. In many parts of town the Municipal Council had regularised the encroachments by charging Rs 20 to 50 daily from the defaulters. |
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3-member Indian team for world paragliding event Shimla, June 8 The World Paragliding Association has admitted a three-member team for the event. Mr Ashok
Thakur, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Sports, said two of the team members, Debu Chaudhary and Gurpreet
Dhindsa, belonged to Himachal Pradesh. They gave impressive performances at the Pre-Pre-World Cup
(Pre-PWC) championship held at Bir, Kangra, in October 2002, where in spite of their limited exposure they managed to secure a position amongst the top world paragliders in the event. Chaudhary is a resident of Manali and had his first lessons in paragliding under the Himachal Tourism-sponsored courses. He topped among Indian pilots during the Pre-Paragliding World Cup Championships. Dhindsa runs a paragliding school at
Bir-Billing and is one of the few certified paragliding instructors in the country. He secured the second position in the
Pre-PWC event amongst the Indian participants. The Department of Tourism, Youth Services and Sports had approached the Government of India and Air-India for sponsoring the two sportspersons. International exposure will help them improve their performance in the Pre-World Cup Championships being organised at
Bir-Billing in Kangra in October. |
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11 HAS officers
transferred Shimla, June 8 Mr R.N.
Batta, who recently returned from deputation abroad, has been posted as Secretary, State Transport Authority holding simultaneous charge as Additional Director, Transport, an official statement said today. Mr Rajeev Kumar
Shankar, Regional Transport Officer, Hamirpur, has been posted as Additional Director, Himachal Institute of Public Administration. Mr P.S.
Kutlaharia, Secretary, Transport Authority, has been posted as Additional Secretary, Home and Tribal Development. Others who have been transferred include Mr
J.R. Katwal, Mr Madan Chauhan, Mr Nirmal Singh Suman, Mr Vinod Kumar, Mr Nand Lal Verma, Mr Man Singh Verma, Mr Kishori Lal and Mr Rakesh
Dhiman.
PTI |
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Demand to check pollution of Saal rivulet Chamba, June 8 Expressing concern over the deteriorating condition of the Saal rivulet, Mr Harish Chandra Sharma, Senior Vice-President of the Association alleged here today that owing to the vested interests of the Pollution Control Board, had not paid heeded to the improvement and cleanliness of a 2 km long stretch of this rivulet which had posed a grave threat to human as well as animal life. The stagnant and stinking water of dirty nullah was highly polluting and the area had become breeding ground for mosquitoes, affecting fish farming, he said. Mr Sharma disclosed that the water of this rivulet had been diverted into a tunnel to the other side of Bannu hillock for the Saal hydroelectric project consequently the rivulet had turned into a dirty drain where four big drains emanating from
Jansal,Ramgarh, Kharooda, Chauntra, Hatnala and Pucca Tala vicinities of the town dump rubbish, garbage,
nighsoil, sewage into the rivulet and the same was dumped there with very little water to take it away. Mr Sharma further warned that the Pollution Control Board would be responsible for any epidemic, if at any time, broken out in the town and for losses caused to human life in Chamba town. |
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HP preferred destination
Chandigarh, June 8 The officials said people from city, Delhi, Ludhiana and other nearby towns were rushing to these destinations in HP. Said Ms Poonam Bhardwaj, Tourist Information Assistant at HPTDC, the most preferred destinations were Shimla, Kulu Manali, Chail-Kasauli, Chamba, Dalhousie, Khajjiar and Palampur valley. The cool temperatures, scenic beauty, sports and other facilities were attracting people there. She said that one could reach at these places through regular bus service of Himachal Roadways, and through trains on some limited routes. She said that for Kulu-Manali, there was a daily semi-deluxe bus service from Chandigarh in the evening and one could book economy as well as luxury hotels from here. The room rent varied, she said, between Rs 250 and Rs 4000. She said, ‘‘Besides large number of private hotels at almost all places, the HPTDC is providing accommodation facilities at 56 hotels having 980 rooms with 2195 beds. One could also enjoy 20 per cent discount on rent and eatables by taking Rs 2000 worth privilege card from the HPTDC for two years’’. In Chamba region, she said, one could visit Bharmour, the capital of erstwhile Chamba state, 64 km from district headquarter. This place could also be used as base camp for short trekking routes. People were also thronging at Khajjiar, one of the most scenic saucer shaped plateaus, surrounded by dense pine and deodar forests. There was also a small lake in the centre with a floating temple. Some of the adventure loving tourists also exploring the lesser-know places like Tabo monastery— a citadel of Buddhist Art in the Spiti highlands, 365 km from Shimla. Lovers of water sports went to the Pong dam in Kangra district. Their other favourite destinations were Gobind Sagar in Bilaspur district, Chamera lake, Dal lake in Kangra district. Mr Sunil
Bansal, Manager, HPTDC, claimed that despite heavy rush, efforts were being made to provide the best facilities at all the destinations. He said one could have a look at the corporation’s website‘‘hptdc.nic.in’’or tourism department’s website ‘‘himachaltourism.nic.in’’ where all information was available. |
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500 examined for ENT problems Kangra, June 8 Disclosing this here today, Mr Ripudaman, a social activist, driving force behind the camp here, said the camp organised in the local
sub-divisional hospital had benefited the common people. He said that Dr Sanjay Sachdeva, a senior ENT consultant of Indraparastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, along with Dr Satish Sharma and Dr V.S. Gularia operated upon the patients. He said state government helped the trust and the Rotary Club in organising the camp here. Dr Sanjay Sachdeva, who pioneered endoscopic surgery, later said he was satisfied at these major endoscopic surgeries here for those who could not afford to have it outside the state. The trust honoured Ms Arti Chauhan, ward sister, Ms Arti Walia, staff nurse, Mr Partap Chand, theatre assistant and Hans Raj, a class IV employee for their services at the camp. |
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CCI unit on verge of closure Paonta Sahib, June 8 The CCI had 10 plants across the country, of which only three units are working at present. The local unit of the CCI is also on the verge of closure. According to the latest notification from the head office, the CCI has asked it employees to opt for VRS by June 10, failing which their services would be rendered to private authorities. |
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Bail for accused
in POTA case Nurpur, June 8 The Nurpur police had registered a case under Section 3 and 4 of POTA, Sections 302, 307 of the IPC and Sections 25-24-59 of the Arms Act in January, 2002. At present, these POTA accused are lodged in the Hoshiarpur jail. Sources reveal that the police has to file a challan in a court within 90 days of the arrest of any accused. But in this case, the police could not file the same as it did not get prosecution sanction from the state Home Department, which is mandatory in POTA case. The Superintendent of Police, Kangra, was on leave. Mr Santosh Patiyal, Additional Superintendent of Police, refused to comment on the issue. |
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9 more students contract chickenpox Hamirpur, June 8 Information reaching here says the outbreak of the disease was sudden and the root cause of the outbreak of the disease is still not known. This is second time during the last fortnight that students of Sainik School have become victim to chickenpox. Last time, 55 students of the school had suffered from this disease and most of them were still at their residences as per the advise of the medical officers. However, insiders in the school say it is due to an excessive heat and unhygienic conditions prevailing in the vicinity of the town. Meanwhile, students studying in the local schools have stopped interacting with students of the Sainik School so that they may not fall prey to the chickenpox and that too during the summer season. |
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Two burnt alive in road mishap Nahan, June 8 According to the police, the truck was going towards Tillour Dhar from Sataun. When it reached near Kamrou, its engine caught fire. The driver of the truck, Ramesh Kumar, jumped out of the vehicle before it fell into the khud. Two persons Gyan Singh of Tilour Dhar village and Tulsi Ram, the cleaner of the truck, were burnt alive. Their charred bodies were recovered by residents of Kamrou. The police has registered a case against the driver of the truck in this regard. The bodies of the deceased have been handed over to their family members. Mr J.C. Arora, Naib Tehsildar, Kamrou, gave Rs 5,000 each to the families of the deceased. |
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