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Monday,
June 16, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Dhindsa
flays govt for ‘harassing’ Badal
‘Harness
groundwater to tide over water crisis’ Person
posing as HC Judge held |
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‘Bridge
gap between scientists and masses’ HPSWC
for panels to curb violence Gang
involved in immoral traffic busted, 4 held Students
exhorted to join military Move to
set up 500 family counselling centres Gastroenteritis
stalks Himachal village Police
clueless on June 13 hold-up Seven
youths injured in clash 
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Dhindsa
flays govt for ‘harassing’ Badal Solan, June 15 Refuting allegations that SAD loyalists had not been taken into confidence about the matter he said that talks regarding the merger had been going on for quite some time and all party men were aware of what was materialising. Talking to The Tribune here today the Union Minister said that the main thrust of the merger would be on the June 29 panchayat elections. Flaying the role of the Vigilance Department in Punjab he said that not only were the atrocities being meted out to the family of Mr Badal but it was setting a wrong precedence in the state. Never before had such high
headedness been shown by the Vigilance Department in the state he lamented. Ridiculing the Punjab Chief Minister he said they were not opposed to any inquiry and had long back said that if a sitting high court judge provided concrete evidence about the allegations levelled against Mr Badal in the court and those observations are accepted in the court, their party would accept the decision. But the manner in which the Vigilance Department was harassing them without substantial evidence was a mockery of the system. He insisted on referring such cases to the Lok Pal and opined that it was the apt body to address political cases. Mr Dhindsa today stressed an amicable solution to the Kashmir dispute through peaceful talks between India and Pakistan. He opined that though the BJP led NDA government was opposed to mediation by the USA but if such a mediation could lead to a peaceful solution there was no harm in accepting it. He was speaking on the occasion of the annual function of a local NGO Himgiri Kalyan Ashram at Shilli village near here he said that millions of rupees were being diverted for the country’s Defence which could otherwise be used for the country’s development. Earlier the chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board, Mrs Mridula Sinha said that the main aim of education was to develop feeling of compassion for ones fellow beings and not attain academic excellence. The Union Minister also gave away prizes to the students. A cultural programme was presented on the occasion by the students. Others present on the occasion included the state president of the Central Social Welfare Board Ms Indu Goswami, local MLA Dr Rajiv Bindal among others. |
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Katwal released
on bail Hamirpur, June 15 Katwal was taken to the local Zonal Hospital last
night following a pain in his chest and high blood pressure and
brought back to the police station in the morning. He took a bath and
had a shave before he was released on bail. The suspended Chairman of
the board criticised the Enforcement Department for releasing him late
from its custody. He said that he had surrendered before the SIT at
9.45 am in Shimla on Thursday, whereas he was released two hours later
than the scheduled period of 72 hours as fixed by the Himachal Pradesh
High Court in its order of his bail application. He, however, said
that he was treated well during the past three days. Highly placed
sources told ‘The Tribune’ that Katwal had handed over a letter to
the HP Home Secretary recently. He had named many persons who had
approached him with many favours of employment, when he was the
Chairman of the board. Meanwhile, sources in the SIT claimed that
Katwal confessed to having tampered with the board record, altering
answersheets and giving employment under pressure from ministers, MLAs
and leaders of the BJP as well as one senior office of the office of
the former BJP Chief Minister. There are reports that the SIT may
summon owners of some computer firms of Hamirpur town that had
evaluated the answersheets of the board since its inception in 1998.
The main inquiry will be held for the evaluation of the answersheets
of vidya upasaks and trained graduate teachers. |
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‘Harness
groundwater to tide over water crisis’ Shimla, June 15 “The snow-clad Himalayan mountain ranges, from where all important rivers originate, have unlimited groundwater reserves just waiting to be tapped. The exploration carried out by him in the Leh and Siachin areas over the past five years make this quite evident. Groundwater has been found at a height of 13,500 ft and can be successfully harnessed to make life easy not only for the local Buddhist population but also for the Army personnel serving in extremely harsh conditions there”, he told The Tribune. The most interesting feature is that the discharge increases during winters when the entire region is under a thick blanket of snow. The local people and Army jawans no longer need to melt snow for their daily needs of water as enough groundwater is available. In fact, groundwater is now being used for irrigation, which has increased the agriculture output by a whopping 50 times. The cold desert was now on a threshold of green revolution, he says. For his achievements in successful harnessing of groundwater in different terrains of Himalayas, Arya has been invited to present the date and research findings in an international conference of IUGG on hydrology at Sapporo, Japan, this year. He said the undulating mountain ranges had aquifer, palaeo channels carrying water, which could become perennial source of water even for thickly populated hill towns like Shimla. The focus must shift from surface the availability of which was subject to seasonal fluctuations in the discharge of the source. A decentralised approach should be adopted and groundwater should be tapped through energised bores to meet the demand of the local area. He said installing handpumps was no solution. Surveys and scientific studies should be conducted to identify the hydrostrategraphic zones to estimate the quantum of groundwater available. He maintained this groundwater was available in Shimla at depths varying from 70m to 150m, which could be tapped and supplied without carrying to the main distribution tank. Lifting water from rivers like Giri or Pabbar was not a great idea because of the high cost of transportation over such a long distance. |
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Person posing as HC Judge held Dalhousie, June 15 According to Superintendent of Police Chamba, Ajay Yadav, the fake judge had been identified as Rajesh Kumar resident of
Rohini, Delhi. He said that the fake judge was staying in the local Circuit House since June 12. When the police on duty for the so-called judge found his activities suspicious, the Station House Officer of Dalhousie Police Station, Jitender Choudhary contacted the Delhi High Court over the phone to enquire about the programme of this fake judge and his whereabouts, the staff on duty in Delhi High Court informed that there was no such judge from Delhi gone on tour to Dalhousie. The SP said that the police had arrested the impostor Rajesh Kumar under Sections 170, 177 and 419 of the Indian Panel Code and further investigations were on. Earlier, a few days ago, two vehicles bearing red lights were seized by the police. The people travelling in the vehicle were posing as the kin of Union Minister Sahib Singh Verma. But on inquiry, the vehicles were found fake and people posing as kin were found fake. |
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‘Bridge
gap between scientists and masses’ Dharamsala, June 15 He was speaking at the 20th foundation day celebrations of the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology at Holta, Palampur. The Governor said in order to ensure people’s participation and adoption of latest technologies by them, it was necessary that they should be made aware of the latest inventions and discoveries. He said the removal of communication gap between scientific community and people can ensure that science finds use in full . He also advocated the need for incentives and initiatives for the adoption of latest technologies. The Governor, earlier, inaugurated Rs 2.37-crore auditorium-cum-library building of IHBT. In his address, the director general of CSIR, Dr R. A. Mashelkar, said science had the capacity of changing the socio-economic scene of the country and added that responsible scientific research was the need of hour. He advocated the need for strong partnership between the scientists and those who benefit from science for strengthening an institution. He said it was heartening to see that the IHBT which had been set up with a small budget of Rs 10 lakh had now grown into a full fledged CSIR laboratory with a mandate to work and propagate bio-resources of Himachal and had annual budgetary support of Rs 10 crore. He said the knowledge and facilities of entire CSIR were available for IHBT. The Director of
IHBT, Dr. P. S. Ahuja, welcomed the chief guest and threw light on the working of the institute and said as many as 17 US patents had been awarded top IHBT and 24 other patents. He said the institute ensured that technology was taken to remote villages of Himachal and young students made aware about science and its possibilities in future development. |
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HPSWC for
panels to curb violence Nurpur, June 15 Ms Malvika Pathania, chairperson of the commission, while talking to mediapersons here today said the HPSWC would ensure that these committees worked effectively and efficiently in curbing atrocities against women. She claimed that the commission has settled as many as 1,200 cases pertaining to atrocities against women in the past two years. She, however, expressed concern over complaints of misbehaviour by police personnel with women in tribal areas of the state. “I have received a number of letters in this connection”, she added. Ms Pathania informed that the HPSWC like the Human Rights Commission was armed with judicial powers and any decision of the commission in such cases had legal validity. She said the commission was striving hard to bring the participation of both men and women at the same level. |
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Gang involved in immoral traffic busted, 4 held Mandi, June 15 According to the police gang members were reportedly coercing a girl to join them. She narrated her tale of woes to her parents who took her to the Sundernagar Police Station. Brijesh Sood, SHO, Sundernagar, took up the investigation and monitored the telephone calls made to the girl by the suspects from time to time. Finally a trap was laid last evening and as per the plan the girl agreed to meet the gang members at a fixed time near the Bhima Kali Temple at Bhiuli in Mandi town. The police nabbed the four persons when they approached the girl at the spot. According to the police the prostitution racket was operating in Mandi and Kulu districts. |
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Students
exhorted to join military Hamirpur, June 15 Addressing students of Sainik School at Sujanpur Tihra last evening General Thakur lauded the efforts of the school authorities for sending most of their students, to the NDA. He said he was aware of the deficiency in infrastructural facilities at the school and added that he would take up the issue at the highest level. General Thakur presented a draft of 1 lakh to the Principal of the school for instituting a silver trophy to be awarded to the best house for contributing the largest number of candidates to the NDA. |
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Move to set up 500 family counselling centres Shimla, June 15 Stating this at a press conference here yesterday Ms Mridula Sinha, chairperson of the board, said that the 500 family counselling centres already functioning the country had been a success and 10 to 20 per cent of the problems were solved instantly. Such centres would now be opened in more towns. The board had decided to set up premarital centres in 31 universities including the Himachal Pradesh University. The board had set apart Rs 4 crore for carrying out various activities for the betterment of women in Himachal Pradesh. The funds would be given for providing training for self-employment, creating awareness about their rights and important issues. The focus would be on the health of women to ensure overall well being of the family. The thrust of the new programme was expressed through the slogan “Swasth Nari, Sukhi Parivar” (healthy women, happy family). |
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Gastroenteritis stalks Himachal village Bilaspur, June 15 Deputy Commissioner P.C. Jassal said the deceased, identified as Nikki Devi of Dhugli village, was admitted to the hospital on Friday after she complained of a stomach problem. At present, 16 gastroenteritis patients from Dhugli are undergoing treatment at the hospital. Twelve fresh gastroenteritis cases were reported today but all patients discharged after treatment. District medical
officials said water samples from sources around the affected village had been collected and sent for testing as the water seemed to be unfit for human consumption. The Deputy Commissioner had directed the Chief Medical Officer, Dr
T.K. Roy, and the Additional District Magistrate, Mr J.S. Pathania, to visit Dhugli village for making an assessment of the situation for providing on-the-spot medical aid.
UNI |
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Police
clueless on June 13 hold-up Kumarhatti, June 15 The youths carrying pistol and sticks allegedly looted cash and other valuables from motorists including a Rajasthan’s tourist bus. The youths put up barrier on an isolated location of road in the forest and remained there for over one hour. This was not an isolated case as in the past similar incidents had taken place in and around this town on the Kalka-Shimla national highway and motorists during night are forced to pay money by it a group of youths who pose as police or Excise officials. |
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Seven youths injured in clash Kumarhatti, June 15 |
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‘Review’ house tax decision Chamba, June 15 The District President of the Sangh, Mr P.C. Oberoy suggested that the house tax proposed by the Municipal Council to be imposed should be reviewed in the interest of the poor and the retired persons. Mr Oberoy was of the opinion that if at all it was very essential to impose such a tax then rate should be less and bathroom, kitchen, toilet, cowshed and worship rooms should be exempted from inclusion in the plinth area of the house concerned as in the case of Punjab and Haryana.
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HP move to curb
corruption Shimla, June 15 At the state-level Panchayati Raj Sammalen at Jwalamukhi in Kangra district organised by Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said unless corruption was eradicated it was not possible to accelerate the pace of development. He added that the government was also committed to strengthening the Panchayati Raj institutions in the State so that development could be speeded up from the grassroots level. He urged these institutions to cooperate in
achieving these objectives. Senior Congress leader and member of Congress Working Committee Mani Shankar Aiyar, speaking on the occasion stressed on the need of decentralisation of powers.
UNI |
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Renuka lake to be beautified Shimla, June 15 Earlier, the speaker inaugurated the 4-km Silabag-Kotla-Bangi road which has been constructed at a cost of Rs 9 lakh. Addressing the gathering, he urged the people to donate land liberally for connecting all villages with roads.
UNI |
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14 hurt as tempo falls into gorge Hamirpur, June 15 The injured persons were taken to Nadaun hospital for treatment, where they are progressing. Most of the injured have received injuries on the head. The Nadaun police has registered a case. |
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Shimla
suburb has rain Shimla, June 15 The showers provided much-needed relief from heat and dust and also helped in controlling the forest fires. The landscape remained obscured as a pall of haze hung around and sky remained overcast. The rains were likely to ease the availability of water at the source but chronic water shortage was likely to continue due to increasing demand during the summer tourist season.
PTI |
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