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Tuesday,
July 15, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Congress,
BJP trade charges in House Cong had
done homework on alliance issue Record
apple produce likely this season Panel to
review MoUs on hydel projects |
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12 per
cent free power under Koldam project Heavy
rain in HP Underage
driving goes unchecked Police
pay scales for jail staff No crop
claim paid despite insurance
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Congress, BJP trade charges in House Shimla, July 14 Replying to the debate on cut motions pertaining to the demands of the Police Department, he said as per the manual it was mandatory to seek prior permission of the authorities for visiting the jail. He said it was shocking that such an act was committed by none other than a person who had remained the Chief Minister of the state. Referring to Mr Dhumal’s contention that he visited the jail to know the facts about the escape of an undertrial prisoner so that issue could be raised in the house, he said a number of prisoners escaped when Mr Dhumal was the Chief Minister but he never visited the jail then. Mr Virbhadra Singh said that the manual was to be respected by all, including the elected representatives. He said the government had taken a serious notice of the incident and the officials concerned were being chargesheeted for the dereliction of duty. Regarding the charge that the government allowed Ms Sonia Gandhi to drive past the prohibited Ridge area, he said it only betrayed the ignorance of Mr Dhumal. Ms Gandhi was in the Z plus security category and her security was looked after by the Special Protection Group (SPG) and not the state police. The route of her motorcade was also decided by the SPG officers. He said Mr L.K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister, who also has been given Z plus security was also allowed to address rally at the Ridge for similar reasons. The House witnessed uproarious scenes when Mr Virbhadra Singh, while referring to the incident at Gagrohi village said that a panchayat pradhan, Ms Tripta Devi, had in her FIR alleged that Mr Ravinder Ravi, the local MLA, had slapped her and made some uncharitable remarks about her caste. He said a case had been registered under the Prevention of Atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act had been registered and truth would be known only after investigations. He said no one would be allowed to take law into his hands and those who violated it including elected representatives would be dealt with sternly. The Chief Minister was repeatedly interrupted by Mr Ravinder Ravi and other BJP legislators who alleged that the government pressurised the pradhan to register an FIR. Mr Dhumal went to the extent of demanding a CBI inquiry into the case. The demand was rejected by Mr Virbhadra Singh. He said that the agency was not meant for investigating such petty matters as alleged slapping of a woman. Quoting figures the chief minister asserted that the crime graph had declined marginally and the law and order situation had not deteriorated as was being made out by the opposition. He said between March to June this year 44 murders, 40 cases of rape, 43 of kidnapping and 391 burglaries were reported. On the other hand during the corresponding period past year 46 murders, 48 cases of rape, 54 of kidnapping and 401 burglaries took place which were on the higher side. Mr Dhumal took strong objection to the reports that he had visited the jail on the advice of some tantrik. He said those making such allegations had themselves been utilising the services of “tantriks”. He also produced a photograph, in which he claimed Mr Virbhadra Singh was seen sitting with a tantrik. He said he had complete information how many times Mr Virbhadra Singh visited tantriks and on what dates. At this Mr Virbahdra Singh quipped you should publish these in newspapers. Earlier, participating in the debate on cut motions Mr Mohinder Singh said the Himachal was the only state where an accused arrested under POTA got released on bail due to the failure of the police to put up challan in time. Murders were taking place daily and the culprits were not being nabbed. He cited the example of a case in his Dharampur constituency in this regard. Dr Rajiv Bindal also spoke in the similar vein and referred to the murder of women in Kandaghat area. Mr Ravinder Ravi alleged that law and order situation was worsening and unauthorised sale of liquor was taking place on largescale. Mr Sukh Ram, the HVC Chief, said that setting up more police stations was no solution. The emphasis should be on improving the efficiency of the existing manpower. He said the Superintendents of Police and DIGs should be asked to inspect the police stations regularly to tone up the functioning of the department. Mr Kuldeep Pathania underlined the need to modernise the police. At present cases failed in the court because of perfunctory investigations. |
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Cong had done homework on alliance issue Shimla, July 14 The party would not have come out on the intricate twin issues in such an assertive manner if it was not confident about the response of its likely allies. The party had undertaken a careful exercise to sound the allies and ascertain their stand before the conclave. Insiders revealed that the party had been assured that there would not be a negative response. It was thus a calculated move made after many deliberations and after taking into consideration the ground realities, particularly the compulsions of the NCP in Maharashtra, which worked. There had been a major shift in the stand of both the NCP and the Samajwadi Party, which had been vehemently opposed to the leadership of Ms Sonia Gandhi in the past. The NCP had indicated that it was willing to do a rethinking on its stand on the issue. The Samajwadi Party said that leadership issue was an internal matter of the Congress. It was for the party to decide its leader, the Samajwadi Party had no problems with it. It was not a test balloon but part of a well-thought out strategy to set things moving in the right direction for the impending Lok Sabha polls, a senior leader confided. It was not surprising that Ms Gandhi exuded new-found confidence and spoke with authority while asserting that she took decisions on her own after receiving inputs and advice from various quarters. In fact the conclave had been used to project her as the undisputed leader of the party. Apprehensions, if any on this count, had been set to rest, after the conclave. Mr Anand Sharma, AICC spokesperson, made it amply clear by stating that the leadership of Ms Sonia Gandhi was not negotiable. She was the chosen leader of the party. She was not only the President of the party but also heading the Parliamentary group. The Congress had made its position clear on the leadership issue and it was for other parties which wanted to have an alliance with it to take their own decision. He dismissed the issue of Ms Gandhi’s foreign origin, again being raked up by the BJP, with a cryptic reply that it was a dead issue for the people of India who had installed Congress governments in 15 states and sent Ms Sonia Gandhi to Parliament. |
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Record apple produce likely this season Shimla, July 14 If the assessment carried out by the Horticulture Department is any indication, the production is set to cross four lakh tonnes. The highest output recorded earlier was 3.94 lakh tonnes in 1988-89 and 3.95 lakh tonnes in 1998-99. Barring some isolated pockets in higher hill areas, the crop is good throughout. With snow, which is considered as “white manure” for the orchards becoming increasingly scarce, the apple production had become erratic over the years. In the 2001, only about 1.60 lakh tonnes of apple were produced. Last year it rose to 3.46 lakh tonnes and in all 1.91 crore standard boxes of apple were produced. This season a lean crop was expected as good crop is usually followed by a poor one. However, extremely favourable weather conditions have raised the hope of a bumper crop. It was after a gap of almost a decade that the apple belt received reasonably good snow during winter. There were no hailstorm during March and April, which affect flowering and fruit setting. The monsoon also arrived in time to ensure that the fruit attained a good size. Most orchards are laden with fruit but the growers are a worried lot. They fear that returns may not be good as a bumper crop usually results in low prices due to glut in the market. Last year the prices remained stable and the average for the season came to Rs 305 per box. In 2001 the average price was only Rs 295 per box as foreign apples invaded the domestic market under the new WTO regime. The craze for imported apple, which is big in size and has a good colouring, is over as a evident from last years trend. The average price had increased despite a good crop. The administration is gearing up to make arrangements for the transport of produce to the market. The plucking of fruit will start towards the end of this month when the crop matures in the lower hills. The bulk of the produce is marketed in August. Last year the government procured over 15,000 tonnes of apple under the market intervention scheme out of which about 8000 tonnes was processed by the HPMC. It has yet to pay arrears amounting to over Rs 14 crore to growers and various procurement agencies. It may have to procure a much higher quantity in view of the record production. |
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Panel to review MoUs on hydel projects Shimla, July 14 He said the state had highly qualified engineers and other skilled and semi-skilled workers required for the construction of hydel projects but these were facing unemployment. He said the employment aspect needed to be viewed seriously by every executing agency. He said the government was committed to safeguard the interests of the people of the state and ensure that the executing agency, contractors and sub-contractors honour the employment clause equally. The Chief Minister directed the NTPC authorities, which are executing the 800 mw Kol Dam project, to ensure employment to the people of the state in different categories. He directed the NTPC authorities to carry out rehabilitation measures for the affected families on a priority basis and ensure that the oustees were rehabilitated suitably before the execution of the project. Mr K.B. Dubey, General Manager, Kol Dam, informed the Chief Minister that 400 plots were being developed expeditiously to rehabilitate the
oustees. |
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12 per cent free
power under Koldam project Chamba, July 14 The project, estimated to cost about Rs 4,500 crore, is being executed by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and slated for commissioning in 2009. The NTPC had already signed an agreement on power sharing with the state government, which was, however, pressing for equity participation in the project for power generation through four turbines of 200 mw each, sources said. The reservoir of the dam, 40-km upstream of the river, is expected to submerge 1500 hectares of land in Bilaspur, Mandi, Solan and Shimla districts. The project was conceived about 30 years ago and was being considered as a very convenient project for execution after the completion of Beas-Sutlej link project, located in the same area.
— PTI |
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Heavy rain in HP
Shimla, July 14 The rains triggered off landslides disrupting rail and road traffic. A report from Nahan said the Nahan-Kaulawala road was blocked due to a massive landslide and the area had been cut off from the district headquarters. Meanwhile, heavy rains lashed Dharamsala last night, flooding the low lying areas. The water started receding as the rain stopped. The region remained engulfed in fog and sky remained overcast with weatherman predicting more rains.
— PTI |
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Underage driving goes unchecked Parwanoo, July 14 Two teenagers lost their lives in road mishaps on the highways during the past one month. Last year, four youths died as their threewheeler rolled down in a gorge near Datiyar village here. Not taking any lesson, teenagers are still seen driving scooters and cars on the highways and link roads of Parwanoo, Kalka and Pinjore. Parents are also seen giving driving lessons to their wards. The socio-psychologists believe that efforts made by the police will prove futile unless parents take a definite stand against the practice. “The problem lies with the social set-up”, asserts psychologist Nitin Kumar. He adds: “At the tender age of 14, the child is handed over vehicle keys, allowing him to ride it without wearing a helmet”. He says it is the attitude of the parents that is to be blamed for the menace. Explaining the trend, another sociologist feels that in large number of families both parents are working, as such they get very few hours to spend with their children. Mr S.S.
Chauhan, a lawyer of the HP High Court, says underage driving by the school and college children without valid driving licences endangers human life. He also feels that another reason for the problem is low rate of conviction. He says in large number of cases the witness is easily influenced, thereby reducing the chance of the prosecution to succeed. |
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Police pay scales for jail staff Shimla, July 14 This was stated by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Chief Minister, in the House today. He said the duties of Jail staff were as onerous as that of the police and it deserved a better deal. He said he had already discussed the matter with the Home Secretary and asked him to make a proposal in this regard. |
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No crop claim paid despite insurance Nurpur, July 14 According to the information, over 3,200 farmers in agriculture development block, Fatehpur in Jawali subdivision, had insured their kharif crop by paying premium to an insurance company. The company had allegedly collected lakhs of rupees as premium from the poor farmers. The crop had failed due to the failure of the monsoon last year. The farmers then ran from pillar to post to get their compensation from the insurance company but to no avail. The farmers urged the state government to tell the company to return their principle amount. |
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Raju Bhaiyya’s
death mourned
Shimla, July 14 |
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