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Friday,
October
3, 2003,
Chandigarh, India  
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BJP high command in a fix over HP chief’s poll Bid for
consensus on Himachal BJP chief Maoist
link in extortions being probed Tributes
paid to Gandhiji, Shastri HP
unlikely to achieve green cover target |
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Rohtang
tunnel top priority, says CM Rs 3 cr
for Karsog water scheme Three
houses burnt in fire Hospital
staff shortage hits patients Customs
probing cannabis cultivation Stray cattle, dogs dot
Parwanoo roads
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BJP high command in a fix over HP chief’s poll Chandigarh, October 2 As many as 40 persons, including MPs, MLAs, office-bearers and former MLAs, were invited for the meeting but two senior leaders, Mr Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal, both former Chief Ministers, were not called for the meeting. The latter is in the race for the coveted post. It was decided that elections of the state President would be held only on completion of the elections to the Kangra district unit of the party, where elections were scheduled for September 30 but had to be postponed. As one-fourth of the delegates (18), who are to elect the state president are from Kangra, elections cannot be held till the election of the Kangra district unit is completed. In fact, the organisational election process in all states was to be completed by September 30, but because of lack of consensus, this did not happen in the case of Himachal. Mr
Kohli, who is in charge of the organisational elections in the country, wants that the elections in HP, like other parts of the country should be held by consensus and not through voting. |
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Bid for consensus on Himachal BJP chief Shimla, October 2 Mr Sanjay Joshi, national general secretary in charge of organisational affairs, and Mr
O.P. Kohli, national returning officer, held a second round of talks with prominent leaders of the rival camps headed by Mr
P.K. Dhumal and Mr Shanta Kumar at a marathon meeting in Chandigarh today. The two ascertained the views of nearly 35 leaders invited to the meeting individually to have an idea of the names on which a consensus could be reached. Mr Dhumal and Mr Shanta Kumar were not invited to the meeting. Alarmed at the scuffle between supporters of the rival factions at Dehra after the election of the Kangra district unit chief was postponed, the central leaders made it clear that the president had to be chosen by consensus and election avoided at all costs. While assuring the party men that their views would be given due consideration while making a choice, they also sought a commitment that they would abide by the decision. The two leaders will apprise top central leaders of the views of the party men and also consult Mr Dhumal and Mr Shanta Kumar before taking a decision. As such, it may take another 10 days to complete the election process in the state. Despite repeated direction of the party high command to elect a new organisational set-up right from the constituency unit to the state party chief by consensus, disputes have arisen in certain districts. The manner in which the election of the Kangra district unit was postponed at the last minute had put a question mark on the impartiality of the entire exercise. There was a general feeling among the party men that a farce was being enacted in the name of consensus. |
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Maoist link in extortions being probed Shimla, October 2 According to report, the extortionists targeted relatively well-off families. Four such families had a member each serving in the Army. They took away Rs 20,000 from six families and threatened to kill Arka Bahadur if he failed to give Rs 1.5 lakh to them within a week. He was also handed over a letter purportedly written by a leader of a Maoist organisation. The police believes that it could be the handiwork of ordinary criminals masquerading as Maoists. It is also investigating the possibility of some militants from Nepal sneaking into the state. According to intelligence sources, Maoists have been active in some parts of the country under the banner of Nepali Samaj, which was subsequently banned by the Government of India but the hill state had remained free from such elements. Mr Yog Raj Thakur, Superintendent of Police, said as all victims were Nepalis, the case was being probed keeping every possibility in view. The state had remained free from militant activities even when terrorism was at its peak in the adjoining Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and it was unlikely that Nepalese militants would dare to enter and indulge in such activity, he said. |
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Tributes paid to Gandhiji, Shastri Shimla, October 2 Governor V.S. Kokje and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh paid tributes by garlanding his statue at the Ridge Maidan here today. Mr Vidya Stokes, Power Minister, Mr Singhi Ram, Food and Supplies Minister, Mr Sohan Lal, Mayor, Municipal Corporation of Shimla, MLAs, chairmen of boards and corporations, senior citizens, freedom fighters and prominent persons from all walks of life also garlanded the statue to pay tributes. The Governor and the Chief Minister also garlanded the statue of the late Lal Bahadur Shastri at Shastri Chowl to pay tributes to him on his birth anniversary. Earlier, a prabhat pheri was taken out in the town which culminated at The Ridge. Bhajan were recited on the occasion. KULU:
A cleanliness drive and the chanting of ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram...” in prabhat pheris marked the celebrations of Gandhi Jayanti here today. A function was organised at the PWD Rest House here by the Akhil Bharatiya Anusuchit Jati Kalyan Parishad. It was presided over by Mr Raj Krishan Gaur. Another function was organised by the Welfare Department at Tegubehar village near here in which women were made aware of the new schemes announced by the government for their benefit. Prizes to the winners of the ‘Nasha Niwaran’ competitions organised at the block and district levels by the Department of Public Relations were distributed. HAMIRPUR:
Congress leaders of the district took out a prabhat pheri on Thursday offered flowers at the statue of Bapu. Earlier, followers of Mahatma Gandhi washed his statue and offered garlands. Functions to pay homage to Bapu were also held at various educational institutions of the district. Students and teachers pledged to follow the ideals of the Father of Nation. |
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Bapu forgotten? Bilaspur, October 2 Some local residents expressed anguish towards this negligence. |
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HP unlikely to achieve green cover target Shimla, October 2 As per the policy at least 60 per cent of the area in the hills must be under three cover, which is virtually impossible as there are vast stretches of unculturable terrain where no vegetation grows. For instance, in Himachal Pradesh out of the total geographical area of 55,673 sq km, forest land accounts for 37,033 sq km, about 67 per cent of the total area. However, almost 16,000 sq km out of it, comprising high mountain ranges beyond the tree line, glaciers and ravines, is unculturable. Thus, at best green cover could be spread only over 21, 000 sq km, about 37 per cent of the total area of the state as against the target of 60 per cent. At present, 14,000 sq km (25 per cent of the state’s total area) is under forest. In all, about 11,500 sq km, including degraded open forest area, is available for afforestation. The state Forests Department has, in accordance with the decision of the Centre, drawn up a plan to bring an additional 50,000 hectares under forest annually over the next eight years. The Rs 800 crore plan will help bring 4 lakh hectares (4,000 sq km) under forest by 2012 to increase the tree cover to 32.5 per cent of the total area. If only the culturable area of the state (40,000 sq km) is taken into account the forest cover will account for 45 per cent. The Centre has given an assurance that funds will not be a constrain in the implementation of the plan, but Rs 100 crore required every year for it is a tall order. At present, the department is spending only about Rs 22 crore to raise new plantations over 15,000 hectares annually. |
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Rohtang tunnel top priority, says CM Shimla, October 2 Presiding over a meeting of senior state and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officers here last evening to review the progress of the Rohtang tunnel. He said the project was strategically important as it would provide connectivity to the Lahaul and Ladakh areas for most of the year. It would not only boost tourism in the tribal areas but also cater to the needs of the defence forces by maintaining supplies to border areas in the Ladakh region. He directed the authorities to complete the procedural work expeditiously. He advised the BRO authorities to plan the construction of the tunnel from both ends so that the project could be completed at the earliest. The Chief Minister said that connecting the Spiti area through the Pin valley and connecting Bhawa to Mudh in the Pin valley would shorten the distance by about 100 km and would be the most suitable road to the Spiti valley. He said survey work was already in progress between Yangpa on the Bhawa side and 8 km beyond Mudh village. The road would boost adventure tourism in the valley. He said the government was exploring the possibility of constructing an alternative road from Leo to Chango for which a survey was being conducted. He also underlined the need to improve the alignment of the Bhambhol road in the Pangi area. |
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Rs 3 cr for Karsog water scheme Mandi, October 2 Thakur Kaul Singh, IPH Minister, said Rs 3.33 crore had been set apart for Karsog sub-division for irrigation and drinking water supply schemes. A sum of Rs 1 crore would be spent in the Chindi and Chirag areas, he added. In response to the demand of the people for inducting the local MLA, Mr Mast Ram, into the Council of Ministers, the Chief Minister hinted that the wish would be fulfilled. |
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Three houses burnt in fire Hamirpur, October 2 The cause of the fire was not known. It may be due to a short-circuit, according to official sources. The fire started around 8 a.m. in a house and Sumana Kumari (19) who was in the house raised the alarm. Local villagers gathered and rang up the Fire brigade at Hamirpur and the Bhoranj police station. However, despite efforts by all, three houses belonging to Shakti Chand and his brother Kishori Lal were completely destroyed. The family lost all their belongings in the fire. The SDM, Hamirpur, Tehsildar, Bhoranj, and SHO, Bhoranj, reached the spot and consoled the families. However, no compensation has been given yet. Mr Iswhar Dass Dhiman, MLA, and local gram panchayat officials also visited the spot and held talks with the affected families. |
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Hospital staff shortage hits patients Shimla, October 2 The X-ray unit is out of order and the patients have to rush to private laboratories for tests. Mr Rakesh Dhaulta, convenor of the Young Chopal Forum, has urged the state government to look into the problem. Seriously ill patients have to be rushed to Shimla, which is 120 km away. |
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Customs probing cannabis cultivation Kulu, October 2 Customs Department Superintendent K.N. Bhardwaj said today that his department had received intelligence inputs that some villagers and drug traffickers had encroached on forest land, particularly in the Manikaran valley, for cultivating cannabis. However, District Conservator of Forests Vineet Kumar denied that cannabis cultivation was being carried out on government forest land and said this was confined to private agricultural land. According to Mr Bhardwaj, local residents encroached on forest land and handed it over to Nepalese labourers under a "patta" arrangement for the development of the land and cultivation of cannabis. These Nepalese had also built shelters at many places in the forest areas of the Manikaran valley.
— UNI |
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Stray cattle, dogs dot
Parwanoo roads Parwanoo: As no arrangements have been made by the local nagar parishad and the administration to control stray cattle, dog and monkeys here, these can be seen everywhere in the town. The animals can be seen on all link roads and sectors and the national highway, posing a serious traffic hazard. The cattle are found in all sectors of the town, especially near the Circuit House and the Shiwalik Hotel. After the rainy season, the cattle are generally let loose by villagers to graze on the thick growth of vegetarian and herded back during early morning. However, many abandoned cattle keep loitering on roads. Residents of the town said that the cattle have a free run here and have spoilt lawns and roads. Residents added that there have been several incidents when vehicles have hit the cattle, particularly at night, and the drivers have sustained injuries. Doctors of the town say that allergy cases are also common here due to cowdung. Residents lament that the administration has not made any arrangements to control the menace of stray animals, which is increasing by the day. They said that a lot of dog and monkey bite cases have taken place in the recent past, and these have been brought to the notice of the administration but to no avail. Monkeys have attacked school-going children, women and senior citizens. The residents said the notified area committee of the town came into existence in 1981 which became later on nagar parishad but it could not make any arrangement to control this problem. |
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