H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

CAT notices to Centre, IPS officer
Shimla, November 12
The Central Administrative Tribunal has issued notices to the Secretary (Home), Government of India and a senior IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Diwakar Prasad, on a petition filed by the state of Himachal Pradesh with regard to repatriation of Mr Prasad, who is presently posted as the Additional Director (Intelligence Bureau) with the Centre.

Power projects may hit ecology, fear villagers
Kulu, November 12
The proposed plan of the Himachal Pradesh Government to achieve self-reliance by generating hydel power even if it entails compromising with ecology, has raised an alarm among villagers of Banjar valley in this district.

NABARD to help rejuvenate Kangra tea industry
Dharamsala, November 12
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has shown interest in rejuvenating Kangra tea industry which is on its last legs. The fact emerged during a workshop organised by the bank at Bachat Bhavan here today.

Truckers protest against murder, block traffic
Hamirpur, November 12
Hundreds of residents of Jhaniara village and members of the Hamirpur Truck Operators’ Sangh blocked traffic at Dev Pal Chowk for several hours this morning in protest against the murder of Rasal Singh, a former president of the sangh.

Buses and other vehicles line up on the Hamirpur- Sujanpur Tira road due to a blockade by the angry people of Jhaniara village, at Devpal Chowk, Hamirpur, on Wednesday. — Tribune photo by Chander Shekhar Sharma

Executive council to decide VC’s fate
Shimla, November 12
The Governor, Mr V.S. Kokje, who is also the Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University, has left it to the Executive Council of the university to take action against the Vice-Chancellor, Dr S.D. Sharma, on the basis of reports of the two separate inquiries ordered by him into the administrative and financial irregularities.

Goods worth 3 lakh gutted in fire
Hamirpur, November 12
Goods worth Rs 3 lakh, including foodgrains, clothing and jewellery, was completely gutted in a fire incident that took place at Nahlwin (Galore) village in Hamirpur district today morning.

Cop goes on a shooting spree
Kumarhatti, November 12
A Constable of the 36th Battalion of the Punjab Police went on a shooting spree here last night. Jasveer Singh, who was on security duty at the battalion wireless centre at Kashmiri Mohalla, continued firing indiscriminately for more than two hours in the security room till midnight.

HP staff to get LTC for 2002-05 block
Shimla, November 12
The Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to restore the facility of leave travel concession and home town leave travel concession to its employees with immediate effect for the block years 2002-05 and 2002-2003.

CAT notices to Centre, IPS officer
Our Legal Correspondent

Shimla, November 12
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has issued notices to the Secretary (Home), Government of India and a senior IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Diwakar Prasad, on a petition filed by the state of Himachal Pradesh with regard to repatriation of Mr Prasad, who is presently posted as the Additional Director (Intelligence Bureau) with the Centre.

The state government has alleged in the petition that Mr Prasad, without having been relieved from the state and without informing the Chief Secretary, joined on deputation with the Centre on March 6.

The petitioner has further alleged that it had lodged a protest in this regard with the Government of India and requested that he be not allowed to join as the Additional Director (Intelligence Bureau) and in case he had joined, he be asked to return.

The petitioner alleged that on April 8 the state government issued memorandum to Mr Prasad for violating the service rules, but instead of filing a reply, he preferred an appeal against the memorandum to the Government of India and the same was allowed by the Centre.

The Government of India finally refused to repatriate Mr Prasad on August 22.

While issuing notices, a Division Bench of the CAT, comprising Vice-Chairman O.P. Garg and member (administrative) S.K. Malhotra, directed the Centre and Mr Prasad to file replies before December 18.

Power projects may hit ecology, fear villagers
Our Correspondent

Kulu, November 12
The proposed plan of the Himachal Pradesh Government to achieve self-reliance by generating hydel power even if it entails compromising with ecology, has raised an alarm among villagers of Banjar valley in this district. Mr Dile Ram Shabab, a former MLA and senior Congress leader of this district, in a press note yesterday, warned that the people of Tirthan valley would fight the setting up of hydel power projects in Tirthan and Palachan streams.

He said the state government had asked Cosmos consultancy and another private company to explore the micro-hydel potential of Tirthan and Palachan streams in Banjar area. The catchments area of both streams fell in the eco-zone of the Great Himalayan National Park and protected forest area from their source down to Banjar town.

Any activity for non-forestry purpose could not be allowed under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and wildlife protection laws notified by the Central Government from time to time, Mr Shabab said.

Both streams with sources at the glacial expanse of the Kinnar Kailash range flowed through the core area of the Great Himalayan National Park, endowed with exotic fauna and flora. The people of the area considered these as holy and would oppose construction of power projects in the area.

The area from Buthad to Larji had been identified as a “trout country” and any power project could spell down for the fish, he added.

NABARD to help rejuvenate Kangra tea industry
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, November 12
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has shown interest in rejuvenating Kangra tea industry which is on its last legs. The fact emerged during a workshop organised by the bank at Bachat Bhavan here today. The Himachal Agriculture Minister, Mr Raj Krishan Gaur, was the chief guest, while the Revenue Minister, Mr B.B.L. Butail, presided over the workshop.

Mr Raj Krishan Gaur said the tea industry in Kangra and its adjoining areas was passing through a bad phase. Three of the four cooperative tea factories had already closed down and the future of planters, labourers and others involved in the industry was bleak.

He said the state government had decided to give special attention to the tea industry and experts would be invited to suggest ways and means to improve its condition. He said it had also been decided to revamp TEAFED and make it a nodal agency for marketing Kangra tea.

Mr B.B.L. Butail said he was pleased to know that NABARD and the state government had decided to take steps to rejuvenate tea industry. He suggested planting of new bushes and bringing more area under tea plantation.

Mr N.C. Saha, General Manager of NABARD, said the bank was ready to finance all tea-related activities, be it new plantation, rejuvenation of gardens, irrigation facilities or providing facilities for labourers.

The Kangra Deputy Commissioner, Mr Shrikant Baldi, said a tie-up with a leading brand could help in reviving the industry.

The workshop was attended by senior officials of the Agriculture Department, representatives from the IHBT, CSK HP Agriculture University, the Tea Board, bank officials and representatives of tea planters.

Truckers protest against murder, block traffic
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, November 12
Hundreds of residents of Jhaniara village and members of the Hamirpur Truck Operators’ Sangh blocked traffic at Dev Pal Chowk for several hours this morning in protest against the murder of Rasal Singh, a former president of the sangh. They raised slogans against the police demanding immediate action against the killers.

People faced difficulties due to disruption of traffic on the Hamirpur-Shimla and the Hamirpur-Dharamsala Highways.

Mr Madan Lal, DSP, Hamirpur, also remained trapped in the jam. He, however, listened to protesters and assured them that all possible steps would be taken to file a challan in the court against the alleged killers.

The blockade was lifted after the SDM, Hamirpur, and the DSO, Hamirpur, met demonstrators and asked them to hold talks with them rather than blocking the traffic.

The DSP said in the afternoon that all four persons responsible for the killing of Rasal Singh had been arrested. While three of them were taken into custody on the day of the crime, the fourth one was arrested at Shimla last evening.

Executive council to decide VC’s fate
Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 12
The Governor, Mr V.S. Kokje, who is also the Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University, has left it to the Executive Council of the university to take action against the Vice-Chancellor, Dr S.D. Sharma, on the basis of reports of the two separate inquiries ordered by him into the administrative and financial irregularities.

The meeting of the council has been convened on November 30 to consider the two reports. While the report of the inquiry conducted by Mr Arvind Kaul, Chief Secretary, into the administrative irregularities was submitted two weeks ago, the Comptroller and Auditor-General, which carried out a special audit to uncover the financial irregularities, submitted its report yesterday.

Both the reports had indicted Dr Sharma and Mr Kaul had even recommended that appropriate action be taken against him.

Goods worth 3 lakh gutted in fire
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, November 12
Goods worth Rs 3 lakh, including foodgrains, clothing and jewellery, was completely gutted in a fire incident that took place at Nahlwin (Galore) village in Hamirpur district today morning.

The fire reportedly started due to a short circuit, according to villagers. The double-storeyed house of Prakash Chand was also burnt completely in this fire. According to reports reaching here, the Department of Irrigation and Public Health had released water in time to put off the fire. Had the department not taken timely action the entire village would have been bunt in the fire. The district authorities have been informed about the incident. However, no senior officers had reached the site till the filing of this report to provide any relief to the fire victim.

Cop goes on a shooting spree
Our Correspondent

Kumarhatti, November 12
A Constable of the 36th Battalion of the Punjab Police went on a shooting spree here last night. Jasveer Singh, who was on security duty at the battalion wireless centre at Kashmiri Mohalla, continued firing indiscriminately for more than two hours in the security room till midnight.

Luckily, no one was injured as he fired mainly towards the ceiling of the room.

Jasveer Singh had rejoined the battalion four years ago after being suspended due to his mentally-unstable condition. According to reports he was normal till 7 pm when he fell from bed and lost consciousness. He regained consciousness within a few minutes and locked himself inside the room and watched TV.

However, around 10.15 pm he started the firing. He fired around 70 times in air.

Policemen from Kasauli police station reached the site immediately but could not enter the room due to the firing. SHOs from Dharampur and Parwanoo also rushed to assist Kasauli SHO. After a nearly three-hour-long struggle the police managed to break open the door and overpowered the Constable.

HP staff to get LTC for 2002-05 block
Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 12
The Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to restore the facility of leave travel concession and home town leave travel concession to its employees with immediate effect for the block years 2002-05 and 2002-2003.

According to the orders issued in this regard, the concession will be admissible only for the journeys within the state.