H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

PM should not be allowed to contest from Lucknow, says Mankotia
Dharamsala, April 19
The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Minister, Major Vijay Singh Mankotia, has appealed to the Election Commission to debar Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from contesting from Lucknow, as corrupt practices to lure voters in his area had come to light.

Cong MLAs work hard for lead in assembly segments
Shimla, April 19
The ministers and Congress legislators aspiring for ministerial berths are working overtime to secure a lead for the party from their respective assembly segments.

HVC faction opposes merger with Cong
Shimla, April 19
The faction of the Himachal Vikas Congress opposed to the merger of the party into the Congress has urged the Election Commission not to freeze “telephone” the symbol as the party was very much in existence.

BSP candidate files nomination
Dharamsala, April 19
The Bahujan Samaj Party became the first party to enter the poll fray in Kangra Lok Sabha constituency. Party nominee Col Shakti Chand Chaudhary (retd) today filed nomination paper before Returning officer Dr Shrikant Baldi here.

Decision on hotel in IIAS complex reversed
Shimla, April 19
Hopes of the prestigious Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) continuing in the majestic Viceregal Lodge complex here have been raised with the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development informing the Supreme Court that the government had reversed the decision to set up a hotel in the complex.

Re-evaluation of paper ordered
Shimla, April 19
The Himachal Pradesh High Court today directed the HP Public Service Commission (HPPSC) to re-evaluate the essay paper of the Himachal Judicial Service (HJS) of petitioner Sonu Agnihotri, a resident of Yamunanagar (Haryana). A Division Bench, comprising the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta, and Mr Justice K.C. Sood, further directed that if the petitioner was declared successful in the test, special viva voce be conducted for him.

JBT question papers fall short at centre
Nurpur, April 19
A piquant situation arose at the Bhadwar examination centre near here yesterday where the junior basic training (JBT) test was being conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education when 23 question papers were found to be short.

Katwal to be declared proclaimed offender
Shimla, April 19
The Enforcement Department has initiated the process of declaring former Chairman of the State Subordinate Services Selection Board S.M. Katwal, who has been evading arrest, a proclaimed offender by obtaining a warrant of arrest from the Judicial Magistrate, Hamirpur.

Girl hit on head, raped
Kumarhatti, April 19
In a gruesome incident, a 19-year-old girl was hit on the back of her head with a stone before being raped by a man in pine forest near Barog yesterday.

Bhoranj tehsil in grip of water crisis
Chander Shekhar Sharma

Hamirpur, April 19
With the arrival of summer various parts of Hamirpur district have started facing water shortage. Bhoranj tehsil with population of more than one lakh is the worst affected.

The tehsil falls in the Assembly segments of Mewa (Reserve) and Bamsan. The area is known as rice bowl of Hamirpur district yet in summer it becomes one of the drought-prone areas of the state due to lack of water in reservoirs here.

A visit to parts of the tehsil revealed that water shortage made had made life of people miserable as the water table in the region has gone too down. Almost all government managed water supply sources have gone dry or are in the process of being dried up due to lack of water in khuds of Seer, Sunaihal and Chainth. These khuds play havoc in rainy season. There was no water in the Patta Dalit basti of the area. People of the basti were agitated and annoyed with the Department of Irrigation-cum-Public Health for not solving the water problem.

Mr Jandoo Ram (56) who runs a small shop on the roadside blamed rulers of the day for his problem. He said that water shortage was peremial. No one heeds to our problem.

Water is supplied only when an officer of the department visits the area. People of other parts of the Patta town were also upset over the water shortage. They blamed a local official of the department for their sufferings.

M.C. Bhardwaj, Ashwani Kumar and Bhag Singh of the Patta village demanded the shifting of a local fitter who, according to them was behind the man made water crisis in the region.

They alleged that the water crisis was deep in the villages of Patta, Thalotu, Jharlog and Badoh and it was likely to aggravate in months to come. At Jahoo, people were banking on old wells for water needs, as water of the local scheme was not up to required level. Local gram panchayat runs the water supply scheme from its own funds.

Ram Rakha, gram panchayat pradhan demanded taking over of the water supply scheme by the government.

He said that the gram panchayat was short of funds and it was difficult to run the scheme.

Shashi Kumar of Hanoh village said that there was no water in government taps in their villages, which forms part of Hanoh gram panchayat. Worst affected were the people living in Dalit basti of the area. According to him, people were forced to fetch water from khuds which was unfit for human consumption.

People of Amroh and Bhukker gram panchayats were also facing water crisis and hoped that the water tankers would come. Dalip Singh of Amroh village said that there was no water in government taps for the past one week. The situation has become alarming due to un-availability of water in hand pumps. No senior officer of the Department of Irrigation-cum-Public Health was available for comments as the superintending engineer was away to Solan for a meeting.

However, ADM Hamirpur K.D. Lakhanpal, who is looking after the drought programme in the district said that water supply through tankers, would start once tenders were opened on April 22. He assured people that there would be no water shortage in the district.

PM should not be allowed to contest from Lucknow, says Mankotia
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, April 19
The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Minister, Major Vijay Singh Mankotia, has appealed to the Election Commission to debar Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from contesting from Lucknow, as corrupt practices to lure voters in his area had come to light.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Major Mankotia lauded the decision of the Election Commission for ordering the registration of a case against the BJP leader Mr Lalji Tandon, but added that the sarees were being distributed to benefit Mr Vajpayee, and Mr Tandon was his campaign incharge. He reminded the Prime Minister of “Raj Dharma”, saying the Prime Minister had advised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to follow “Raj Dharma” at the peak of the Gujarat riots. He said now time had come for Mr Vajpayee to define “Raj Dharma”.

Commenting on the Vivekanand Medical Research Trust Palampur controversy, Major Mankotia said it was wrong on part of former Union Minister and Trust chairman Shanta Kumar, to blame the Congress for politicising the issue.

He said a former managing trustee who had been hand-picked by Mr Shanta Kumar, had levelled charges of financial irregularities in the project, and as the state government had given land worth crores for the project, an independent audit should be ordered. In case, any irregularity comes to light, the state government should immediately take possession of the land.

Cong MLAs work hard for lead in assembly segments
Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 19
The ministers and Congress legislators aspiring for ministerial berths are working overtime to secure a lead for the party from their respective assembly segments.

The impending exercise to reconstitute the ministry in accordance with the new anti-defection law limiting the number of ministers in the tiny hill state to 12 has come in handy for the state Congress leadership to make them work hard for the victory of the party candidates in the Lok Sabha poll. In fact, they have been virtually put on probation with the leadership making it clear that the margin of victory in their respective segments would be the yardstick for exclusion or induction into the ministry.

At present there are 16 ministers, including the chief minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and one Chief Parliamentary Secretary. The party has fielded two ministers, Mr Ram Lal Thakur and Mr Chander Kumar, from the Hamirpur and Kangra constituencies, respectively. Their victory in the elections will make the task of Mr Virbhadra Singh some what easier as at least six ministers are to be axed.

Mr Virbhadra Singh has already hinted that it would be a “new-look” ministry with due representation to all regions and sections of society. In short, the implication is that more than six ministers would be shown the door.

However, political observers feel that it could be a double-edged weapon as the legislators, while working for victory in their own constituencies could play “spoilsport” in the segments of their rivals in the party.

Even the five Independents who have been made associate members of the Legislature Congress Party are putting their heart and soul into the Congress campaign in spite of the fact that they are not contenders for ministerial berths.

The competition is tough in the Kangra parliamentary constituency where eight out of the total of 14 Congress legislators are ministers. The reconstituted ministry is not likely to have more than four representatives from the Kangra parliamentary constituency. Thus, the stakes are really high for the ministers who are facing a “do-or-die” situation.

HVC faction opposes merger with Cong
Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 19
The faction of the Himachal Vikas Congress opposed to the merger of the party into the Congress has urged the Election Commission not to freeze “telephone” the symbol as the party was very much in existence.

Mr Desh Raj Sharma, who was elected President of the faction, said that Mr Sukh Ram, HVC chief had no right to merge the party with the Congress. He was one of the workers who held the post of party president. He was not authorised by the party to do so.

In a letter to the Election Commission, Mr Karam Chand Bhatia, general secretary of the faction, had pointed out that majority of workers were against merger of the party and the party was still in existence. The party intended to field candidates for the Lok Sabha poll on its “telephone” symbol.

Mr Sukh Ram had neither called any meeting of the party nor taken the approval of the state executive committee for the merger. The action to merge it with the Congress was, thus, unlawful, unconstitutional and motivated by self-interest. Mr Desh Raj said that the general house of the party would meet at Bilaspur on April 20 to decide the candidates for the four seats and set up various bodies, including district units.

A delegation of the party will go to Delhi and meet the Election Commission to explain the situation and ensure that the party was able to contest on ‘telephone’ symbol.

BSP candidate files nomination
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, April 19
The Bahujan Samaj Party became the first party to enter the poll fray in Kangra Lok Sabha constituency. Party nominee Col Shakti Chand Chaudhary (retd) today filed nomination paper before Returning officer Dr Shrikant Baldi here.

Col Chaudhary unsuccessfully contested the 1999 elections on SP ticket but parted ways with it and joined the BSP early this year.

Decision on hotel in IIAS complex reversed
Tribune News service

Shimla, April 19
Hopes of the prestigious Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) continuing in the majestic Viceregal Lodge complex here have been raised with the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development informing the Supreme Court that the government had reversed the decision to set up a hotel in the complex. It further informed the court that it had been decided to retain the institute in the existing premises.

The institute had been facing an uncertain future ever since the apex court ordered that the heritage complex should be vacated and handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India for maintenance. The court had, in fact, fixed a deadline of December 31, 2003, for its shifting.

The academic community, particularly scholars of the institute, brought pressure on the government to ensure its continuation in the premises.

They met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Dr M.M. Joshi, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, and Mr Jagmohan, Minister for Culture and Tourism, in this regard.

Mr Joshi assured the scholars that the sanctity of the Cabinet decision taken in August 2002 to retain the institute in the complex would be maintained and even asserted that, if required, the government would enact a legislation for the purpose. However, due to wide differences between the ministries of Human Resource Development and Culture and Tourism, no follow-up action was taken. When the deadline approached, the HRD ministry moved an application for the extension of time.

Mr Rajiv Mankotia, who filed a public interest litigation against the decision to set up a hotel in the complex, had drawn the attention of the court to the fact that he never prayed for shifting at the institute. His only concern was to ensure the proper maintenance of the historic complex and he had no objection to the continuation of the institute in the premises.

Re-evaluation of paper ordered
Our Correspondent

Shimla, April 19
The Himachal Pradesh High Court today directed the HP Public Service Commission (HPPSC) to re-evaluate the essay paper of the Himachal Judicial Service (HJS) of petitioner Sonu Agnihotri, a resident of Yamunanagar (Haryana). A Division Bench, comprising the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta, and Mr Justice K.C. Sood, further directed that if the petitioner was declared successful in the test, special viva voce be conducted for him.

The Bench further directed that the paper should be got re-evaluated by a Reader of the H.P. University. The process should be completed by April 30 and if the petitioner got selected, appropriate recommendation be made to the state government, the court ordered.

The petitioner had urged the court to direct the respondent (HPPSC) to re-evaluate his paper as he apprehended that his paper was not properly evaluated. Earlier, the court had asked the HPPSC to produce the English paper of the petitioner in the court. Later, his paper, along with 10 other answer sheets, was handed over to Mr Deepak Gupta, a local lawyer, for evaluation. Mr Deepak Gupta has recommended that the petitioner should have been granted at least 120 marks out of 200, instead of 45 marks.

JBT question papers fall short at centre
Our Correspondent

Nurpur, April 19
A piquant situation arose at the Bhadwar examination centre near here yesterday where the junior basic training (JBT) test was being conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education when 23 question papers were found to be short.

Candidates appearing in the test faced a lot of inconvenience, as question papers had to be brought from Nurpur, resulting in the wastage of 45 minutes.

The State Unemployed Trained Teachers Association has demanded an inquiry into the matter. Mr Sushil Kkaushal, president of the association, demanded to cancel the test.

Katwal to be declared proclaimed offender
Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 19
The Enforcement Department has initiated the process of declaring former Chairman of the State Subordinate Services Selection Board S.M. Katwal, who has been evading arrest, a proclaimed offender by obtaining a warrant of arrest from the Judicial Magistrate, Hamirpur.

The department took the step after it failed to trace Katwal whose anticipatory bail application was rejected by the high court earlier this month. Teams were sent to Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, besides raiding all possible places within the state where he was likely to be found. However, he could not be arrested.

The department had registered three cases against him in connection with the recruitment scam.

Girl hit on head, raped
Our Correspondent

Kumarhatti, April 19
In a gruesome incident, a 19-year-old girl was hit on the back of her head with a stone before being raped by a man in pine forest near Barog yesterday.

The girl was grazing cattle in the forest of Samati village when she was accosted by the man, who enquired about the path leading to Kalka-Shimla road. When she turned to guide him, he suddenly attacked her with a stone, making her fall down and lose consciousness. The man then raped the hapless girl and fled from the spot.

The matter was reported to the Solan police by the girl’s parents and a case under Section 376 of the IPC was registered.