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Exit polls must be banned: Virbhadra NDA has failed on all fronts, says minister Cong complaint a bid to gain sympathy, says Bhardwaj CPM to back Congress in
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Cong blasted for hiking water tariff
Highway used for dumping debris The manner in which the national highway number 22 is being openly used to dump debris of an approach road being constructed for a housing board colony near Kandhaghat has put a question mark on the working of the national highway public works department (NH-PWD).
Energising children’s village with solar power EC allows admission in upgraded schools Syllabi change for Plus II raises problems Technical teachers’ plea
to CM 23 left in fray in Himachal Pradesh
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Exit polls must be banned: Virbhadra Solan, April 26 Addressing a rally here today in favour of the Congress nominee, Col D.R.Shandil (retd), from the Shimla parliamentary constituency, he lambasted the NDA’s economic and foreign policies. Terming the exit polls as being manipulated, he said the Election Commission and the Supreme Court should put an end to these as they influenced voters in places where the elections were still to be held. Taking exception to former Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal’s comments of dismissing the state government if the BJP re-captured power at the Centre, he said it did not behove a former Chief Minister to make such an undemocratic statement. A government that enjoyed full majority, could not be overthrown in this manner, he said. Kumarhatti: Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, addressing a public meeting at Subathu, 19 km from here, on Monday said that the 24 parties had come together under the banner of NDA mainly to enjoy power rather than work towards the benefit of common man. Unemployment was on the rise and the “wrong” policies of the Central Government had ruined the farmers, he said. |
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NDA has failed on all fronts, says minister Palampur, April 26 Addressing a press conference, he said when the NDA assumed power at the Centre, it promised to provide employment to one crore persons and improved industrial atmosphere. However, things had gone from bad to worse, he said. After
globalisation, the domestic industry had almost finished in the country, he said. Instead of providing better facilities and financial package to the domestic industry, the NDA had encouraged multinationals to set up base and had reduced excise duty on several items, he said. He said the Gujarat riots were a slur on the NDA government. Criticising the disinvestment policy of the NDA, he said assets worth crores of rupees raised by the respective Congress governments had been sold on throwaway prices by the BJP-led NDA government. He said it was for the first time in the history of the world, that a disinvestment ministry had been set up to dispose of assets. Referring to the failure of the BJP government in the state, he said when the Dhumal government was voted out of power a year ago, it had left a huge financial burden of Rs 16,000 crore by way of over draft. It was very difficult for the Congress government to run the government. However, all welfare projects discontinued by the BJP had been revived by the Congress. |
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Cong complaint a bid to gain sympathy, says Bhardwaj Shimla, April 26 In a statement here today, he said if the Congress was going to win the Lok Sabha poll than there was no need for the party to fear that its government in state would be dismissed. The party was making a crude attempt to attract sympathy by crying foul. Reiterating that the BJP respected the Constitution and law and would never act against it, Mr Bhardwaj said when in opposition the Congress became fascist demanding the dismissal of elected government and when it was in power, it became a democrat, wishing that elected governments not to be touched. He reminded the Congress that Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, had welcomed the dismissal of the BJP government in Himachal Pradesh in 1992 although the then government was not in any way, directly or indirectly, involved in the Babri Masjid demolition at Ayodhya. He said if the Congress lost in Himachal, it would be a moral defeat both for the party and Mr Virbhadra Singh and he would be left with no option but to quit. He said in that eventuality even the Congress high command would not spare Mr Virbhadra Singh and give him marching orders. |
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CPM to back Congress in Himachal
Shimla, April 26 He told reporters that the main aim of the CPM was to check the division of anti-BJP votes and work for the ouster of the NDA government at the Centre. He said the CPM was in favour of a secular government at the Centre and it considered organisations like the BJP, the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal as a threat to the unity of the country. He said the CPM was against the economic policies of the Congress but at present it considered communalism to be the biggest threat to the country. He said no hydel project should be given to any private company in future and at least 10 per cent of the project cost should be earmarked for the relief and rehabilitation of oustees. — PTI
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Cong blasted for hiking water tariff Shimla, April 26 In a statement issued here today, he said the corporation had increased the water tariff by three to 10 times and imposed minimum charges of Rs 50 per month. Besides, a provision had been made for a 10 per cent increase in water tariff every year and a parking fee of Rs 30 had been imposed on the roadside spaces, he added. Mr Dutt said the BJP government had constructed parking lots at several places but the present Congress government and the corporation were charging fee for parking on roads also. He said the Congress had been alleging that the BJP government was discriminating against the Congress-controlled Shimla Municipal Corporation, but now, with the Congress government in the state, the people were looking forward to radical changes.
— PTI
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Highway used for dumping debris Solan, April 26 Not only is the NH PWD authorities allowing this illegal activity of filling up valleys with the debris but its lackadaisical attitude to check it speaks volumes about their support. Ignoring its original debris dumping site located at a distance of about 1.5 km away on the Chail road, the constructor was conveniently dumping debris right on the national highway. Officials were turning a blind eye to this flagrant violation. This is despite the fact that the NH-PWD was some time back directed to strictly deal with such violations by the state government. The PWD Executive Engineer, Ashok Gupta, said since there was no site available for dumping the debris the Forest Department had been approached to find a suitable site. The Divisional Forest Officer, Mr Alok Nagar, however, said no such request had been made to them and since forest land was not involved they had no role to check such a practice. Not only was tonnes of debris being dumped at the site daily but it had done massive harm to the natural plantation. Emboldened by this lax attitude of the PWD even small constructors were now using the site to dump their debris. A section of A-class contractors while ruing that the prestigious project of constructing 32 flats had been awarded to a particular contractor on political considerations said no tender forms were issued by the housing board to other competitors. They further alleged that the contractor who was related to a senior bureaucrat had used his influence to grab the contract worth crores bypassing norms. Confirming that the pressure had been exerted by the said contractor, officials of the housing board on condition of anonymity said 36 houses were to be completed within a period of one and a half years. With demand for housing board flats declining the board is now contemplating sale of developed plots instead of flats. The Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the board, Mr Rajinder Makker, however, said no final decision had as yet been taken. A total of 112 flats had to be built at the site and auctioning of developed plots would depend on the demands. The board was caught in a fix as it could neither stop the contractor from going ahead with the construction nor risk building flats when demand is appeared to have plunged down due to hype created by its Vaknaghat township. |
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Energising children’s village with solar power
Dharamsala, April 26 Nico is part of a seven-member team of youngsters called the ‘Solar Generation’, a youth programme conducted by Greenpeace in Germany and Switzerland, which recently installed a 2 kw solar photo-voltaic generator at the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamsala. The solar generator will power a school library and several homes situated within the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharmsala. It will provide a reliable and renewable source of electricity in an area plagued by frequent power cuts. The solar project cost of approximately Rs 7.8 lakh (15000 euros) was raised by German and Swiss youth through public outreach programmes. Sven Teske, renewable energy campaigner for Greenpeace says: “The challenge is greater in India and China because of the rising population which makes it difficult to replace energy from fossil fuels.” “Our aim in the next two-three years is to create a global youth campaign in favour of renewable energy”. The ‘Solar Generation’ team was joined by Indian Greenpeace activists and Tibetan students during the programme, all wearing bright blue T-shirts. The four-day programme included workshops, energy walks, banner painting activities and discussions on the need to shift to renewable energy resources to halt climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The project is the brainchild of Jan Christoph Schlenk, a 19-year-old Greenpeace activist from Hanover, Germany. Jan first heard about Dharamsala after watching Maria Blumencron’s documentary ‘Escape over the Himalayas’ at the age of 16. The film inspired him to visit Dharamsala four times over the next two years. While working at the Tibetan Children’s Village computer school, Jan realised that a solar-powered generator could work wonders for the village. As the saying goes, the rest was history. — PTI
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EC allows admission in upgraded schools Shimla, April 26 He said the Department of Education had issued directions to the Deputy Directors of Secondary Education for sending information about the infrastructure in the upgraded middle, high and senior secondary schools in the state so that the schools could be made functional. |
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Syllabi change for Plus II raises problems Kangra, April 26 The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education decided to change the syllabi for both classes simultaneously, shifting certain sections of biology, mathematics and chemistry from one class to the other. Prof
V.C. Bandari, Head, Department of Biology, MCM DAV College, here said the board decision was “illogical”. Mr Rakesh Sharma, a lecturer in mathematics at the college, said important sections in mathematics had been deleted from plus II and shifted to plus one. Sources told The Tribune that this decision of the board would affect plus II students who would suffer at the national-level entrance tests. He said the CBSE too had changed the syllabi for both classes but in a phased manner so that the students did not suffer. The teaching community feels the board should have changed the syllabi first for plus I and then for plus II. A communique from the secretary, HP Board of School Education, to Principals of senior secondary school says: “In view of the decision to introduce the syllabi simultaneously for both classes, a team of subject experts in mathematics and biology have suggested that course modules should be prepared for plus two class for these two subjects. To meet the increased course content load with the accelerated modules for students of plus II in mathematics (common with humanities) and biology, it is felt that some extra periods be required to complete the course within the stipulated timeframe.” |
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Technical teachers’ plea to CM Sundernagar, April 26 The association said technical education being professional, the board required an independent chairperson and secretary. In a press note issued by the president of the association Mr
S.C.Verma, it condemned the decision of the board giving one more chance to students to appear in the examinations. It said there was no provision for a special chance as per the rules. It alleged the board had been indulging in this “wrong” practice since 2001. |
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23 left in fray in Himachal Pradesh Shimla, April 26 The two candidates who withdrew their papers were Satpal Aterya and Amin Chand, both from the Hamirpur constituency. Prominent among those left in the fray are former union minister and BJP candidate Shanta Kumar from Kangra and Mrs Pratibha Singh, wife of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, from Mandi. Others in the fray are outgoing BJP members Maheshwar Singh from Mandi and Suresh Chandel from Hamirpur and Col Dhani Ram Shandil (retd) of the Congress from Shimla (reserve). There are a maximum of nine candidates from Hamirpur, six from Kangra, five from Mandi and three from Shimla (reserve).
— UNI
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Labourer buried alive Mandi, April 26
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Raman’s paintings
a big draw Dharamsala, April 26 A student of Chandigarh College of Art, Raman Bhardwaj’s paintings speak about human agony and ecstasy and man’s struggle with destiny. |
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