Shimla, September 1
The Former Health Minister and BJP leader, Mr J.P. Nadda, today said it was because the government failed to renew the maintenance contract for the CT-scan machine at the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), that the patients had to go all the way to Chandigarh, as the machine was lying out of order.

In a press note issued here today, Mr Nadda, said that had the maintenance contract been signed during the BJP tenure, the patients would not have to put up with so much inconvenience. “We had signed a comprehensive round the clock maintenance contract with the suppliers of the CT-scan machine here and at Tanda, ensuring atleast 340 days functioning,” he said.

“It appears that the contract has not been renewed simply because it has been negotiated by the Rogi Kalyana Samiti, a red rag to the present Chief Minister, notwithstanding the fact that as a result the public is being put to inconvenience,” Mr Nadda said. He said the good work done during the tenure of the previous regime should not be undone for petty political considerations.

He said if it was with these petty considerations the Congress Government intended to work, the health services in the state were bound to suffer. “In case this attitude of the government persists, then the Rs 6 crore MRI machine to be installed here would also remain unoperational most of the time,” he remarked. He added that it appeared that the public convenience was the last thing in the government’s mind.

Kangra, September 1
Hundreds of taxi and auto rickshaw owners and drivers today took out a procession here and submitted a memorandum for the Chief Minister to SDM Kangra, and threatened blockade of highways on October 2 if the state government failed to accept their demands and redress their grievances.

Mr Prem Sood, the state president, All-Himachal Taxi Operators Maha Sangh, today said a meeting was held at the Gupt Ganga here today. The protesting members from Kangra, Dharamsala and McLeodganj among others were present.

Mr Sood said that a super delux bus costing Rs 22 lakh and an auto rickshaw costing Rs 60,000 were put under the same tax scale, which he said was unfortunate.

He said the permit fee had been increased from Rs 750 to Rs 5,000 and demanded the decision to be withdrawn.

He said that enhancement token tax of the Maxi cabs and taxis were unjustified and demanded that it needed to be reviewed.

They said the harassment meted to the taxi operators in Punjab, by the Punjab police, be stopped. He said that Punjab, Uttaranchal and Haryana had levied high permit charges and token tax as compared to the other states of the country and matter needed to be taken up with the respective state authorities by the government.

He further added that the need was to curb the practice of private vehicle owners to run their vehicles as taxis without paying taxes. The protesters demanded cancellation of the imposition of driving rules for the commercial drivers by the HP, Transport Authority.

Solan, September 1
An FIR under Sections 379, 432 and Section 3 of the Disruption to Public Property Act was registered by the local police today in a case of water theft, which was detected by a team of committee officials on July 31.

A probe into the matterhad established that water (10,000 gallons) was pilfered per day from two main tanks located on the forest road. A former committee employee, who had houses on both sides of the water tanks, was found to be the main beneficiary.

The report mentioned that while the main beneficiary had only a storage capacity of about 15,000 c.c, he had sold about 8-10 lakh gallons of water commercially. Not only was the water supplied by the contractor found treated with chlorine, it was found that the stolen water was surreptitiously sold by him.

With investigations proving that the water theft had been going on for more than a decade, the connivance of the committee officials was not being ruled out according to a preliminary investigation by the police

Meanwhile, the police today detained three persons for interrogation in the matter. Earlier, a complaint lodged by the committee’s executive officer had been returned by the police for lack of information. The Deputy Commissioner had later supplied a copy of the report based on the findings of a five-member committee into the water theft. The police was now investigating how the water pipes were broken and a large- scale water leakage facilitated to benefit the contractor. 

Somewhere in the western Sector, Sept 1
20 Lancers, one of the oldest armoured regiments, organised the 39th anniversary celebrations of the battle of Chhamb Jaurian (1965 war), which concluded today. It was in this battle that 20 Lancers offered stiff resistance with AMX-13 light tanks, against the sophisticated mass of medium tanks turning the tables on the enemy.

This unit has had the honour of participating in all wars fought after Independence. It has been bestowed with 10 battle honours since its raising.

A number of retired and serving officers, JCOs and other ranks took part in the celebrations from August 30 to September 1. Notable among the war veterans who attended the celebrations were Gen Shankar Roychowdhury, PVSM (retired), who has served as the Chief of Army Staff; Major-Gen Umrao Singh, PVSM (retired), the ‘founder commandant’, who re-raised the regiment in 1956; Major-Gen Narinder Singh (retired); Brig B.S. Sandhu VSM (retd), who won a sena medal, and Col Kuldeep Singh, who was mentioned in despatches in the Chhamb Jaurian battle. In recognition of its work, 20 Lancers was awarded with a theatre honour ‘‘J&K 1965’’ — ‘‘The saviours of Akhnoor’’.

The celebrations included gymkhana for all serving and retired soldiers and their families, barakhana and a sainik sammelan to remember and honour those martyrs who had laid down their lives in several operations this unit has taken part in from 1962 to 1971.

The regiment has won many laurels, including MVC (one), Vir Chakra (one) PVSM (four), AVSM (three), VSM (two), Sena Medal (seven), Chief of Army Staff commendation card (seven), GOC-in-C commendation card ( six) and mentioned-in-despatches (four).

In recognition of its performance in various battles, the regiment was presented with a ‘‘Guidon’’ on December 1, 1978, at Sangrur by the then President, Mr Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.

Shimla, September 1
The highly lucrative incentive scheme formulated by the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) to encourage employees and officers to work in remote areas may open a Pandora’s box as employees of other such public sector undertakings will also clamour for similar benefits.

Under the scheme, employees and officers posted in difficult non-family stations will be entitled to 25 per cent to 70 per cent higher salaries depending on the remoteness of the station of posting. Such huge financial benefit has not been granted to any category of employees in any central or state public sector undertaking engaged in the execution of hydroelectric projects. A senior executive posted in a remote area will get about Rs 20,000 per month more under the scheme. The state electricity board has been all these years giving a fixed amount up to Rs 500 per month as incentive in the shape of project allowance. Since the SJVN is a joint venture of the Centre and the state, with the former holding 75 per cent equity, the decision will have implication for both.

Unlike the normal practice of granting monthly project allowance, the Nigam has come out with a scheme under which special duty incentive will be given on the basis of number of nights spent at the remote station. Further, the quantum of allowance has been linked to the remoteness of the station. The stations have been divided in three categories. Those posted at Nathpa, the dam site of the Nathpa Jhakri project, will get 25 per cent of the salary (basic plus dearness allowance) as incentive. For the second category stations located upstream like Shong Tong, Thopan, Jangi, Powari and any place in Uttranchal the incentive will be about 50 per cent and for Khab, the remotest location in the third category, it will be 70 per cent.

The employees will be paid the incentive money only for the period for which they actually stay at the station. A workman who stays put at the station for the full month will get an additional amount of Rs 1740 in the first category station, Rs 2820 in second category and Rs 4920 in the third category. The incentive for supervisory cadre will be Rs 2820, Rs 4500 and Rs 7860, respectively, for the first, second and third category of stations. The incentive will be range from Rs 5010 to Rs 13,980 for executive cadres upto the level of manager and from Rs 7080 to Rs 19,830 for senior manager and above.

Since other central public sector undertakings like the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) and the National Thermal Power Congress are also engaged in the execution of hydroelectric projects in various states, including Himachal Pradesh, their employees will also demand similar benefits, says a senior officer of the Nigam. The NHPC in particular is working in very difficult hill areas, including the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir.

As the state government also has 25 per cent share in the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam , the employees of the state electricity board working on various projects could also raise such demand.

The Nigam has categorised these project areas as non-family stations. The employees will be given bachelor accommodation and mess facilities. At present only about 125 employees and officers are working at these stations. However, the number will increase as the Nigam takes up projects located upstream.

Mandi, September 1
Farmers in the Balh valley have demanded that the state government should conduct a time-bound fresh survey of the cultivable land and forest areas destroyed by the silt ejected by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB)-run Beas-Satluj (BSL) link project, along the Suketi and Luhari khuds in the Sundernagar subdivision. The farmers protest that the damage is much more than what the BBMB has claimed. Even the compensation to farmers is a time-consuming process, they rue.

Though the BBMB says that the BSL project will shut down its dredgers from September 30, the farmers have insisted that the BBMB should stop dumping the silt into the Suketi and Luhari khuds forever.

Pointing its hazards to the villagers along the khuds, the farmers told The Tribune that the slushy silt had drowned a couple of children and destroyed the fertile land forgood. “The silt has pushed the watertable down that, in turn, has destroyed the small irrigation channels. It has rendered the water-run gharaats, (flourmills) useless, depriving poor villagers of their source of livelihood. The silt has damaged the lift irrigation schemes in the fertile Balh valley ”.

Not only this, the farmers rued that they could not cross the silt-littered lands to work in their farms across the khuds as it posed a hazard. “The water of the Suketi and Luhari khuds that once fed the fertile valley had been rendered unusable as these khuds today carry down nothing but silt”, informed Mr Damodar Das, a non-governmental member of the Grievance Redressal Committee(GRC), Mandi.

Even the natural habitats that once used to thrive with wildlife and herbs in the upper catchments of the khuds have been destroyed by the silt ejected from the dredgers set up at the BSL project.

The issue recently surfaced at the GRC meeting chaired by the State Revenue Minister Rangila Ram Rao, who directed the Revenue Department to expedite the process of fresh survey as demanded by farmers.

The BBMB Executive Engineer, Sundernagar subdivision, said the BBMB pays compensation to the farmers when the cases are forwarded to them. “The project will not dump the silt in the khuds, as the dredger will be shut down from September 30 as per the court’s direction ”, he added.

Deputy Commissioner Ali Raza Rijvi said the government had asked the BBMB to speed up the process of compensation to be paid to the farmers.

The President of the Citizens Council Mandi (CCM), Mr C. Bisht, said the high court had admitted a PIL on the eco-damage that the BSL project has done in the Mandi catchments, filed by the CCM last month. “The council has demanded 15 per cent royalty on power and 20 per cent water discharge into the Beas from the Pandoh dam from the BBMB among other things”, he added.

Sundernagar, September 1
Mr Bali Ram Thakur, president of the State Home Guards Welfare Association, has criticised the decision of the Himachal Pradesh Government for removing 400 Home Guard jawans from various places of their postings.

He said the government was giving stepmotherly treatment to 8,000 Home Guards jawans by not giving them various facilities. Despite various meetings with the Chief Minister, they were still getting Rs 75 per day, which was the lowest in the country.

He said the Home Guards jawans who were doing various duties round the clock were being paid less than the daily-waged-workers, who worked for only eight hours a day. The guards were not being paid for the extra hours of work they were putting in. Furthermore, there was no scheme for regularising them with the passage of time.

He further added, the association was planning to launch a statewide agitation if their demands were not met by the government. He demanded that their daily allowance be increased from Rs 75 per day to Rs 150 per day.

Mandi, September 1
In a sensational but mysterious incident, Krishan Kumar, (23), a student of BA (final), at Vallabh College, Mandi, was allegedly strangled by one Mohmud Yassin, a resident of Khuda Jassu in Chandigarh at Kotropi village of the diseased, 5 km from Paddar police station in the Drang constituency, about 35 km from here. The Drang constituency, represented by IPH minister Thakur Kaul Singh was reported tense till the filing of the report following this incident.

Though the police is yet to ascertain the motivation of the accused but sources told The Tribune that the ‘fight ensued between the two around 9 am on the link road to the village.

The villagers heard the frantic cries of the boy and they converged on the scene. They found a motor bike, which the accused was ridding in the nallah while he was running away from the site. The villagers got hold of Yassin and thrashed him badly as Krishan had died on the spot.

Raising anti-police slogans, the villagers gheraoed the policemen who arrived at the scene four hours after the crime. Yassin was identified from his identity card found in his pocket by villagers which, along with other articles, was handed over to the police.

The police said that Krishan Kumar died due to the asphyxia caused by strangulation and no other mark was found on Krishan’s body.

The SP, Mr Ajay Yadav, said that the police reached the spot at around 12.30 pm when the villagers informed them about the incident. A case has been registered against the accused under Section 302, IPC.

What has deepened the mystery is the fact that the villagers recovered the shirt and trousers from Yasin’s possession, as he was reported to have gone to the areas to sell readymade garments.

Dharamsala, September 1
The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) has urged the British Government to tell the world that Tibet was free when its armies invaded it in 1904.

The TYC international president, Mr Kalsang Phuntrok, said that they had put together documents which prove that the Chinese Government has been lying about the status of Tibet all these years. “We have compiled documents relating to the British -Tibetan agreement in 1904 and this document would be formally released at the TYC conference this month,” he said.

The TYC would observe the centenary of the British invasion on Tibet in 1904 and pay homage to the martyrs at the conference.

“The documentary evidence proves that it was not part of China since 13th centuary onwards as has been claimed. In fact, more than 500 armed personnel were pushed into Tibet from India during this war,” he said.

“Besides this particular agreement, there are also a host of other historic instances like the agreement of Tibetan rulers with the King of Punjab and the documents signed by Tibetan officials during Second World War which corroborate our stand on the issue.

It would be a document of less than two pages, along with statements on the British and Chinese governments,” said Mr Phuntrok.

The TYC regional chapters across India, Nepal, Canada and Bhutan would be sending letters to the governments concerned. 

Kangra, September 1
The Kangra police today arrested three persons at three different places under Section 293 of the IPC police said here today.

Kangra district police chief S. Zahoor H. Zaidi said Ajay Kumar, resident of Cathdi, Raj Kumar, resident of Binyard and Manohar Lal, resident of Bali, village were arrested following the seizure-of Porno CDs from their possession.

He said six such CDs were seized from Ajay Kumar, 10 from Raj Kumar and 8 from Manohar Lal.

Meanwhile, the police arrested six persons under the Excise Act under Jawalamukhi and Nurpur police station during the past 24 hours and recovered 45000 ml country liquor, 12000 ml illicit liquor and smashed two working stills. Mr Zaidi said Kuldeep Chand of Baoli, Surender Gularia, resident of Dharkata and Kartar, resident of Bangwar, were arrested at Baba Panja and 4500 ml of country liquor was seized from their possession and vehicle (HP 01 8517) used in the crime was impounded by the police.

He said Kamal Kumar Sansi, resident of Bonsa daa more, was arrested and 5000 ml illicit liquor was recovered from his possession. Boslee of Dabi and Gopal Dass of the same village were arrested and 7000 ml of illicit liquor were seized from their possession and two working stills were smashed. 

Shimla, September 1
Devinder, a Class XI student at Senior Secondary School, Kasumpti, was today arrested by the police from Fagu, near Rajgarh, for allegedly raping a seven-year-old girl.

Though the incident took place here on last Saturday, the matter was reported to the police yesterday as the mother waited for the victim’s father to return from their village in Kotkhia. The accused was a neighbour of the girl and seeing her alone took advantage of the situation. The victim is a Class II student at Government Primary School, Kasumpti.

According to the police, the accused after committing the crime had fled and was hiding at Fagu, about 80 km from here. A case has been registered against him at Chotta Shimla police station. This is the third rape case during the past one week in and around Shimla.

In another incident, a 34-year-old man, Jeet Ram, was crushed to death under the tyre of a Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus here today. The deceased was deaf and dumb and was crushed under the tyre of the bus which he alighted at the Lift at about 11.30 a.m.

He died while being taken to hospital.