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Virbhadra signed amended MoU, says Chander Kumar
CM cuts Sukh Ram to size, unleashes
Badal for Punjabi teachers
in select
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Rs 1.32-cr project for Solan forest division
Docs on warpath over NPA issue
Voice printing can counter mobile cloning
Villagers not satisfied with police action on shopkeeper’s murder
College faces staff shortage
Virus hits tomato crop in Banasar
Dalhousie to celebrate 150th anniversary
Ex-servicemen hold rally
Teachers Day functions in Hamirpur
2 schoolboys drowned
10-yr term for possessing charas
Property worth Rs 5 lakh damaged in fire
Parkash Utsav concludes at Nadaun
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Virbhadra signed amended MoU, says Chander Kumar
Nurpur, September 5 Mr Kumar, who was also a member of the MoU Committee admitted that the proposals in the MoU had been opposed by the Congress because it had invoked a blanket ban on appointments and filling of vacant posts in all departments in the state. Only economic prudence and rationalisation of government services are warranted in the new MoU but the state government has no bar on fresh appointments for functional posts in all departments in the state, he added. Mr Chander Kumar informed that the UPA Government had cleared ‘Horticulture Technology Mission Project’ worth Rs 250 crore for Himachal Pradesh in its maiden annual Budget. “The objective of this ambitious project is to promote horticulture in this hill state,” he added. Talking about the UPA Government’s Budget he said it had reflected the priority given by the government to agricultural sector. More emphasis has been laid on rendering concessions on agriculture inputs and implements. “Apart from this, rural cottage industry in the country has been given a boost and the provision for generating 89 days employment in rural areas through government departments had been made”, he said. Mr Chander Kumar informed that he had submitted proposals to the Centre about two important projects relating to the development of Ramsar International Wetland and construction of all roads under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sarak Yojna in Kangra area. “Besides, a survey report prepared in 2001 for making Pathankot-Jogindernagar railway line broad gauge has been submitted to the Railway Minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav”, he informed. When asked about the widespread resentment over the recent recruitment of conductors in the HRTC, he said the matter had already been brought to the notice of the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh. |
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CM cuts Sukh Ram to size, unleashes power struggle
Mandi, September 5 This development is not sudden and assumes significance with the arrival of senior Congress leader Ambika Soni, who is in charge of Himachal affairs in Shimla within a day or two. There is dissent within the district Congress workers here between a group led by Mr Sukh Ram and his son Mr Anil Sharma and the other group led by the former Mandi MLA and Congress leader Mr D.D. Thakur, owing allegince to Mr Virbhadra Singh. In fact Mr Sukh Ram had sent a signal to Mr Virbhadra Singh during the last Assembly session in Shimla, when his outbursts on the floor of the House against the Dhumal-led BJP’s erstwhile government had surprised many Congress workers. Mr Sukh Ram had lambasted Mr Dhumal for sidelining him which, according to him, had resulted in the BJP debacle in the last Assembly elections. “It was a hint for Mr Virbhadra Singh who had been ignoring Mr Ram’s plea to accommodate him and his son, revealed a Congress leader on the condition of anonymity. Vying for the post of chairman of some corporation, both Mr Thakur and Mr Sharma have been sending conflicting signals to the Chief Minister and the Congress chief and Power Minister Vidya Stokes, revealed some Congress workers, whose ‘works’ had got stalled due to this power struggle. Attacking Mr Ram’s latest trump card, Mr Virbhadra Singh has openly cut him to size by stating that “it was Mr Sukh Ram and his ‘defunct’ party Himachal Vikas Congress which had benefited after he merged with the Congress not vice versa. The Congress had won the Mandi Parliamentary seat not just because of Mr Sukh Ram but because of the party’s joint efforts”, he told reporters last week. Though Mr Ram’s main agenda was to secure a ‘safe future for his son in the Congress and coming out of the pending court cases registered against him in Delhi courts after the telecom scam, but Mr Virbhadra Singh had quashed his hopes and had caused bitterness in Mr Sukh Ram’s camp here. Congress workers here revealed that Mr Sukh Ram had made several rounds of Mr Virbhadra Singh’s residence in Shimla in the past both for his party’s merger and for finding a suitable berth for his son. Blessed by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Thakur Kaul Singh, IPH Minister and the Excise and Taxation Minister Rangila Ram Rao are running the show in the district, sidelining Mr Sukh Ram who once enjoyed mass support here. Mr Sukh Ram’s desperation is understandable today because he fears that his base in the district is eroding as his writ no longer runs in the corridors of power, revealed the Congress workers. With this recent snub Mr Sukh Ram is out to ally himself with his erstwhile camp-person and Mr Virbhadra Singh’s opponent, Ms Stokes, and is also trying hard to find a political foot hold, disclose party sources. Ms Pratibha Singh’s recent two visits to the Mandi Parliamentary constituency after she won the seat for the first time gave enough feedback to the Chief Minister to show Mr Sukh Ram that he should fall in line rather than hobnobbing with the other camp and claiming that Ms Pratibha Singh had won because of him. Taking stock of Mr Virbhadra Singh’s salvo against Mr Ram, his supporters here claim that ‘Pundit’s politics will start from now as he enjoys a good links at the Centre. “He still commands a good hold in the Mandi Sadar and other parts of the district”, they claim. |
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Badal for Punjabi teachers
in select Himachal schools
Paonta Sahib, September 5 Speaking at a massive gathering of Sikhs held at the historic Gurdwara Paonta Sahib here to mark the 400th anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib, Mr Badal wanted that though the decision to introduce Punjabi as an elective subject was taken in 1999 during the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of Khalsa, it could not be implemented in Himachal Pradesh as the state was waiting for a minimum of 20 students to opt for the language before a language teacher could be posted in the school. “It should be the other way round. In case, the school fails to get 20 students, the Punjabi teacher should be withdrawn from that school,” he said while responding to the announcement made earlier by Mr Virbhadra Singh that his government was ready to post Punjabi teachers in all those schools which had 20 or more students wishing to take Punjabi as an elective subject. It was for the first time that Mr Badal and Mr Virbhadra Singh shared a stage after the Congress government took over in Himachal Pradesh. Though Chief Ministers of other states, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh, were also expected to join the celebrations, only Mr Virbhadra Singh could make it. Mr Virbhadra Singh supported the demand for raising a national memorial in the name of Banda Bahadur on the Himachal-Haryana border. He said since the powers to raise a national memorial were with the Central Government, his government would do its part and support the project. Earlier, Jathedar Kartar Singh Takkar, General Secretary of the Parbandhak Committee of Gurdwara Paonta Sahib, reiterated the long-standing demands of the Sikh community of Himachal Pradesh about the introduction of Punjabi as an elective subject in at least all Punjabi-dominated areas and the raising of the Banda Singh Bahadur memorial at Lohgarh Fort. Mr Virbhadra Singh also released a book, ‘Guru Manyo Granth’, written by Mr Kulwant Singh, Manager of the Paonta Sahib Gurdwara. The book, written in Hindi, was later distributed among members of the congregation. |
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Rs 1.32-cr project for Solan forest division
Solan, September 5 Undertaking a socio-economic uplift of the rural community through an integrated approach, the project also aims at generating rural employment for disadvantaged sections, especially women and landless labourers. Sixteen joint forest management committees have been constituted in four forest ranges. With the Conservator of Forests, Nahan, Mr M.Narayanappa, as its chairman, the project would strive for economic rehabilitation of the rural community. Covering an area of 2,763 hectares, it envisages to seek people’s participation and coordination of other government departments at various levels of its implementation. The DFO, Mr Alok Nagar, said forestry and non-forestry components of the project including afforestation, soil and water conservation measures, would be undertaken according to technical and scientific principles. The first meeting of the general house of the committees was presided over by Mr Narayanappa at Kumarhatti on Friday evening. An amount totalling Rs 21.12 lakh was disbursed among, presidents of the 16 such committees. Augmentation of fuelwood, fodder, grass in regenerated areas, planning and regeneration to ensure sustainability and equitable distribution of forest products from the regenerated land and promotion of a partnership concept are its basic objectives. Conservation of non-timber forestry products like bamboo, cane and medicinal plants and encouragement of products like honey, fruits and nuts are the other areas of focus. Stress on water harvesting and securing people’s participation to ensure sustainability and equitable distribution of forest products would be taken up on a priority. |
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Docs on warpath over NPA issue
Mandi, September 5 Reacting sharply to the state government’s clever move and clarification given by the government spokesperson, HPMOA’s general secretary J.N. Chauhan said the government’s move to de-link NPA from the salaries would hit not only over 2,000 doctors, but would also paralyse health services in the state. “We want a notification in this regard in black and white,” he added. “The state executive is meeting and we will start the agitation as the government has targeted the MoU signed
with the Centre on fiscal reforms,” said Dr Chauhan. “The government had promised that it would give the doctors rural allowance. It has not given the PG increment, 10 per cent house rent and 6 per cent rural allowance on the Punjab pattern, but has stabbed the doctors in the back as the order has been passed cleverly to bypass the due process of law,” the doctors rued. “We are seeking an appointment with the Chief Minister and will take up the matter with him soon,” said Dr Chauhan. “It was the Congress which had promised to redress our grievances. Doctors are the only government employees in the state who do 24 hours duty,” rued the doctors. The HPMOA has been demanding the appointment of doctors from the cadre as Block Medical Officers (BMOs) to direct the centrally-sponsored health programmes for AIDS control, communicable diseases, immunisation, etc in the state. |
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Experts for more awareness on forensic sciences
Shimla, September 5 This was the main thrust of an international seminar on “Role of forensic documents in combating white-collar crimes” being held here to mark the centenary of the establishment of the Government Examiner of Questioned Documents, the second oldest forensic laboratory of the world. Participants lamented that though the forensic sciences in the country had advanced rapidly, it was not being used much for scientific investigations of crime because of abject lack of awareness among law-enforcing agencies, prosecution and the judiciary. The police at the grass roots was not trained to manage a “crime site” and collect evidence without damaging it. The situation was worse in case of cyber crime and those involving digital evidence as even senior managers were not aware of preliminary knowledge about how to shut down a computer, after a crime had been committed, without altering the digital structures. Ms Vidya Stokes, Power Minister, inaugurating the seminar, made a point that the conviction rate had been very low mainly because the tools of forensic science were used only in important cases. More disturbing was the fact that the abject lack of understanding of forensic processes was all too discernible even among those who were responsible for administering it. In his keynote address, Mr H.J. Dora, member of the central vigilance commission, said criminals were spreading their tentacles to new areas like money laundering, insider trading, counterfeiting of stamp papers, currency notes and property documents, credit card and computer frauds etc. The police was not trained to investigate such complicated cases. They should have access to specialists like chartered accountants, legal experts and information technology experts for consultation. Money laundering in particular had serious implications as it was being used to fund terrorist activities. Appropriate changes should be made in the law to empower investigators to have access to all record of the agencies concerned for effectively handling whit-collar crime on the pattern of the USA. The services of the modern forensic laboratories, so far confined to in-house police investigations, should be made available to private agencies and citizens. The laboratories could advice them on authenticity of documents and signatures so that they were not cheated by white-collar criminals. Dr M.S. Rao, head of the directorate of forensic sciences, said hitherto, the forensic activity started only after the occurrence of crime. But with the emergence of hi-tech third generation crime involving modern gadgets like computers and mobile phones, the time had come to use preventive forensics to keep the criminals under check effectively. Digital cyber forensics was now aiming to find online channels to nip the cyberspace crime in the bud. Mr Avi Albulafia, Head of Questioned Document Examiner Laboratory, Israel, said counterfeiting of cheques, travel documents and currency notes was the most common crime in his country. The menace was increasing due to availability of sophisticated coloured photo copiers which could produce replicas as good as the original ones. Ms Stokes also released a compact disc on the Government Examiner of Questioned Document and inaugurated an exhibition in which important forensic documents investigated at the lab were displayed. |
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Voice printing can counter mobile cloning
Shimla, September 5 The new generation of hi-tech criminals is using “cloned” mobile phones making the detection of crime all the more difficult for the investigating agencies. The mobile phone clones are produced by replicating the SIM card. Once this is done the replica could be used in any handset to misuse the phone number .The subscriber will not have an inkling about his number being misused. However, the redeeming feature is that the Central Forensic Laboratory at Hyderabad has the software to detect the cloned mobile phones. The laboratory helped the Delhi Police by identifying two such cloned mobile phones recovered from accused persons recently. The increasing use of mobile phones has led to the development of a new branch of forensic science, the Speaker Identification Technique, which enables to recognise the voice of a person by acoustics analysis using computerised speech laboratory machine. Explaining the process Dr S.K.Jain, the forensic scientist who developed the technique in India, said every person has a unique voice print which could be identified using the hi-tech equipment that produces a three-dimensional visual representation in terms of frequency, intensity and time. It enables to identify the distinct features on the basis of the spectrographic analysis of the voice. The speaker identification technique involves three stages. First there is repeated oral listening of the voice sample to identify and segregate the clue words. It is followed by spectrographic analysis and finally the computerised analysis in which a number of fundamental pitch formants were created. The technique had been perfected to such an extent that even a voice sample of four seconds was enough for an accurate result. It was speaker specific and text independent and as such even if a person speaks different words his voice could still be identified, even if one imitates the voice of another person or a male disguises his original voice by speaking in a female voice or uses any other method of disguise. The minute analysis of voice starts from sentence, narrow downs to words, letters and finally ends up in phoneme to pinpoint the distinct features. |
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Villagers not satisfied with police action on shopkeeper’s murder
Mandi, September 5 Though a police team led by SP, Mandi, Ajay Yadav, has detained four persons from Chauntra panchayat for interrogation, villagers including members of Chaman Lal’s family, are not satisfied with the police action. His body was found in a ‘gharat’ yesterday. The police has refused to issue any statement on the Chaman Lal murder even after four days when he was kidnapped from his native village and dragged to the spot ‘where he was hacked to death’. Though the police dismissed the theory that Chaman Lal was murdered by higher caste Thakurs due to some old tussle, inputs received here revealed that his family belongs to lower caste while suspects belong to higher caste. “No such thing as the caste enmity has come to light so far in the case,” said Mr Yadav who himself has gone to the village to assess the situation. “Four persons have been detained for interrogation, we hope we will solve the murder case soon”, he adds. Chaman Lal was reportedly kidnapped on Wednesday night, while he was returning from his brother’s house. He had gone there to meet the family to discuss the whereabouts of his nephew’s wife who had gone missing from her in-laws’ house two days before. Though the police says that the woman had left with somebody willingly, the family has alleged that she was also
kidnapped by the same people who later kidnapped Chaman Lal. In another murder case, the police has confirmed that Muhamad Yassin, an accused in the murder of Krishan Kumar, college student from Kotropi village, Paddar subtehsil, belongs to Khuda Jassu village, Chandigarh. A case has been registered under Section 302, IPC, against Yassin who has been admitted to the Mandi Zonal Hospital. He was thrashed by villagers on Wednesday when Krishan Kumar was found dead at the spot. |
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College faces staff shortage
Hamirpur, September 5 One of the biggest colleges of the state, nearly 5,000 students from Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Mandi districts are on it rolls. The college is particularly known for its science classes. There are 77 sanctioned posts of teacher, as against 125 needed to run the college smoothly. However, the number of teachers at present is only 65. The worst affected are the departments of English and chemistry. This is also the only college in the state with just one senior lab attendant, three junior lab attendants and five lab attendants. The college needs at least 12 more persons in each of these categories for its chemistry, physics, botany and zoology laboratories. Though the college is named after Subhas Chandra Bose, there is nothing in the college to remind the students of him except a bust of the leader. The college library is housed in congested rooms laments Dr Lalit Mohan Sharma, Principal of the college. Students are forced to stand while reading books or newspapers. It also faces staff shortage. No steps have been initiated by the government to start the construction for the library, a foundation stone for which was laid in 1996 by then Education Minister Narain Chand Parashar in year 1996. There are allegations that funds for the project have been diverted to other projects owing to political considerations. There is also a shortage of living quarters for the teaching staff, as a result teachers have to pay high rent to live in the town. |
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Virus hits tomato crop in Banasar
Kumarhatti, September 5 Though the disease is incurable, yet the growers are being made aware of measures to check further spread of the virus, he maintained. |
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Dalhousie to celebrate 150th anniversary
Dalhousie, September 5 Stating this here today, Mr D.C. Rana, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Dalhousie, said the decision had been taken at a meeting chaired by him in which prominent residents of the town and people engaged in the tourism industry participated. Preparations for the celebrations had started, focusing on the promotion of tourism in the hill resort. A food festival, exhibition, military band display, and invitation to dignitaries who had remained associated with Dalhousie would be the main features of this event. |
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Ex-servicemen hold rally
Hamirpur, September 5 They also held a rally at the Town hall and served a three-month notice on the Centre and the state government. At the Town Hall, they unfurled the Tricolour, and observed a two-minute silence in memory of those who had laid down their lives for nation. Squadron Leader Dhiman, addressing the rally, demanded a separate ministry for the armed forces under the direct control of the Prime Minister at the Centre and chief ministers in states for looking into the needs of the serving soldiers and ex-servicemen. He has also sought a special pay commission for the armed forces and ex-servicemen. He blasted the bureaucracy for the problems and difficulties being faced by the serving soldiers and ex-servicemen. The rally demanded immediate acceptance of their demands for one rank pension, 15 per cent reservation to ex-servicemen and their families in all government services, opening of CDS canteens in all blocks and more Army schools and health care centres in the state. |
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Teachers Day functions in Hamirpur
Hamirpur, September 5 The HP Science Masters Association also organised a meeting at Sujanpur Tira today to celebrate Teachers Day. At the local Savitri Public School, children presented variety programmes and took part in other extra-curricular activities. Similarly, a function was held at Aims Senior Secondary School of the town. |
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2 schoolboys drowned
Nurpur, September 5 When the boys did not return home in the evening their worried parents along with other villagers started searching them near the Sagar. They suspected their children had drowned when they noticed their clothes and shoes on the bank. They managed to fish out the bodies. The post-mortem report vindicated their suspicion that the boys died due to drowning. |
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10-yr term for possessing charas
Chamba, September 5 The allegations against Rajdeen were that on November 23, 2003, he was apprehended by the Dalhousie police at Zero Point Goli and on checking, he was found in possession of 2 kg of charas wrapped in a dupatta, which had been found tied around his waist. |
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Property worth Rs 5 lakh damaged in fire
Hamirpur, September 5 Mr Mahal told The Tribune this evening that a Fire Brigade team reached the site immediately after getting the news. He said that the cause of the fire was yet to be known. However, it seemed to be accidental. Meanwhile, the district administration has decided to give immediate fiscal help to both fire-affected families. |
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Parkash Utsav concludes at Nadaun
Hamirpur, September 5 Akhand path was also organised and Shabad kirtan conducted by the ragis from Hoshiarpur. A big bhandara was organised on the occasion. |
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