H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Anti-cannabis team loses way, rescued
Kulu, October 3
Rain god played spoilsport for the anti-cannabis team last night, as the team lost its way in the thick forests of Malandar overlooking the Malana barrage, about 50 km from here.

Govt vehicle being used in flesh trade
Solan, October 3
A government vehicle bearing red light was impounded while being used for flesh trade. An employee of the Regional Transport Authority and a local women, along with an autorickshaw driver, were caught red-handed from a garage of the old RTA office here on Friday.

Govt not to encourage teaching shops: CM
Shimla, October 3
Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, has expressed concern over the mushroom growth of so-called public schools which neither had the necessary infrastructure nor qualified teaching staff.

Sex determination test disturbs child sex ratio
Hamirpur, October 3
Although the Himachal Pradesh Government has initiated a number of steps to check the declining trend in the sex ratio in the state, yet the test has their bad effects in the district too.

Kangra under-developed? Figures say it all
Shimla, October 3
While the ruling Congress and the BJP are engaged in a debate on the issue of discrimination against Kangra district, a government spokesman today termed the attempts to compare the levels of development on the basis of per capita income of districts as misconceived.

Religion stands for reunion with God, says Nirankari Baba
Bilaspur, October 3 To be divine is to be human and to be human is to be divine. This was said by Baba Hardev Singh, Nirankari Guru, addressing the mammoth fourth state-level Nirankari Sant Samagam at Luhanu on the bank of Gobind Sagar here today. Baba Hardev Singh with his mother and wife at the fourth state-level Nirankari Sant Samagam at Bilaspur on Sunday. — Photo by Anil Dayal

Sanawarians on a nostalgic trip

Sanawar, October 3 Nostalgia mingled with rain to create a mist of memories at Lawrence School here today. Old students, the young and the not-so-young gathered to celebrate the 157th founder’s day in their traditional “sporty” style, rounding it off with partying and merry-making late into the night. Actor Sanjay Dutt surrounded by fans during the annual day celebrations of Lawrence School in Sanawar on Sunday. — Tribune photo by Pankaj Sharma

‘Kundun’ to be screened at Tibetan Film Festival
Dharamsala, October 3
“Kundun”, the film depicting the early life of Dalai Lama, which kicked of a controversy after it was withdrawn from Asian Film Festival in Mumbai in August this year, will now be screened at Tibetan Film Festival, being organised here along with the Miss Tibet contest.

Cong making biased selections, alleges BJP
Hamirpur, October 3
The state BJP today accused the Congress party of bias in recruitment for jobs in various government departments and boards. While meritorious persons were being denied jobs, those from the Rohroo and Rampur areas were getting jobs purely on political considerations, the party said here.

Saneh: hope for the disabled
Hamirpur, October 3
Saneh, a centre set up by the district administration here for the disabled, set up with help of the central government three years ago, has so far helped 1,840 physically and mentally challenged persons in regaining their confidence.

Bid to rob trader; two arrested
Solan, October 3
Two youths, Amar Uddin and Sunil Sethi, were arrested by the local police last evening after they tried to rob a local businessman, Vipul Goyal, of Rs 2 lakh at gunpoint from the Shamti area.

Monkey menace around sanctuary
Chamba, October 3
The fast growing population of the species like spider monkeys in and around the Kalatop-Khajjiar wildlife sanctuary has created panic among the villagers. They destroy crops in the fields.

• Schoolgirl commits suicide

Anti-cannabis team loses way, rescued
Tribune News Service

Kulu, October 3
Rain god played spoilsport for the anti-cannabis team last night, as the team lost its way in the thick forests of Malandar overlooking the Malana barrage, about 50 km from here.

Inclement weather also prevented the team from nabbing Nepalese smugglers growing cannabis in the area.

Far from destroying the 500 bighas of cannabis crop reportedly cultivated by Nepalese charas smugglers there, team members got trapped in blinding fog and rains in the forests on the higher reaches of the valley. But for the rescue team dispatched from Manikaran, the team members could have been forced to spend the night in the jungles without food and water.

As another team of the “Mission Malana-II” lost contact with the team members late in the evening, we got worried,” said police sources at Manikaran, while talking to The Tribune on phone.

“We dispatched a rescue team from Manikaran, which left for the jungle in the dark.”

The team was led by DSP Manali Kushal Sharma, and SP, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Chandigarh, O.P. Sharma. The rescue team managed to contact the lost team in the night and reached Manikaran in the wee hours today.

“It was a harrowing experience for each one of us. We spotted the cannabis but it was almost blinding dark due to fog and rain,” said one of the team members.

“We wandered scouting for the trail, but in vain. We finally camped at a point, hoping for weather to clear”.

The team lost contact with the Jari police post and its co-team, which had gone to Manikaran and Rasol village from Malana village to destroy the cannabis crop, said police sources, adding that Nepalese smugglers had fled the scene before they reached.

After the rescue, members of both teams took shelter at the Manikaran Gurdwara, about 40 km from here. The teams would resume the operation in the Malandar forest later in the day.

Govt vehicle being used in flesh trade

Govt not to encourage teaching shops: CM
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 3
Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, has expressed concern over the mushroom growth of so-called public schools which neither had the necessary infrastructure nor qualified teaching staff. He said that the government would not encourage teaching shops in the name of public schools which were devoid of social commitments and their functioning would be regulated to strengthen and streamline the education system in the state.

Presiding over the annual day function of the St. Edward’s School here last evening, he said he appreciated the role of private schools in supplementing the government endeavours in bringing about qualitative improvement in the standard of education in the state. He said the state had a vast network of over 15,000 educational institutions and the emphasis was now on consolidation. He said English had been introduced from the first standard.

He said that teachers should be a perennial source of enlightenment and inspiration and not mere tutors. They were the custodian of traditional culture and vital agents of social change. He said that quality of education depended upon the quality of teachers.

The Chief Minister complimented the school management for upholding the high standards of education. He also gave away prizes to the meritorious students who excelled in academic, sports and cultural activities.

Father Ambrose, Principal of the school, read out the annual report of the school.

An impressive cultural programme was also presented to mark the occasion.

Sex determination test disturbs child sex ratio
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, October 3
Although the Himachal Pradesh Government has initiated a number of steps to check the declining trend in the sex ratio in the state, yet the test has their bad effects in the district too. This is despite the fact that the female population in the district is on the higher side as compared to their male counterparts.

In the district, there are 1,099 females as against 1,000 males, as per the latest census reports.

However, the report also says there are 850 girls in the 0-6 age group in the district as against 1,000 boys. Surprisingly, there are 851 girls in the rural areas as against 842 boys in urban areas against 1,000 boys in this age group.

In Himachal Pradesh, there are 896 girls as against 1,000 boys in the age group of 0-6 years.

Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner Devesh Kumar is upset over the downfall in the population of the female child in the age group. He expressed his concern during the World Population Day here recently. He was pained to inform in the function that there was only one female child as against nine male children who were given birth certificates in the function.

Talking to the reporter, he said the administration was guiding the people about the importance of female child in the society. The state government was enforcing the Pre-Natal Determination Test (PNDT) Act with strictness, which has shown encouraging results.

Moreover, all clinics having facilities of ultra-sound had been registered under this Act so as to check illegal sex determination tests and termination of pregnancies.

The Act had a provision to penalise those clinics, which did not get them registered with the Chief Medical Officers. Such clinics, if found indulged in sex determination could be dragged into court.

He said periodic checks of all such clinics were being done and the Chief Medical Officers had been asked to submit report regarding these clinics. In addition to this a district-level task force had also been constituted to check unlawful sex determination tests. Efforts were also afoot to sensitise the general public regarding the implementation of the PNDT Act.

Kangra under-developed? Figures say it all
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 3
While the ruling Congress and the BJP are engaged in a debate on the issue of discrimination against Kangra district, a government spokesman today termed the attempts to compare the levels of development on the basis of per capita income of districts as misconceived.

Kangra may have been placed ninth in per capita income but it has registered a growth rate of 6.5 per cent during 1993-94 to 2003-04, which was marginally higher than the average growth rate of 6.4 per cent for the entire state.

The official spokesman pointed out that comparing the levels of development on the basis of growth rate of districts was bound to mislead people as it had to be viewed from the perspective of social and infrastructural development.

For instance, the literacy data based on the 1971 and 2001 Census clearly indicates that districts like Kangra, Una, Mandi and Hamirpur had progressed faster and stayed ahead of the state average. The literacy rate in Kangra district shot up from 36.5 per cent in 1971 to 80.7 per cent in 2001, from 39.9 per cent to 83.2 per cent in Hamirpur and from 38.4 per cent to 80.9 per cent in Una whereas the overall literacy rate for the state was 77.1 per cent in 2001.

Similarly, in health coverage the number of institutions per 100 sq km as on March 31, 2003, were 9.34 in Kangra, 16.46 in Hamirpur and 10.26 in Una as against only 4.75 for the entire state.

He further said an important indicator of development was the population living below poverty line in different districts. As per the latest data the percentage of population living below poverty line was 20.07 in Kangra, 24.16 in Hamirpur and 19.06 in Una, whereas for the state it was 27.59. These districts were also ahead in road development. The density of road per 100 sq km was 77.12 km in Kangra, 131.13 km in Hamirpur and 91.36 km in Una in comparison to 42.10 km for the entire state.

He further explained that in the case of Himachal Pradesh the service sector, which largely comprised public administration, banking and insurance and services related to business and dwellings accounted for about 30 per cent of the state's total income. A very large component of this income was determined by the district-wise number of state and Central Government employees. It was obvious that a district like Shimla with a very large central government offices would tend to have a very high element of income from this stream leading to undue inflation of the per capita income and lead to an incorrect ranking of the district.

Religion stands for reunion with God, says
Nirankari Baba
Our Correspondent

Bilaspur, October 3
To be divine is to be human and to be human is to be divine.

This was said by Baba Hardev Singh, Nirankari Guru, addressing the mammoth fourth state-level Nirankari Sant Samagam at Luhanu on the bank of Gobind Sagar here today.

He said, “man’s relationship with God is directly linked with his dealings and doings with his fellow human beings and cultivating relationship of man with God and with his fellow beings is the subject matter of religion. Religion stands for reunion of human soul with its origin — God — and eventual oneness with the entire human family”. He said which divide is not religion but that which unites is the real religion.

Baba said, “When we accept that there is one God, we should also accept that there is only one religion, religion of man”.

Guru Hardev Singh said such Nirankari Samagams bring about spiritual awakening and turning to righteousness which provide divinity to human character, harmony at home, order in society and eventual peace in the world.”

Earlier, a colourful Shobha Yatra marked the beginning of this day-long religious congregation as it started from main market in the town with men and women drawn from all districts of Himachal Pradesh sang devotional songs and danced to tunes of their drums and musical instruments in thousands.

A large number of devotees from Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir thronged the samagam venue. Baba Hardev Singh was flanked by Nirankari Rajmata and Pujya Mata Ji.

Despite repeated showers of rain, the arrangements at the venue of samagam were a real show of discipline and devotion and co-operation of thousands of volunteers, who worked day and night for about one week to make this Maha Sammelan a grand success.

Sanawarians on a nostalgic trip
Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

Sanawar, October 3
Nostalgia mingled with rain to create a mist of memories at Lawrence School here today. Old students, the young and the not-so-young gathered to celebrate the 157th founder’s day in their traditional “sporty” style, rounding it off with partying and merry-making late into the night.

The barriers of time and space between Sanawarians melted away in the pitter-patter of a drizzle. The billows of soft breeze took them back into time, meandering through old friendships and associations.

As they came together to pay obeisance at this altar of learning, it was that time of the year when memories, which they had cherished and enshrined in some far recesses of their heart, came flooding back as the old Sanawarians (OS) exchanged bear hugs and looked around for familiar faces in the crowd, an extended family.

A common sentiment that ran through those present was the affection with which they recalled their school days. For them, the discipline instilled in school gave them the feeling of an invisible and intangible hand leading them through the ups and downs of life. As Capt J.S. Butalia from the 1979 batch puts it: “Our school is the best because it is Sanawar. It can be nothing less than the best.”

The fondness for his alma mater tugs at his heart strings every year and hence, Dr Pankaj Mutneja returns to participate in the celebrations. For this surgeon from Panipat whose two children are studying here, the school is his altar of worship. “The bonding in our fraternity is immense. I just have to go up to any fellow Sanawarian and tell him I’m from the same school as his, and we strike an instant rapport. I wanted my children to study in my school for the personal attention and the well-rounded polished personality it endows its students with,” he says.

Sanawar means more than a school to Mr S. Kandhari of the 1979 batch which is celebrating its 25 years this year. It’s a tradition which has been with him since he left its portals. Eulogising the school for producing the best students, Mr Kandhari broke down on entering the campus. Attending his first reunion function since he left, Mr Kandhari, accompanied by his two sons, adds, “This school was virtually my father, my mother, my family. It was home for so many years. I am too overcome with emotion as I walk down the familiar corridors of my classrooms. I have a lot of catching up to do in the two days that I am here,” he says.

Capt Deepak of the 1967 batch feels that the school has “changed beautifully” since he left. “I come for the reunions to relive the bonding between Sanawarians, the trees, the cool climes and this unexpected drizzle, they all beckon me.”

While Mr Vikas Kohli from the 1987 batch feels that the school has prospered since the time he studied, he suggested that the outdoor camps, a regular feature in their days, should be revived. “It used to be a great outdoor experience where we would learn to fend for ourselves and learn survival tricks outside the comforts of our rooms,” he says.

An enterprising OS of the 1991 batch, Mr Arvind Attrey had set up a stall outside the school campus to sell memorabilia, including calendars, keyrings, and the school crest.

Among the few known faces who showed up on the first day of celebrations were actress Pooja Bedi and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Farooq Abdullah. With the chief guest for the function, actor Sanjay Dutt, remaining elusive, the spotlight was on Bedi who was followed around for autographs and photographs. In between, she took time off to meet her batchmates and exchange pleasantries with her teachers. “Incredible. That’s how I would describe this feeling of being among family members,” she said.

Late in the afternoon, Sanjay Dutt finally showed up, much to the delight of old Sanawarians. There was the usual scramble to catch his eye and get his signatures on anything they could lay their hands on. Standing tall in the crowd, he lived up to his Munna Bhai image as he joked around and mingled with friends.

The day began with an athletic meet and friendly matches between the old and present Sanawarians and a meeting of the O.S. With their families in tow, they went round the campus, catching up with friends and talking in whispers about the controversies that have dogged the school of late. However, at the end of the day, Lawrence School today was only about love, friendship and bonhomie.

‘Kundun’ to be screened at Tibetan Film Festival
Vibhor Mohan
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, October 3
“Kundun”, the film depicting the early life of Dalai Lama, which kicked of a controversy after it was withdrawn from Asian Film Festival in Mumbai in August this year, will now be screened at Tibetan Film Festival, being organised here along with the Miss Tibet contest.

Besides productions by Tibetans, films like “Bhagat Singh”, “Osama” (a film about an Afghani girl), “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Chavez-Inside the Coup” will also be shown. All of these talk about freedom movements and global issues.

“Kundun, along with ‘Seven Years in Tibet’, were withdrawn from Asian Film Festival due to pressure from the Chinese Embassy. But now people will at least get to see Kundun, which is based on the flight of Dalai Lama into exile after the Chinese occupation of Tibet. It is directed by Martin Scorsese,” said Lobsang Wangyal, director of the Miss Tibet Contest.

“There will be two categories in the festival. The first category is about films produced, directed or scripted by Tibetans. There are about a 12 films in this category of which the festival will screen all films which were made available to it. The second category of films to be screened is on freedom movements, social and global issues,” he added.

The film festival will be organised at McLeodganj from October 5 to 10.

The category of Tibetan films, said Wangyal, would include director Jamyang Khentse Rinpoche’s ‘The Cup’. “It is an exciting tale about how monks in a monastery want to watch the final of the Football World Cup match between Brazil and France held in 1988.

Cong making biased selections, alleges BJP

Hamirpur, October 3
The state BJP today accused the Congress party of bias in recruitment for jobs in various government departments and boards. While meritorious persons were being denied jobs, those from the Rohroo and Rampur areas were getting jobs purely on political considerations, the party said here.

Mr Rajendra Rana, state BJP media in-charge, alleged that about 80 youngsters from Rampur and Rohroo had been given jobs in various government departments and boards, which needed to be enquired into.

The BJP leader demanded a white paper on the jobs given to the people of Kangra district since the Congress came to power. He alleged that instead of giving jobs, the Congress had dismissed the services of many labourers, many of whom had been sitting on a dharna outside the office of SDM, Jawali, against the government’s decision. — OC

Saneh: hope for the disabled
Chander Shekhar Sharma

Hamirpur, October 3
Saneh, a centre set up by the district administration here for the disabled, set up with help of the central government three years ago, has so far helped 1,840 physically and mentally challenged persons in regaining their confidence. The centre presently has 200 inmates and is providing various types of medical facilities to them.

The Central Government has released Rs 1.17 crore for the centre. Of this Rs 35 lakh have so far been spent on the construction of the building, buying of equipment and training programmes to the staff and the patients. In all Rs 61.68 lakh have been spent on various programmes of the centre.

An ex-serviceman, Karam Chand, of Nara village of the district, who had lost his leg in an Army operation had never thought that he would be able to walk again. However, he was able to do, the impossible, when he was provided with an artificial leg by the Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, Devesh Kumar Gupta, recently at a function.

Similarly, nine-year old Saurav Saini, whose both legs were not functional, got a clipper. The centre under the patronage of the district administration provided 15 disabled persons with artificial limbs during a function at Hamirpur held recently.

Bid to rob trader; two arrested
Our Correspondent

Solan, October 3
Two youths, Amar Uddin and Sunil Sethi, were arrested by the local police last evening after they tried to rob a local businessman, Vipul Goyal, of Rs 2 lakh at gunpoint from the Shamti area.

Vipul Goyal was returning home along with his brother in his car after closing his LPG agency around 7 pm. He was stopped by two scooter-borne youths at Shamti. The pillion rider, Amar Uddin, brandished a revolver and asked him why he had paid no heed to his earlier demand of paying him Rs 4 lakh. The duo tried to enter his car and rob him of Rs 2 lakh that he was carrying but his brother managed to drive it away.

Goyal later said that the two men working as masons locally had been threatening him to pay them Rs 4 lakh or else face kidnapping of his niece. The police, which was informed immediately, swung into action and arrested two.

A case under Sections 398, 506 and 34 of the IPC was registered against them. Amar Uddin hails from Meerut, while his accomplice Sunil Sethi, belongs to Jalandhar.

Monkey menace around sanctuary
Our Correspondent

Chamba, October 3
The fast growing population of the species like spider monkeys in and around the Kalatop-Khajjiar wildlife sanctuary has created panic among the villagers. They destroy crops in the fields.

Spider monkeys even enter houses of the people and damage the food items.

The farmers living around the sanctuary say that they are fed up with the spider monkeys, which come in herds of more than 50 each.

They have demanded the state government to deploy a team of wildlife experts to help the villagers.

Schoolgirl commits suicide

Hamirpur, October 3
Kanchan Kumari (17) of Balh village in Nadaun subdivision in Hamirpur district, died on the way to hospital last night.

She had taken celphos due to a family feud. Kanchan had a tiff with her father as a result of which she took poison.

The police has registered a case. — OC