Hamirpur, October 5
Former Himachal Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal today joined the Congress leaders on the issue of MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), signed by the state government with the Central Government on fiscal reforms.

He said the MoU was never signed by the BJP during its rule. In fact, the Congress party had signed the MoU in May, 2004, he added.

While talking to mediapersons here, Mr Dhumal asked the Congress to release the document that showed the BJP had signed the MoU in 1999.

He clarified that the draft document of the MoU had been received by his government in December 2003 and expressed shock how it could be signed in 1999.

Mr Pyare Lal Sharma, district BJP chief, and Mr Rasil Singh Mankotia, secretary state BJP, were also present at the press conference.

He lashed out at the Congress leaders for trying to mislead the people of state on the issue of signing MoU.

Mr Dhumal hit out at two ministers of state for alleging that the BJP had mortgaged the interests of the state with the Central Government.

He said when the Congress had signed the MoU, it had claimed in the Vidhan Sabha that by signing this agreement, the government was able to secure a sum of Rs 500 crore from the Central Government as the long-term loans.

He said the MoU issue had become a major issue for discussion and the Congress had become defensive on the issue. It was painting a wrong picture for the public with an eye on the Guler byelections.

He questioned the Congress that if the BJP had signed the MoU in 1999, then why the same was re-signed in 2004 by the Congress government.

Mr Dhumal also criticised the Congress for throwing the luggage of the BJP MLA from a rest house in Kangra district recently. He said it was most unfortunate and the Congress should seek a public apology for the same.

He said the BJP would definitely win the Guler byelections as the people of state in general and Guler in particular were all set to oust the Congress from power.

Dharamsala, October 5
Mr Ram Lal Thakur, Forest Minister, and Mr Mukesh Agnihotri, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, holding the charge of Health, yesterday charged BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal for “misleading the people regarding the memorandum of understanding on fiscal reforms.”

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Thakur said it was the previous BJP government under Mr Dhumal which had signed the MoU on April 10, 1999. “The signatories to the MoU were Chief Secretary of the state and the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance,” he said.

The leaders alleged that Mr Dhumal was responsible for “discriminating” against the people of Kangra.

Referring to a letter which they claimed was addressed to Mr Yashwant Sinha, former Union Minister for Finance, by Mr Dhumal as Chief Minister on May 31, 1999, Mr Thakur said it stated: “On the question of abolition of vacant posts and upgradation of posts, internal directions have been issued by me to the Finance Department that no permission to fill such vacant posts be given or any upgradation be allowed.”

This, said Mr Thakur, indicated the intention of Mr Dhumal to impose a blanket ban on filling of vacant posts in government jobs in the state. Even though the MoU was at a pre-mature stage, Mr Dhumal had issued instructions for abolition of vacant posts, he said.

As per the MoU sent by the Dhumal government to the Government of India, employment of people on daily wages and on a part-time basis in the government, semi-government and autonomous bodies had been stopped, he said.

Showing copies of the letter and a press statement issued by four ministers and three ministers of the Dhumal government on February 28, 2001, Mr Thakur said the functioning of the BJP government had been “exposed” by its own MLAs.

Shimla, October 5
Mr Kuldeep Rathore, spokesperson of the Congress, today said that the documents released by the party regarding the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) on fiscal reforms had not only exposed the BJP but also driven home the point that its leadership lacks the courage to own its decisions.

Addressing a press conference, here, he said the BJP leaders had lost credibility in the eyes of public by disowning their own government’s decision even after official documents, which prove that MoU had been signed in April 1999 by the Dhumal regime, had been made public.

It was the worst kind of political dishonesty, which reflected the quality of party’s leadership. He said the BJP leaders were indulging in such tactics as they did not have any real issues to raise during the Guler elections. He claimed that the Congress would win the by-election with a convincing margin.

He said the BJP had also expressed apprehensions that the byelection would be rigged which only indicated that the party was expecting defeat. It had made similar allegations during the Lok Sabha poll, particularly with regard to the Mandi constituency, but nothing happened, he added.

Regarding the organisational polls, he said the process would get underway from November 17 with the closure of membership drive and conclude with the election of new PCC chief on April 30, next year. He said the party had set a target of enrolling ten lakh members, about one lakh more than the last organisational polls.

Nurpur, October 5
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has disagreed to the comments of PCC chief Vidhya Stokes that the public utterances of former Tourism Minister Vijay Singh Mankotia, who had been dropped from the Cabinet during the downsizing exercise, were not anti-party activity.

Replying to the volley of questions on this issue in a press conference here today, Mr Virbhadra Singh said, “If it was not anti-party activity then what is its definition.”

He said, “Who will be benefited politically by making such utterances just a few days before the Guler Assembly bypoll”. When asked whether you are demanding disciplinary action against Mr Mankotia after byelection, he said there was no need to it. He would realise and understand his wrongdoing and then everything would be alright.

Lashing out at BJP leaders for exploiting and instigating regional sentiments of Kangra district, he said the BJP leaders had been pretending to be Kangra’s well wishers but it was a hard fact that the interests of this district were damaged a lot due to the feud between Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal and Mr Shanta Kumar.

Refuting the charges of violations of the model code of conduct by the Congress in the electioneering in Guler byelection, the Chief Minister said the Congress was following the guidelines of the Election Commission (EC) in letter and spirit, whereas the BJP was filing false complaints to the EC after sensing its defeat in the byelection.

Talking about the selection of the IRDP and below poverty line (BPL) families in the state, he said the initial survey in this connection had been conducted on October 2 and a similar survey would be conducted in urban areas in near future.

He claimed that it was the first occasion in the state when a survey for all families living in the rural areas irrespective of their income and caste had been conducted.

On this occasion, local MLA and Revenue Minister Sat Mahajan and chairperson of the Women Commission Ms Vipolve Thakur were also present.

Shimla, October 5
The Chinese experts have finally drawn up a plan to mitigate the flood threat emanating from the natural lake formed due to the blockage of Parchu, a tributary of the Sutlej, by a huge landslide in Tibet three months ago.

The experts are of the firm view that it is not possible to remove the massive blockage and the “Karak Lake”, as the Chinese call it, will be a permanent feature.

Further, given the enormous size of the blockade and the rocky strata, it is not likely to give way. However, to ensure that the new water body does not cause undue alarm next summer, when water level will rise again due to the melting of glaciers, they propose to drive a channel through the long blockade.

The idea is to have a channel wide enough to ensure that the outflow matches or exceeds the inflow during peak summer so that the water level does not rise alarmingly to revive the flood threat.

In August last, the inflow had touched 40 cumecs (cubic metre per second) as against the outflow of 7 cumecs due to which the water level rose abruptly causing a flood scare along the banks of the Sutlej downstream.

The Chinese plan to carry out the exercise later this month as and when the weather clears.

Since the blockage site is virtually inaccessible, efforts will be made to airdrop experts and workmen. Most of the work will have to be carried out manually as heavy machinery and other equipment could not be taken to the site.

The Chinese authorities have refused permission to the Indian experts to visit the site for strategic and security reasons but assured that the Indian government would be kept informed about the operation.

The plan has been drawn up on the request of the Indian government, which wanted a permanent solution to the problem. A six-member Indian team had visited China in the third week of September in this connection.

The Chinese authorities have also informed that with the decrease in inflow, the water level has over the past one month declined significantly.

The depth of the lake has come down from 40 m to 26 m. However, the quantum of impounded water is still too large. Hence, the need to create a channel to maintain sufficient discharge from the water body to keep the level within safety limits.

Shimla, October 5
The Himachal Pradesh Government has taken a number of steps to increase productivity of livestock in the hill state.

A number of schemes are being implemented through the state Livestock Development Board to upgrade milk cattle through cross-breeding.

Indigenous animals are being cross-bred with Jersey and Holstein using the artificial insemination technique. As many as five cattle farms have been set up for the purpose.

Artificial insemination facility is being provided through 1,324 veterinary institutions in the state.

The Government of India has approved grant-in-aid amounting to Rs 12.75 crore to the state for three years and the first instalment of Rs 3.20 crore has been 
released.

It will be utilised for strengthening artificial insemination facilities to ensure 100 per cent coverage of breedable cattle. Last year 3,64,775 cows and 53,987 buffaloes were inseminated artificially.

A network of institutions has been set up to provide veterinary care. There are 2,133 veterinary institutions, including seven polyclinics, 328 hospitals and central dispensaries, 14 mobile dispensaries and 1,784 dispensaries. Out of these, 136 veterinary institutions were opened last year.

Besides, two fully equipped disease investigation laboratories at Kamand and Shimla undertake disease diagnosis promptly. Epidemiological units located at Shimla carry out disease diagnosis promptly. The epidemiological unit located at Shimla carries out a disease surveillance work in the state.

Veterinary institutions are providing certified seeds of cultivable fodder crops to farmers for which 50 per cent subsidy is being given to identified poor families, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women. Farmers are being supplied improved fodder grass roots and plants.

They are also encouraged to establish milk dairies and societies. Milk procurement, processing and marketing in the state is being undertaken by the State Milk Federation. It procured 100.89 lakh litres of milk from the farmers last year.

Apart from this, the District Rural Development Agency is working towards boosting dairy activities. It is implementing dairy development in Mandi, Hamirpur, Kangra and Chamba districts at a cost of Rs 28.25 crore.

MALANA (Kulu): Balak Ram, Rajest and Sawaran share many things in common: They are in their late teens, are married at an early age, are school droupouts, smoke and play billiards, a new-found rage in this drug haven. They represent Malana’s new generation, which is modern and exposed to the low-budgeted tourist culture. But they are falling prey to the menace of gambling

The Malana kids, including youngsters, are taking to gambling under the very nose of its own police as the pool parlour has reached the village and is run by the an outsider. Even though outsiders are not supposed to run the business like this.

Even the traditional game of Ghothi, a game of stone aiming at the stone played by even the elders, has degenerated into gambling as the kids play not with the stones, but the coins with the intention of wining.

Like their elder brothers play the billiards in the pool parlour, the younger lot plays the game morning till late evening. The groups of children, including girls can be spotted in each lane and bylanes of the village, playing this new game with coins. Most of them are school dropouts but like to stay in the village.

Though Malana’s 11-member “panchayat” has its own moral police to enforce its own moral code of conduct that keeps a tab on the strangers, including crime and bad habits among its inhabitants, but the four-member police team seemed to have no idea of the whole business going on.

Expressing its ignorance about the gambling menace, one of the members told The Tribune that the team had never thought that the children would be spoiled this way by parlour or the Ghothi. “We will take up the matter with the 11-member body as nobody knows the children taking to the gambling”, he adds.

“It is a leisure game and we enjoy playing it”, says Balak Ram, who left school after eighth and has got a son at who is a major now. “I have got the shed on rent and charge Rs 10 per game”, adds Mr Rajesh, who hails from Jari village, about 20-25 km from Manala.

Mr Budh Ram, a former block development committee member, agrees that the children are imitating the bad elements of the western culture. Foreigners had taught them how to grow high-quality charas as they did not know that the cannabis cultivation was banned by the government.

Mr Anand Pratap Singh, Superintendent of Police , Kulu, said that the ‘game of coins’ was a serious trend, but the police could do little to control it as the villagers disallowed outsiders in the village.

Shimla, October 5
In yet another crime involving Nepalese in the state, three gurkhas have been arrested by the police for allegedly injuring and looting two persons near Kufri last night.

Three Nepalase, Dhan Singh, Shankar and Dhani Prasad, entered the house of a Nepali family, running a grocery shop in Kufri and tried to loot the family at about 10.30 pm, last night.

The three Nepalese, who were working as field labourers in Solan area, were aware about the family of two brothers, Mr Chet Ram and Mr Mohan Lal, doing good business and earning handsomely.

According to the Superintendent of Police, Mr J.R. Thakur, the three Nepalase bought ‘khukris’ from Sabathu and crackers from a shop in the Lower Bazar here to create a bomb scare.

“Since Dhan Singh had worked in the Kufri area for a few months, he was aware of the place and they all planned the looting,” said Mr Thakur.

After Mr Mohan Lal and his nephew resisted the looting attempt, the three gurkhas ran away after injuring the former.

On their way they waylaid Mr Chet Ram and looted Rs 5,804 from him. For fear of being arrested the three gurkhas escaped from the house of Mr Mohan Lal. Later, they tried to loot the store of the Food and Craft Institute at Kufri and in the process injured an NCC personnel, Mr Gulzar Ahmed, who has been admitted to hospital with serious injuries on the head and neck.

It was the police personnel at the naka on the Charabra chowk, who laid an ambush and arrested the three gurkhas, who were trying to escape on foot after they apprehended that checking of vehicles would be done by the police.

Meanwhile, the police had registered two cases under Section 341 and 392 of the IPC and Section 307 and 392 IPC and Section 27 of the Indian Arms Act. The police remand of the three Nepalese was also being sought, as they were being further interrogated by the police.

Shimla, October 5
With a sudden spurt in the crime-related incidents involving Nepalese, working as farm labourers in districts of Shimla, Solan, Kinnaur and Sirmour, surveillance has been stepped up, with intelligence reports also alerting the police against the possibility of Maoists infiltrating into Himachal.

Though no concrete evidence of these Nepalase in Himachal having Maoist links have been found, but as a precautionary measure the police has stepped up surveillance. This is especially being done in view of the large number of Nepalese, working permanently in the apple orchards in Shimla and Kinnaur districts and many of them engaged in vegetable cultivation in Solan and Sirmour belt.

The issue of the possible infiltration by Maoists figured at the meeting of senior police officials at Dehra Dun, recently. The Uttranchal police apprehend that due to the presence of a sizeable Nepalese population in certain pockets of Himachal, they could attempt to infiltrate into the state. These is a sizeable chunk of Nepalese population in Himachal Pradesh, Uttranchal and Uttar Pradesh.

“Last night’s looting is purely a crime-related incident and our response will be determined if some linkages with the Maoists are established during investigation,” remarked Additional Director General Police (ADGP), Law and Order, Mr Anirudh Uppal. He added that in view of the involvement of some Nepalese in crime related incidents in the state, surveillance was being maintained.

It was only last month that a bank manager was murdered in the Kotkhai area by two Nepali youth. Prior to this also there have been sensational crime like the triple murder case where a prominent city lawyer was murdered along with his family members by Nepalese.

Despite the involvement of a number of Nepalese in crimes like murder, looting and extortion, the state police does not have any figure about the number of Nepalese working in Himachal. “Like it is mandatory for foreigners to register themselves at the local police stations and produce their travel documents, there is no such procedure for Nepalese,” said SP, Shimla, Mr J.R. Thakur.

As a precautionary measure, the police is trying to impress on people that they should provide information to the police about the Nepalese engaged by them either in the orchards, fields or as domestic servants. In village, the local panchayats have been involved as part of the special campaign, especially in the districts of Shimla and Solan. Police officials say in the absence of a formal system of checking of Nepalese, it is only with the help of public cooperation that vigil can be 
maintained.

Solan, October 5
It is a tale of woes for the gullible 16-year-old, Kriti (name changed). The hapless girl who lost both her parents some years ago is allegedly a victim of physical assault and rape long before she could understand the harsh ways of life. The fact that her own brother-in-law-turned-tantrik allegedly raped her a number of times since 2001 is too much for her to make her trust anyone. With her elder sister Riti (name changed) turning a deaf ear to her complaints, the hapless girl finally mustered courage and reported the matter to the police on September 26.

Though the police finally arrested the brother-in-law, Kriti continues to live under the shadow of fear for having taken this step. Not only is she being harassed by her family but the fear of facing further onslaught for approaching the police has now become a cause of concern for her.

Believing that the law would finally come to her rescue Kriti had never wondered that the policemen would end up helping the culprit.

The rape suspect reportedly was provided with a mobile phone and a private car, when he was in three-day police remand. He was driven to Shimla by his wife for spot identification by the policemen. Kriti disclosed that her sister managed the whole spot identification show at Shimla, making policemen appear like puppets.

The sordid tale of rape started when Kriti was sent by her family from here to Shimla along with her brother-in-law in 2001. She was intimidated to maintain a silence or else would face moré abuse. Moreover, instead of giving her a sympathetic hearing her elder sister refused to believe her. The police, which sealed all accounts of Rriti, discovered that a sizeable part of the money had been used without the knowledge of Kriti, who was a major share holder in the property.

The state women’s rights commission secretary, Ms Amita Mahajan, said they had sought a detailed report from the district police on this but said she wasn’t aware if the victim was feeling intimidated at her own house. She added that the commission would arrange for a suitable place for her stay if such information was received by them. Kriti’s now staying with a friend now and has stopped going to school.

Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Police, Mr Gianeshwar Singh, has issued a show-cause notice to the policemen concerned at their laxity and has changed the investigating officer after receiving the complaint.

Shimla, October 5
To explore the marketing possibilities of fruit and vegetables grown in Himachal Pradesh, the state government has signed an MoU with the West Bengal government, where the horticultural produce would be sent.

An MoU to this effect was signed between the Managing Director of the HP Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC), Mr C.R.B. Lalit, and the MD of the West Bengal Food processing and Horticultural Development Corporation, Mr N. Hazara.

As per the broad terms of the MoU, Himachal Pradesh will initially supply four truckloads of quality apples to the West Bengal corporation at their cold storage in Malda.

Both the organisations have also agreed to supply cold storage facilities to each other at the most competitive rates so as to store their produce.

Besides this, the HPMC will also arrange to supply other fruits, vegetables like potatoes, peas and cabbage to West Bengal through refrigerated vans.

It is being felt that an agreement between the two states will go a long way in helping the growers, some of whom are already sending their produce to 
West Bengal.

McLeodganj, October 5
Even as hectic preparations were on for the Miss Tibet contest, the Prime Minister and his Minister for Religion and Education of the Tibetan Government-in-exile here today expressed strong reservations about the contest.

In an interview with The Tribune, The Prime Minister, Professor Samdong Rinpoche, said each human being had his or her individual capabilities and these cannot be judged in this manner from the outside, going by sheer looks of a person walking down the ramp.

“We are firm believers in the fact that the body is the home of the conscience. Beauty is skin deep and there can be no such contest of individuals wherein inner virtues could be put to test,” he said.

Asked if these were only his personal views, he replied that he held the same opinion in the capacity of the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government-in-exile as well. “These are also the view of the Tibetan Administration and it too thinks the concept is un-Tibetan,” he said.

And, he added, it was not that he was not modern. In fact, he said, he was a post-modern thinker and was saying this considering the scheme of things in the next century. “I say this very much in terms of the 22nd and 23rd centuries,” he said.

Moreover, he added, the whole idea was not a part of the Tibetan tradition and culture.

Commenting on a similar beauty contest being held in Tibet, he said, “Tibet is under Chinese occupation and whatever happens is as per their wishes. But here we are free to practice our culture and traditions,” he said.

Echoing his views, Mr Thupten Lungrig, Minister for Religion and Education, said that the cultures and traditions of India and Tibet were somewhat alike and exposure by girls was not considered acceptable.

“This is a concept of western culture and definitely alien to our society. Also, one wonders what is the benefit of organising all such beauty contests,” he said.

On the other hand, Mr Lobsang Wangyal, director of the Miss Tibet contest said these could be the views of the Prime Minister and the government, but not of the Tibetan people in general. “Moreover, the pageant is not a part of the governmental programme,” he said.

He further said in a way the whole contest was also bringing awareness about the Tibetan cause.

“When one reads the words ‘Miss Tibet’, Tibet is thought of as a separate entity and not a part of China. The popularity of the contest has only increased in the last three years. This year the number of contestants has risen to five,” he said.

The contest was scheduled for October 8 to 10 in McLeodganj.

Meanwhile, the Tibetan Film Festival, being organised along with the contest, kicked off today. Two Tibetan films, The Cup and The Seven Days in Tibet, were screened today. The award for the best Tibetan film, best documentary and best foreign feature film would be given on the last day of the contest.

Two govt offices to be shifted
Our Correspondent

Solan, October 5
In a major decision arrived at a meeting of the State Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board, the board has decided to shift the technical wings of its two regional offices to the district headquarters.

The two regional offices at Parwanoo and Paonta Sahib will now be at Solan and Nahan, respectively.

The move is aimed at facilitating officials to strike a better liaison among various departments. The board officials are on the lookout for suitable offices in the two district headquarters.

The scientific divisions of the two regional offices have, however, been retained at Parwanoo and Paonta Sahib.

Hamir Utsav starts
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, October 5
The two-day Hamir Utsav coinciding with the formation of the district started here today. Deputy Commissioner Devesh Kumar inaugurated the sports events in the morning.

Sports events in kabaddi and volleyball will be held during the meet.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will formally inaugurate the cultural programme late this night. The Chief Minister is busy with the byelection in the Guler Assembly constituency.