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Students given forced haircut
No check on sale of spurious drugs
Way stations to be set up to check monkey
menace
No impact of VHP bandh call
HPTDC staff demand minister's dismissal |
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Hospital gardener kills self
World Bank to give Rs 550 cr for HP roads, says
CM
DD News now available from Kasauli centre
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Students given forced haircut
Dharamsala, November 22 The incident took place on Friday, when after the morning assembly, the Principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Mr Tek Chand Rana, called for a barber and got hair of nearly 50 students from Class VI to XII chopped off. The students were then asked to go to the market and get a proper hair-do. “This was done to maintain discipline after repeated directions to the students to get hair cut for over a month fell on deaf ears. We even informed their parents by way of notes on the report cards but to no avail,” said Mr Rana. “We have this practice in the school to check every week if the students have their nails and hair in proper shape to maintain basic hygiene. Moreover, the barber only brought the hair to regular length to ensure that the students visited a saloon,” he added. Not buying these arguments, angry villagers have given representations to the local administration, demanding action against the school Principal. Mr Rattan Gautam, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Jaisinghpur, said he had ordered an inquiry to be conducted by the Tehsildar concerned to find out what exactly happened that day. “The representations have been forwarded to the Deputy Director, Secondary Education so that he too could look into the matter,” he said. Spearheading the agitation, Mr Purshotam Bhatt, vice-president of the village panchayat, said the students were not given any warning in this regard and it came as a bolt from the blue for them. The students could have been fined, like they are for not wearing proper uniform. “The hair was chopped off in the most shoddy manner and students had to hide their heads with their hands till they could find a barber,” he said. “More than 300 shops in the village were kept closed today to protest against the incident and a meeting of parents would be held tomorrow to chalk out the future course of action. We want that the Principal should be removed at once,” he said. The Principal, meanwhile, alleged that the entire issue was being politicised for vested interests. “Most of those raising the issue are not even parents of students and have no genuine reason to grumble. This is why they beat up the barber instead of coming to me,” he said. Interestingly, Mr K.C.Katoch, president of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the School, has no objection to the hair-cuts. “The Principal has every right to maintain discipline in school, he said. Meanwhile, the barber, Mr Gyan Chand, has registered a complaint at the Lambagaon police station, alleging that he was beaten up and threatened by certain persons who trespassed into his shop.
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No check on sale of spurious drugs
PALAMPUR: Despite tall claims made by the police and district health authorities there is no check on the sale of substandard and spurious drugs in this district. Though many chemist shops have been raided in the past two months but most of the raids yielded nothing as the persons involved in this trade had prior information of these raids. A senior officer of the state Health Department who did not want to disclose his identity, admitted that over 100 brands of substandard drugs were selling in different parts of the district. Even samples collected by the state department from various chemist shops, which were tested in the state government lab, also failed. Office of the Chief Minister on a complaint of a local organisation had also asked the district health authorities to check the sale of spurious drugs in the district. According to information collected, the business of spurious drugs had been flourishing in the district at the behest of medical officers posted in various government hospitals. Most of the substandard drugs are selling on the prescription of medical officers, who had patronised particular chemist shops. The patients are specifically directed by the doctors to buy medicines from these shops. If the patients buy medicines from other shops, they are asked by the doctors to return them. These doctors had been receiving handsome amount as commission from these companies every month. Records of the local sub divisional hospital revealed that the doctors had been repeatedly prescribing a particular brand of medicines to their patients for the past two years. Indoor record of the hospital also established that doctors had been prescribing a particular drug for his or her patients for the past one year. It is all in the notice of senior officers, including Secretary, Health, Government of Himachal Pradesh, but nothing has been done to improve the affairs. It is on record that the sale of standard drugs has come down in the district. A leading chemist and a wholesale dealer of medicines disclosed to The Tribune that though the standard company medicines were cheaper in the market but doctors were not prescribing them as they did not get commission or other incentive from such companies. He said the margin of profit on substandard and spurious medicines was between 200 to 300 per cent and part of it went to the doctors. Besides cash, costly gifts, foreign tours and cars are also given by the company if they meet the required targets. Most of the companies manufacturing substandard and spurious drugs are located at Amritsar, Mohali, Delhi and other places. The medicines are transported through HRTC buses to avoid sales tax since the buses are not inspected on the tax barriors.
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Way stations to be set up to check monkey
menace
Shimla, November 22 There are as many as 22 troops of monkeys with a total strength of over 2,000 located at various places along the 90-km highway and have become a nuisance for motorists and villagers. The habit of people to feed the monkeys has made things worse. The primates have been emboldened enough to attack passersby. The government also plans to make feeding of monkeys at public places and roads a punishable offence. It has sent a proposal to amend Section 289 of the IPC to the Centre for approval in this regard. The animals will be kept at the way stations in enclosures spread over one hectare so that they could move around freely. These will be developed into an animal welfare centres with veterinary facilities, Mr A.K. Gulati, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), said. In the first phase, three such centres would be established. If the effort helped in containing the monkey menace, similar centres would be established in various temples, he said. As the translocation of the animals into deep forests would provide only temporary relief, long-term measures were necessary to find a permanent solution to the problem. The department would also set up a monkey and other animals’ welfare centre at Tuti Kandi here with the help of Mr Rajinder Gupta, an NRI who is willing to fund the project. A society with Mr Gupta as president and Mr Gulati as member secretary has been formed to implement the project. The department will have to get the proposal to set up the way stations and the welfare centres approved by the Central Zoo Authority. |
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No impact of VHP bandh call
Shimla, November 22 Addressing party workers, Mr Shanta Kumar said the manner in which the seer had been arrested had hurt the sentiments of his followers all over the country. “While politician facing serious charges are lodged in rest houses while they are being interrogated and questioned, it is so unfortunate that a highly revered spiritual guru with a huge following has been put behind bars as if he is a criminal,” he said. Mr Shanta Kumar said the least that the Tamil Nadu Government could have done was to treat the seer with respect and extend him basic courtesies that a man of his stature and standing deserves. “Even after the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks that the Shankaracharya should be treated in accordance with his stature, there was no improvement in the treatment being meted out to him,” he lamented. This only reflects the indifference and token sympathy being expressed by the Central Government. The state BJP chief, Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, and former health minister, J.P. Nadda also addressed the party workers. Others who participated in the protest include Lok Sabha MP, Mr Suresh Chandel, former MP Mr Maheshwar Singh, former ministers Kishan Kapoor, Mr Radha Raman Shastri, former MLAs Mr Dulo Ram, Mr Mahender Sofat and Mrs Urmil Thakur. The call for bandh given by the VHP had no impact in the capital as all shops and commercial establishments remained open. CHAMBA: The district unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad took out a protest march in the main bazaar of the town. Local VHP leaders presented a memorandum to the Centre through the local administration. They said the Shankaracharya of Kanchi was innocent and allegations levelled against him were baseless. They demanded his unconditional release from police custody. Hamirpur: The district BJP, led by its state secretary, Mr Rasil Singh Mankotia, and district general secretary Vinod Thakur, submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner in protest against the arrest of Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswati. The memorandum demanded an immediate release of the seer. The memorandum alleged that by arresting the seer, the Tamil Nadu Government had tried to hurt the sentiments of the Hindus. Earlier about 80 BJP leaders and workers took out a silent procession through main bazaar and reached the district courts to show their feelings to the district administration and the Central Government. The BJP leaders dubbed the action of Tamil Nadu Government as anti-people in general and anti-Hindus in particular. They appealed to the Hindus to be united to face this challenge which had been thrown on them. However, no bandh was observed in any part of the district on the call given by the VHP. KULU: It was a partial response to the bandh call given by the VHP in protest against the arrest of Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati here in this district. Business establishments in Kulu and Bhuntar remained closed but markets in Manali and Banjar towns were open. However, the government and private company offices functioned normally. Buses, taxis and three-wheelers plied and life of commuters was not affected. The unique feature of today’s Bandh at the district headquarters was that the office-bearers of the ruling Congress were seen urging people to close their shop and restaurants along with VHP activists. Activists of VHP and ABVP took out a procession through the streets of this town raising slogans against the alleged victimisation of the seer. There was no report of any untoward incident. |
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HPTDC staff demand minister's dismissal
Shimla, November 22 Reacting sharply to the suspension of two officials of the HPTDC ordered by Mr Bali last week, the representatives of the employee's associations said they would not tolerate such "dictatorial attitude" of the minister and would not hesitate to move court against the injustice being meted out to him. Addressing a press conference here today, one of the suspended officials, Mr Inder Bhardwaj, Deputy General Manager (Transport), said Mr Bali had taken such a step without giving them an opportunity to be heard. "We are employees of the HPTDC and not of Mr Bali's factory that he can treat us the way he wishes to," he said. "We will not tolerate this jungle raj, unleashed by Mr Bali and it is high time the Chief Minister intervenes or else we will take extreme steps," he said. Seeking intervention of the Chief Minister, they said Mr Bali's style of functioning was demoralising the employees who were doing their best to offer best services to the tourists coming to Himachal. "Since we are running hotels, restaurants and buses, there are bound to be complaints but these do not warrant such strong action," remarked Mr Bhardwaj. The representatives of the HPTDC Officers Association and the HPTDC Employees Association, who were present in full strength, said they would not allow the merger of the transport wing of the HPTDC with the HP Road Transport Corporation, as per the wishes of Mr Bali. "We have served the HPTDC for more than 30 years and it is not Mr Bali, who is just three months old in the ministry, who will tell us what discipline is," they quipped. The employee's leaders said while the passengers who had complained to Mr Bali for delay in departure of a bus had appreciated the services of the tourism employees, the minister had rewarded them by suspending them. |
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Hospital gardener kills self
Shimla, November 22 By the time they reached there, he was found dead. The Superintendent of Police, Mr J.R. Thakur, said on the basis of preliminary investigation, it appeared to be a case of suicide as a note had been found near the body, but the police was investigating the matter. “It was only Hiru Ram who had the keys to the lock on the gate of the garden, where he was found lying,” said Mr Thakur. A kerosene can, keys and a half-burnt suicide note was found near the body. The family members of Hiru Ram said as per his daily routine, he left home to water the plants early and appeared to be normal. He is survived by his wife, a married daughter and two sons. The SP said forensic experts had examined the body and the spot where it was found. The body has been sent for post-mortem. |
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World Bank to give Rs 550 cr for HP roads, says
CM
Nahan, November 22 He said the government was committed to linking every panchayat with a motorable road within three years. He said the state government had approved over 3,000 industrial units till date. Over 1.40 lakh youths in the state would get employment in the private sector during the next few months. He warned that industrialists denying 60 to 70 per cent employment for local youths would be
dealt with strictly. The Chief Minister announced the opening of an ITI at Bogdhar village under the Renuka Assembly constituency. Mr G.R. Musafir, Speaker Vidhan Sabha, Col Dhani Ram Shandil (retd), Member of Parliament, Dr Prem Singh, Mr Harshvardhan Chauhan, Mr Sukhram Chaudhry and Mr Sadanand Chauhan, all MLAs, Mr Rajender Singh Thakur, Chairman, Zila Parishad, Sirmaur, former MLA Kush Parmar, Mr Rattan Singh, Mr Ajay Bahadur Singh and the Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur, Mr M.L. Sharma, also spoke on the occasion. An attractive cultural programme was also presented. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for a bridge on the Jalal river near Dadahu this morning. The 280-metre-long bridge will be constructed at a cost of Rs 5.17 crore and will benefit residents of over 38 panchayats of the Dharti Dhar and Sain Dhar areas in the district. Earlier, he presided over a meeting of the Renuka Development Board and announced an increase in the annual grant from the Himachal Government to the board from Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakh. |
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DD News now available from Kasauli centre
Kumarhatti, November 22 The ministry concerned had already approved a plan to relay the commercial FM service of AIR Chandigarh through Kasauli tower, informed Mr Duhan. |
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