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Shimla, December 13 With the situation in Jammu and Kashmir improving, the Himachal police too is heaving a sigh of relief as intelligence reports indicate that the state no longer remains a soft target for the militants to strike and extend their area of operation. Job opportunities have gone up, says Virbhadra Nalagarh, December 13 Asserting government’s resolve to provide employment to the Himachali youth, the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today said that the government had enhanced the mandatory intake of Himachali youth from the existing 65 per cent to 70 per cent. Waste plant runs into rough weather Solan, December 13 With local municipal solid waste disposal agency Jan Sewa Ashram’s waste disposal plant running into rough weather, efforts are now afoot to find an alternative agency. Shimla gears up for Christmas, New Year’s Eve Shimla, December 13 Hoping for a white Christmas, the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) and private hoteliers are gearing up for New Year celebrations in a big way.
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Congress to strengthen
party at grassroots level Shimla, December 13 The Congress has decided to strengthen the party at the grassroots level by giving due importance to booth-level committees. Mr K.C. Lanka, Chairman, Himachal Pradesh Election Authority, addressing a press conference here yesterday, said the organisational elections, including that of the state Congress chief in Himachal, would be over by April 30, 2005. He said 29,051 members would participate in the election process. No takers for 22 posts of doctor Specialists’ exodus hits patient care Mandi, December 13 As the proposal to increase the pay packet of medical specialists is hanging fire in the Secretariat, the exodus of specialists from government hospitals to the private ones continues to hit the patient care in Himachal Pradesh. Sambar’s body parts seized, 2 held
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Relief in HP as J&K situation improves Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, December 13 However, round-the-clock vigil is still being maintained along the 250 km border that the state shares with Jammu and Kashmir. Intelligence reports from the troubled state and the Army indicate that with the overall terrorist pressure reducing, chances of militants striking in Himachal stand minimised. Interestingly, the number of madrasas and makhtabs, imparting religious education to Muslim students, has also come down. Though there is only a small Muslim population in Himachal, after 1995 new madrasas mushroomed in almost every part of the state. As per the police data, there are six large madrasas and 46 makhtabs, most with around 10 children, in the state. Out of the six madrasas, three are in Sirmour, two in Shimla and one at Nalagarh in Solan district. Out of the 46 makhtabs, 18 have practically closed down, as children attending these also attend regular school and it is only on the availability of a maulvi that the children come for religious knowledge. The makhtabs are located in villages and small towns where the number of Muslim families as rarely more than 10. “Both the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the state police are maintaining vigil along the Chamba border in Kehar, Tissa, Pangi and Khairi sectors as we cannot completely rule out a strike by militants, though the chances stand reduced,” says Mr I.D. Bhandari, Inspector-Generel of Police (CID). He adds that till date there are no reports of any anti-national activity or support to militant organisations by these madrasas or makhtabs. The total number of students enrolled in these 52 madrasas and makhtabs is 1,929. Barring the big madrasas, like the one at Misrawala in Sirmour district and one at Boileauganj here, these are often run only for a few months, depending on the availability of a maulvi. The number of staff at these madrasas and makhtabs is 107, most of whom are from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh. “Since the overall pressure in Jammu and Kashmir has reduced, it is natural that Himachal would not be on the hit list of militants who used the state as a pressure point to extend their area of operation,” say officials. Apart from the minor incidents, the carnage at Kalaban-Satrundi, where militants gunned down 35 labourers on August 2 , 1998, are reminders of the spillover of militancy from the trouble-torn state.
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Job opportunities have gone up, says Virbhadra Our Correspondent Nalagarh,
December 13 Addressing a public meeting at Nalagarh after dedicating a bridge constructed across the Sarsa bridge to public he said the government was serious in its endeavour to address the problem of unemployment. He said the central industrial package which had brought investment worth Rs 5,000 crore to the state had opened vast vistas for employment. Taking a serious note of the industrial units showing laxity in beginning their operations he said permission for such units would be cancelled if they failed to set up their units within a specified time. Taking the former Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, to task on the issue of MoU he said had Mr Dhumal not signed it on April 10, 1999, without taking either his Cabinet collegues or his ministers into confidence the state would not have been forced to execute it now. He said while the Congress government had ammended the stringent terms of the MoU it was being ensured that the functional posts in various departments were duly filled. It was the then Chief Secretary, Mr A.K. Goswami, who had signed the MoU during the term of the previous government. Giving figurative details of various development works executed by his government he said as many as 21,000 posts had been approved to be filled in various departments. Earlier, he dedicated Sarsa bridge constructed at a cost of Rs 7.61 crore on the Nalagarh-Ghanauli road to public. The bridge which had been washed away several years ago obstructed traffic influx especially during monsoon. He said the PWD had been specially instructed to maintain the NH 21-A connecting NH-22 and NH-21 in good condition as the Nalagarh-Baddi area which was fast emerging as an industrial hub carried the impression of the state to the investors. Earlier, the newly nominated PCC chief and Industries and Cooperatives Minister, Mr Kuldeep, addressing people during his maiden public rally after assuming charge said the pace of development could be accelerated only by a harmonious relationship between the government and the organisation. While all factionalism had come to an end after his assuming charge he said the rising debt to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore was a matter of concern to the state. Cautioning those partymen using media as a tool for airing their grievances he said it tantamount to indiscipline and strict action would be taken against those indulging in such tactics. The gathering was attended among others by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Dharam Pal, the Doon MLA, Mr Lajja Ram, officials of various departments and heads of various party organisations.
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Waste plant runs into rough weather Ambika Sharma Solan, December
13 The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rajesh Kumar, recently convened a meeting with officials of the jan sewa ashram and the executive officer of the municipal committee to thrash out the matter. He said they were holding discussions to see if the agency could continue running the plant or not. The secretary, IPH, which had constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the DC in October had sought a detailed report into the working of the project. The fact that Jan Sewa Ashram had failed to provide both the municipal committee as well as the district administration with the details of the plant’s working, the committee had been assigned the job to submit a fact-finding report to the secretary, IPH. The Salogra-based plant which had been receiving lakhs of funds from Norad, a Norwegian-based funding agency, had not only been charged with using second-hand machinery but also of having sub-let the plant to another agency. The plant, which was supposed to convert the bio-degradable municipal waste into manure, had failed in its objective. The manure, which contained toxic substances owing to non-segregation of bio-medical waste, had been declared unfit for utility. Further, it had been served a number of notices by the state Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board to erect a proper wall around its premises. Being located on the National Highway-no-22, it had become a cause of stench for the entire area in the absence of a proper boundary wall. Its power supply had remained suspended for some time after it failed to execute the directions of the pollution control board. The committee, which had provided it the land, was also responsible for transporting the waste to the site. Not only this, the committee had no clue how the funds provided to it were utilised as despite repeated directions from the committee the officials of the plant had not submitted any project report. Neither were any details of the manure produced and provided to the committee after it failed to run the plant successfully. Even funds provided by the State Council for Science and Technology for its monitoring had not found its proper utility. The municipal committee had refused to take over the plant in the absence of any project report and details about its fund utilisation at a meeting convened by the secretary, IPH, in October. The executive officer, Mr B.R. Negi, said that the committee would require an annual financial assistance of Rs 22 lakh to run it smoothly.
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Shimla gears up for Christmas, New Year’s Eve Tribune News Service Shimla,
December 13 Special packages are being offered by government owned as well as private hotels to attract tourists, who wish to celebrate Christmas and New Year in Shimla. Special evenings will be organised at all 10 HPTDC-owned hotels. The HPTDC has already started receiving bookings. “Some of the places are already 50 per cent booked for the last week of December and in case it snows we are confident of 100 per cent occupancy,” said Mr T.R. Verma, Deputy General Manager, Marketing and Planning. He added that the most popular destinations for tourists are Chail, Barog and Shimla. The HPTDC is offering attractive packages to the winners at the Christmas and New Year parties, which includes free stay at one of their hotel. However, the big New Year bash, jointly organised by the Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association, will not be held this year due to non availability of a bigger venue as the private hotels will be holding parties at individual level. “We have made preparations, including dance parties and performance by artistes so that the tourists can thoroughly enjoy the evening,” says Mr M.K. Seth, President of the Association. The bigger hotels are already in touch with stars who would perform for the revellers.
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BJP to target govt policies in House Our Correspondent Hamirpur,
December 13 He said the state was not safe under the present regime as it was facing worst fiscal crisis since Independence. He said by signing the MoU, the state government had virtually sold the interests of the state to the Central Government. Mr Dhumal said corruption was rampant in the state and no work was being done without money transaction. He said the party would grill the state government on the issue of various contracts being given to non-Himachalis by accepting huge favours from them. He said the legislature group of the party would meet at Shimla on December 16 to chalk out the strategy to be adopted in the Vidhan Sabha session.
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Congress to strengthen
party at grassroots level Tribune News Service Shimla, December 13 He said in order to strengthen the party, the AICC chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, had decided that presidents of booth-level committees would be given importance on a par with the state PCC chief or the District Congress Committee chief. Apart from 33 per cent reservation for women and 20 per cent representation to Scheduled Caste and Tribes, adequate representation would be given to the youth. “We will soon constitute state and district-level scrutiny committees and two active members would be elected from each booth-level committee. Earlier, he addressed a meeting of the state executive, DCC chiefs, MLAs, MPs and ministers.
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No takers for 22 posts of doctor Specialists’ exodus hits patient care Kuldeep Chauhan Tribune News Service Mandi, December 13 An advertisement to fill 22 posts of specialist like gynaecologist, paediatrician and surgeon and anesthetist by the Health Department has received a poor response for the second time. Though the health officials say that they have interviewed six doctors for the 22 posts but insiders revealed that the response remained almost nil as the government is offering a paltry pay packet of Rs 16,000 a month on contract basis to the specialists who earn from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 a month while working in private hospitals. Sources told The Tribune that despite the fact that the Health Department advertised the posts for the second time, but the government was able to appoint a single specialist in Kangra hospital. Members of the Himachal Pradesh Medical Officers Association (HPMOA) cite the poor pay packet, pathetic working conditions and lack of facilities and poor infrastructure available at government hospitals as the prime reasons for specialists not ready to work in government hospitals in the state. “We have taken up the issues like the restoration of the PG increment withdrawn in 1998 and the poor working conditions with the health officials, but nothing has emerged on that front so far,” said Dr Jiva Nand Chauhan, general secretary, HPMOA, said. “We have requested the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, to look into the problem as it has hit patient care in the state,” he said, adding that patients have to go out for treatment to the PGI and other hospitals. Ever since the government abolished the PG increment and other facilities for specialists in 1998, there followed an exodus of doctors from government hospitals to the private ones which offer better pay packet and facilities, said doctors. “Over 40 specialists have already left government hospitals during the past six years in the state out of which 10 doctors were from Zonal Hospital, Mandi, which has over 28 posts still vacant,” disclosed doctors. Health Secretary P.C. Kapur said that the department had proposed to hike the pay packet of specialists from Rs 16,000 to Rs 20,000. “We hope that it would be cleared soon by the Finance Department. We will fill the vacancies soon as there is a shortage of specialists like gynaecologists, surgeons, paediatricians and anesthesists in the country as such”, he added.
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Sambar’s body parts seized, 2 held Tribune News Service Jagatkhana (Una),
December 13 Mr Prabhat Bhatti of the NGO said they had come to know that a female sambar had been killed by some hunters. A police team under the supervision of CIA Inspector Ajay Rana searched the house of panch Bachittar Singh and seized 12 anklets. The house of panch’s brother Jagtar Singh was also searched. Sambar’s decapitated head and legs were recovered. Body parts of many other wild animals were also seized. A young sambar was also recovered from the house of a priest. Villagers said the sambar’s mother was killed by the hunters. The young sambar, however, escaped and reached the temple, where the priest treated it. Meanwhile, the police has booked the panch and his brother under the Wildlife Act.
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Bias in mid-day meals scheme, says CPM Tribune News Service Shimla,
December 13 The matter came up for discussion at the 12 th state conference of the CPM, where it was pointed out that glaring examples of untouchability had come to the fore as children belonging to the reserved category were being discriminated against. “It is unfortunate that despite reports of such discrimination appearing in media every now and then the government had not taken any steps to check it,” said Mr Rakesh Singha, state secretary of the party. It was reiterated that the demand for scrapping of the MoU on fiscal reforms, signed by the state government with the Centre, would continue as it was harming the interest of the youth, farmers and employees. In all 12 resolutions were passed at the conference, which would basically act as the guiding force for the party unit in the state. Mr Singha, informed that a resolution on economic demands of the state was passed in which it was emphasised that the state must have 25 per cent equity in all hydel projects being executed in the state and the royalty should be increased from 12.5 to 25 per cent. The participants at the conference which was addressed by party leaders, Mr Sita ram Yechury, also lashed out at the BJP for its efforts of spreading communalism and regionalism in the state. A new 25-member state committee was elected at the conference. Mr Rakesh Singha was elected as the new state secretary of the party.
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17 injured as tempo falls into gorge Our Correspondent Nahan,
December 13 The accident took place on the Paonta-Yamunanagar road. The ill-fated tempo was on its way to Hoshiarpur from Hardwar. Out of 25 persons travelling in the tempo, 22 belonged to one family. All injured were rushed to Paonta subdivisional Hospital. Five of the seriously injured were referred to PGI, Chandigarh. Jagir Singh (70) was brought dead to the PGI. The condition of four others is critical. Police personnel and other officials visited the spot and supervised the rescue operation.
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Shanta, Dhumal bury the hatchet? Tribune News Service Mandi, December
13 Though Mr Shanta Kumar avoided a direct comment or reference to the issue of BJP leadership in the state, he appeared in an upbeat mood. Both leaders travelled in the same vehicle from the Circuit House to the venue of the state executive meeting at Beas Sadan and shared breakfast and lunch. Though the BJP at the moment has chosen to be mum on the issue of state leadership, signs are that Mr Advani might choose one who leads from the front, taking the party workers along as a team. “Those who curry favour or talk about Dhumal or Shanta camps will face disciplinary action”, said members of the state executive. Asked about the leadership change in the state, Mr Shanta Kumar was quick to respond, saying “there is no need for the same”. Both leaders, who once spit venom against each other, appeared cordial and in good mood. Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, state BJP President, considered to be close to Mr Shanta Kumar, appeared cheerful in the company of Mr Dhumal. What is significant is that the BJP leaders have put the issue of lower-upper political divide in deep freeze at the moment, choosing to ignore the charges of discrimination against lower Himachal against the ruling Congress.
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Man posing as Major held Our Correspondent Chamba, December 13 The Additional Superintendent of Police, Chamba, Mr N.D. Sharma, said here today that Mr Amar Singh, an official of the Intelligence Bureau, working in Tissa border sector reported this case at police station Tissa. According to the report lodged with the police, Mr Amar Singh stated that the fake Major Ajay Pal Singh was noticed taking measurements of the youths who had assembled at the PWD rest house on the outskirts of Tissa township for recruitment in the Indian Air Force and IB. As there is no such rank in the Air Force, Mr Amar Singh got suspicious and asked him to show his identification, but the identity shown by the fake Major was a fraudulent identity card. A case has been registered with the Tissa police station under Sections 419 and 170 of the Indian Penal Code.
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12 students hurt in
group clash Our Correspondent Kangra, December 13 According to reports the trouble started when a senior student expressed his displeasure at the juniors for not having their breakfast in the mess. As a punishment the junior students were asked to slap each other. When the junior students protested a fight broke out between the juniors and the seniors. The police said the matter was amicably settled and no case was registered.
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Block Congress chief resigns Our Correspondent Kangra, December
13 In a press note issued here today, Captain Krishen Chand said Mr Susheel Awasthi, general secretary, Dharam Chand, a former pradhan of Ansoli village, Dinanath, a former pradhan of Tiara, Uttam Dogra joint secretary, Block Congress Committee, have resigned from their posts in protest today. In a letter to the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee Chief, Mr Kuldeep Kumar, Captain Krishen Chand alleged that Mr Kaku ignored the Congress party workers after he was elected.
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Hospital fined for negligence Our Correspondent Sundernagar,
December 13 The forum held the private hospital guilty of not providing the patient with proper post-operative care and termed it as “negligence”. According to the complainant when he was unconscious after the operation, a hospital attendant placed a hot water bottle on his right foot, due to which he received serious injury to his foot, with third-degree burns.
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