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Vision document to focus on
e-governance
Sheila backs Amarinder on SYL canal issue
Maulana Sadiq quiet on his detention at Chicago airport
India should take advantage of Pak flexibility on Kashmir: Geelani
Train mishap: voice recorder examined
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Alliance partner may quit AP ministry
Air defence ship to be ready by 2012
Union minister’s daughter in exam row
IAF asked to probe airspace violation by BDR
Acute anaemia bane of rural women
She fought disability from wheelchair
BJP wins Sundergarh seat
Defence
deals
Speedier environment clearance from July
BJP seeks CBI probe into Prabhunath’s allegation
Meeting discusses vulture conservation programmes
Sikkim gurdwara opened to public
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Vision document to focus on
e-governance
New Delhi, April 24 The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, which is piloting the initiative, has sought comments and views from various Ministries in preparing the note, which will be put before the Cabinet soon. While the basic objective, as defined in 1975 when the programme was first launched, will remain the same, the contours of the new roadmap are expected to undergo a major modification in the changed social and economic context. Sources said that several new goal posts such as e-governance, highway projects, Aids control programmes, inter-linking of rivers and social security benefits were among the new initiatives that were likely to be incorporated in the new TPP. The TPP was announced in 1975 and first re-structured in 1982. Subsequently, second re-structuring was done in 1986. The TPP-86 is presently in operation. The basic objective of the programme is to improve "the quality of life of the poor and the under-privileged population of the country". Presently, the TPP consists of 119 items out of which 65 items are monitored against physical targets and the remaining 54 items are monitored on evaluatory basis. The programme covers various socio-economic aspects like poverty, employment, education, housing, health, agriculture and land reforms, irrigation, drinking water, protection and empowerment of weaker sections, consumer protection, environment and responsie administration etc. The need for further restructuring of the TPP 86 is being felt constantly due to launching of several new schemes/programmes by the Central Government on the
basis of new initiatives. Also some of the existing programmes are required to be deleted as they have lost their relevance in the present scenario or achieved the desired objectives. An exercise for restructuring of TPP is in progress in consultation with the Central nodal ministries and State/UT Administrations. Sources said that the new TPP would specifically focus on institutional reforms with emphasis on decentralisation, simplification, transparency, accountability and e-governance. Telecommunications was another area, which would find explicit mention in the revamped TPP. Bridging the digital divide by increasing rural teledensity was likely to be among the key focus areas, the sources said. Furthermore, the programmes such as `Bharat Nirman' that was announced in this year's budget, might find mention in the new TPP as also initiatives for the unorganised sector, public distribution system, irrigation and food-for-work programme, the sources said. |
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Sheila backs Amarinder on SYL canal issue New Delhi, April 24 Ms Dikshit, who was present at a function organised by the DSGMC and SAD (Delhi) to felicitate Capt Amarinder Singh, said the Punjab Chief Minister had fought the state’s battle for the waters of the SYL canal. “He not only fought (for water) but showed a lot of grit,” Ms Dikshit said in her brief address. She also lauded Capt Amarinder Singh’s role in making it easy for devotees to visit Sikh shrines in Pakistan and to improve
infrastructure at these religious places. Capt Amarinder Singh said the state had no water to spare
and could not allow the situation to deteriorate. Capt Amarinder Singh said he could not speak more on the matter as it was sub-judice. The Chief Minister said his government was working for the release of detainees of militancy days. He said 17 of the 51 would be released soon while modalities for the release of those who faced multi-state cases were being worked out. He blamed the SGPC for failing to protect precious paintings and art work in some gurdwaras. He said he was not in favour of the gurdwaras in Pakistan coming under the control of the SGPC. The Chief Minister said power plants were being set up to provide uninterrupted power supply. Emphasis was also being laid on roads. The Chief Minister accepted demands of the DSGMC chief and SAD (Delhi) president Paramjit Singh Sarna for land to
construct a dharamshala in Amritsar. Capt Amarinder Singh said he would take up the demand of devotees for land near Sikh shrines in Pakistan to build spiritual homes. Former Punjab Deputy Speaker Bir Devinder Singh, Lok Bhalai Party chief Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, former Sikh Students Federation leader Jaswant Singh Mann, Punjab Congress leaders M.M.S. Singh Cheema and Paramjit Singh were among those present.
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Maulana Sadiq quiet on his detention at Chicago airport
Lucknow, April 24 Speaking to TNS soon after his return to the country, the maulana said: “Please don’t press me to speak on the issue. I am waiting for something. In a few days I will come clean. Till then you can report that “maine maun dhaaran kiya hua
hai” (I have vowed to be silent). While he is officially keeping quiet, people close to him say that US officials who had detained him for almost 40 hours at the airport treated him shabbily. They reportedly asked him about his role in the anti-US demonstration held in Lucknow in protest against the Iraq war. During his detention he was deprived of all his belongings, including the money that he was carrying. Later, he was deported to London. According to a member of the
AIMPLB, who refused to be identified, the US action was part of its renewed anti-Iran policy. “The maulana’s close contact with senior leaders in Iran is well known. He is a highly respected cleric who often visits Iran to deliver sermons. This makes him a ready target. After Iraq, it is now the turn of Iran”, he said. The maulana has not officially informed the AIMPLB about the incident nor is he speaking to the media. As such it is a matter of speculation if it will figure in the forthcoming general body of the AIMPLB at Bhopal later this month. The executive meeting preceding the general body may decide on the matter, a senior member of the board said. |
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India should take advantage of Pak flexibility on Kashmir: Geelani
New Delhi, April 24 Mr Geelani said "he would continue the struggle for right of self-determination" despite Pakistan "softening" its stand on the Kashmir issue. He said Pakistan's stand on Kashmir during President Pervez Musharraf's recent visit to India was different from his stand during the Agra summit. "Pakistan has come down from the position it took during the Agra summit with the hope that India will also come forward but that is not happening," he said. The Hurriyat leader, who met General Musharraf and complained about Pakistan giving "concessions" to India in the form of confidence building measures, was told that the new approach had been necessitated by the changed geo-political scenario in the wake of 9/11. Mr Geelani said General Musharraf told him that Pakistan was trying to find a solution to the Kashmir issue through friendship with India. However, Mr Geelani said that Pakistan would continue its "political, moral and diplomatic support to the struggle in Jammu and Kashmir." Mr Geelani, who heads the All -Party Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, said his organisation was not opposed to improvement in relations between India and Pakistan. "We don't want war. We don't want blood to spatter. But if we are denied fundamental rights, we would not sit quietly," he said. Mr Geelani said he wanted peace to return to Kashmir. "Every hair on my body itches for peace. But it cannot be attained by mere wishes. Peace cannot return unless practical, positive steps are taken," he said. Terming the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service as a "drama," he said: "it had come after 57 years and was being portrayed as a big concession." Mr Geelani said he had conveyed his reservations over the bus service to Mr Musharraf. Mr Geelani said :"The CBMs by India were meaningless until killings and human rights violations were stopped in Jammu and Kashmir and unless the country took tangible steps for resolution of the Kashmir issue in the spirit of the United Nations resolutions." He said India should "accept Kashmiris as the principal party to the Kashmir dispute and agree to hold tripartite dialogue to resolve it." Mr Geelani said to create "proper atmosphere for talks, India should pull out of security forces from the state, release detenues, curb human rights violations, allow visit by the Amnesty International and withdraw harsh laws." Kashmir issue, he said, was not a territorial dispute that could be settled by India and Pakistan. "The people of the state will not accept an imposed decision," he said. The Hurriyat leader said India should show the "moral strength to implement the promises made in the UN." On the threat to Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus passengers from some militant organisations, Mr Geelani said his organisation was opposed to violence against
innocent people. "Violence without aim is condemnable. But when your birthright is snatched what alternative you have," he said. Asked about Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin expressing his willingness on Kashmir-centric talks with the government, he said the militant leadership had put certain conditions for talks. To a question about his desire to go to
Pakistan and Pok to talk to militant leadership, as demanded by the moderate section of the Hurriyat, Mr Geelani said he had no such desire. "They (the militant leadership) are people who know. What will we persuade them about." Mr Geelani said the solution of Kashmir issue was "in India's hands." On suggestion by Pakistan for unity in the two groups of Hurriyat Conference, Mr Geelani said the other group was not following the constitution of the APHC and was responsible for the split. "If they follow the constitution, we can come together," he said. Mr Geelani, who has
differences with the moderate section over
earlier talks with the Centre, said that such dialogue will be meaningful
only when there was determination to resolve the Kashmir issue. |
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Train mishap: voice recorder examined
Vadodara, April 24 The Commissioner, who began his two-day public hearing at the Vadodara Station Manager’s office here this morning, examined the telephonic voices of Samlaya’s Assistant Station Master Y.S. Vankar and others recorded through a software device installed at the main control room at the Pratapnagar DRM office. A top Railway official assisting the Commissioner to find out the cause of the accident and human error, if any, said the voice recorder was played to identify the voices and know the exact conversations that had taken place between the Station Master and the cabinmen before the mishap took place in wee hours. Railway sources described the voice recorder as a vital piece of evidence in the case but refused to divulge details of its contents.
— UNI |
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Alliance partner may quit AP ministry
Hyderabad, April 24 Formed with the single point programme of carving out a separate Telangana state, the TRS, now sharing power with the Congress both at the
Centre and in the state, has found itself in an impasse over the issue. The party has two ministries at the Centre and six berths in the state. As the time is running out for the TRS to realise its stated goal, the sub-committee on Telangana constituted by the UPA government is moving at a snail’s pace. Formed in January last, the sub-committee headed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee held just one meeting. On the other hand, the sub-regional party is also worried over reports of film actress and BJP member Vijaya Shanti planning to form a new party to fight for a separate Telangana state. the TRS has nothing concrete to show to the people of Telangana on the eve of its foundation day on April 27. Not unexpectedly, while an anxious TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao met UPA chairman Sonia Gandhi yesterday to convey his unhappiness over the stalemate on Telangana, his colleague and another Central Minister K. Narendra spoke to Vijaya Shanti on phone
to dissuade her on plans for a new party. |
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Air defence ship to be ready by 2012
New Delhi, April 24 The revised cost of the construction of the ADS is Rs 2880 crore and the construction of the aircraft carrier is likely to be completed by 2011-12, he said. He said the government had not taken a final decision on the proposal for construction of Scorpene submarines by Indian Navy under transfer of technology. The minister said the light combat aircraft was planned for induction into the Indian Air Force from 2008 onwards. |
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Union minister’s daughter in exam row
Surat, April 24 Pro Vice-Chancellor Jayesh Deshkar said yesterday that the Committee of Examination Code of Conduct found “irregularities’’ in her answer-sheets of the MBBS (Ist year) supplementary examination held in December 2004. He said the committee was not satisfied with her explanation regarding the ‘’signs’’ of circles she allegedly made in her answer- sheet in the anatomy paper and recommended the Syndicate to debar her from appearing in the examination for six months and also slapped a fine of Rs 500. Mr Deshkar said now it was up to the Syndicate to take a final decision on the committee’s recommendation. However, committee member Hemant Topiwala said a detailed investigation of her answer-sheet was taken up following receipt of a complaint by the university from R.A. Patel. He said the committee had called back all her answer sheets in other subjects as well and found similar markings on page No. 4 and 8, apparently to ‘’influence the examiners’’.
— UNI |
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IAF asked to probe airspace violation by BDR
New Delhi, April 24 BSF Director General R.S. Mooshahary said the BDR helicopter “was seen a few hundred metres inside the Indian airspace”. “We have passed on this information to the IAF for investigation,” Mr Mooshahary said. The BSF said the BDR helicopter was seen flying over Chotakhil in Sabroom sub-division of Tripura and also in Magrum and Beltoli areas along the international border on Friday. The BSF Director General said the BDR had dug trenches on the Bangladesh side of the international border in Tripura and had been carrying out patrolling on their side. This comes in the wake of an incident where an Assistant Commandant of the BSF was allegedly abducted and killed by BDR personnel close to the Lankamura check-post near the international border. A BSF statement said the BDR had intensified its strength at Kurma in Srimangal district of Bangladesh and its soldiers had dug trenches along a part of the border and were carrying 51 mm mortar shells on routine patrols. |
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Acute anaemia bane of rural women
Lucknow, April 24 This clear linkage between the low status of women in the region and access to nutritional food and basic health amenities was established during the two-day North Zone consultation for the 10th International Women and Health Meeting (IWHM)to be held at Delhi later this year. The North zone consultation, which included participants from Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal , Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, was organised to help ‘internationalise’ women’s health concerns from the region. In Chhattisgarh , carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000 to accelerate development, things have not improved much. According to Shalini and Sulakshana, health activists and members of the state IWHM team, 68.7 per cent of women in the state have anaemia. The gender specific nature of the health problem becomes clear as anaemia is as high as 67 per cent among the female child as compared to 59 per cent among the male child. This figure is more alarming among tribal children where 73 per cent under the age of three have moderate to severe anaemia. Quoting NFHS–2 data, Shalini said 48 per cent of women in the state had a body mass index (BMI) below 18.5. As malnourishment in the tribal areas was higher here, 55 per cent of women had a low BMI. A micro study conducted in Manendragarh block in Koriya district brought out the startling fact that of the 600 tribal women 63 per cent were malnourished and 22 per cent of them severely so. Malaria is the single most common disease prevalent in the state resulting in further malnourishment and anaemia. Gastroenteritis is the second most serious health hazard. The unavailability of safe drinking water is to be blamed for it. With such high levels of malnutrition tuberculosis is the third major killer. According to the Chhattisgarh team, anti-TB drugs have not been made available by the government, resulting in a huge number of deaths in the region. According to Madhu Singh, a health activist from Dehra Dun, the nutritional deficiency is more prevalent among rural illiterate women. While these women grow the food and fodder, men undertake the marketing and keep the earnings, a major chunk of which is spent on liquor. |
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She fought disability from wheelchair
It is a truly incredible story of a wheelchair-bound Naseema Hurzuk, who refused to let her disability prevent her from spreading her wings. Instead she now relies on her experience to help rehabilitate others.
“I fail to understand how a babu sitting in his chair in New Delhi can draft policies for the disabled? It is people like us who can best tell what is right for the disabled. It is us who are qualified to tell whether a building is disabled-friendly or needs changes, ” says Naseema. Having championed the cause of the disabled, she has made rehabilitation of those with special needs her priority. “Even today a doctor will not tell a wheelchair-bound person how to live his life in that chair. When I was given this chair no one explained to me how I had to use the toilet or how to maintain hygiene. Sadly things are just the same still,” she regrets. Naseema lost the use of her legs when she was 16. While dancing on the stage during a school function she collapsed and what followed were endless sessions with pain. “There were days when I could not even stand. My parents and siblings took great care of me and I was under treatment for a long time. My condition worsened with time and finally I was bed-ridden,” she recalls. Once confined to the wheelchair, Naseeema took long to accept her condition, but with the help of her family and a former Dewan of Kolhapur, who also happened to be a handicapped, she began to live with a new jest. “Then there was no looking back. I finished my BA in economics and took up a job in the Central Excise Department,” she says, adding that it is her ambition to help paraplegics find a place for themselves in society. Naseema, fondly called “Naseema Didi” in Kolhapur, was in the Capital recently to release the English translation of her book, “Naseema the Incredible Story”, published by Viveka Foundation, a copy of which she presented to the President of India. “ I am very grateful to President Kalam for his support and the interest he takes,” she says. Having started the “Helpers of the Handicapped”, a movement in Kolhapur in 1983, Naseema like a proud mother narrates the success stories of the children and the adolescents who have been trained at her schools and centres to live life without being dependent. “..this one here has no hands, but comes first in all handwriting competitions, he writes with his feet. This one can cook food…she is a doctor…” the list goes on. “We have so far provided help to 4,500 persons,” she says, adding that “the government rehabilitation centres are not equipped to train those beyond 14 years. Unlike them, we retain disabled people till we are sure they can take care of themselves”. She adds, “We have a Disability Act but no comprehensive programme to integrate disabled persons into normal society. Schools even today refuse to admit disabled people, even those with normal sight and hearing, but orthopaedically challenged are refused admission. It is this discrimination that led us to start our integrated residential school, where we admit able-bodied children also”. A former Excise Department employee, Naseema runs a hostel-cum-rehabilitation centre called “Gharonda” in Kolhapur. She is hopeful that the government would replicate the rehabilitation centre set up by her so that more disadvantaged people are trained to become self-reliant. The centre’s 115 residents, besides being given education, treatment and rehabilitation, are also taught the skills of furniture and appliance making. “We make the equipment that disabled need, ” she tells with pride. “There still is a lot more to be done for those with disability. What the government has done is just not enough. To begin with there is no data about the exact number of the disabled and what kind of disability is the most prevalent. The only disability that we have been able to control is through polio, but for the ones caused by accidents or which are congenital there is a need to run special programmes,” she says. Claiming that the disabled are often not aware of the various schemes initiated by the government, Naseema says, “The government often replies that vacancies against posts meant for the disabled have not been filled because there are no suitable candidates. If that is indeed so, then there must be something wrong with the government rehabilitation programmes.” Elucidating, she says, “those students who graduate from schools run for the visually challenged or the hearing and speech impaired are not considered for jobs in those very schools on the grounds that they are incompetent. Whose fault is that? Does the government not need to do a reality check in such situations.” Naseema’s plans for the future include rehabilitation programmes for disabled orphans and older people. |
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BJP wins Sundergarh seat
Rourkela, April 24 While the BJP candidate polled 53,641 votes, the Congress nominee got 44,596 votes, the sources said after counting was completed this afternoon. The byelection for the constituency was held on April 21 following the death of BJP MLA Sankarshan Nayak in a road accident on January 11.
— PTI |
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Defence
deals
New Delhi, April 24 Though the Centre has referred a gamut of cases to the CBI and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee has placed a written statement before Parliament on the two controversial affidavits filed before the apex court, there seems to be some vital gaps between his statement and the contents of the affidavits. A close scrutiny of the two documents placed before the two highest constitutional bodies — Parliament and the Supreme Court — indicates some vital differences in the explanation offered on the purchases during the Kargil war. Defence Minister's statement says that the first affidavit, over which the entire controversy arose, clarifies the modified procedure resorted to by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on June 21, 1999, which was meant to shorten the time frame particularly for the imports of items specifically required for 'Operation Vijay'. The procedure was issued without relaxing the requirement of the Defence Procurement Procedure,1992, and the affidavit did not comment on whether this procedure was correctly followed. On the other hand, the first affidavit says that the modified procedure "was not to substitute or supercede the prescribed procedure for normal procurement" as it was only meant to "telescope" the time frame particularly for imports that had become critical, keeping in view the intensity of the operation and unpredictability of the situation in the period for which the operation would last. This measures were taken to abridge the time frame, related to (a) simplification of terms of contracts, (b) simplification of the procedure. While the former dealt with the terms of contract, conditions of its performance and bank guarantee and advance payment, the latter took care of Price Negotiation Committee (PNC) report, which was made more comprehensive and included the approval for release of foreign exchange together with expenditure clearance and a closer monitoring of the contracts signed, says the affidavit. However, the Minister's statement has omitted this portion entirely. While the Minister only says that "modified procedure was issued without relaxing the requirement or Defence Procurement Procedure, 1992", the affidavit submits that "these in no way violated any of the financial rules of the Government or the Defence Procurement Procedure, 1992." The Minister's statement did not say anything about the actual nature of delivery of items, but the affidavit on the other hand submits that at the time of making projections, the duration of operations, the nature and levels of conflict and the possibility of its spread to other sectors could not have been predicted. "Moreover, the weapons, equipment and ammunition required by the Defence Forces are generally not available off the shelf and a lead time which can range from 4 to 18 months is required to produce and deliver them from conclusion of a contract." The affidavit says that Army Headquarters had moved a proposal for further extension of the Operation Vijay by six months after the army was fully deployed along the LoC as the Pakistan army was conducting "menacing" exercise along the border…and despite de-escalation of hostilities, MoD decided to extend the operation till October 31, 2000. With regard to second part of the first affidavit, which deals with the Action Taken Notes (ATNs) sent by the MoD to CAG regarding 35 items on which the latter had raised objections, Mr Mukherjee, in his statement, says that "the Government has continued to make efforts to address the issues raised in the CAG report and 11 out of 35 paras contained in the report have been vetted by the CAG and the remaining are at various stages of examination." But in the affidavit, the MoD has clearly stated that 11 cases out of 35 had been "formally vetted to the satisfaction of CAG". Strangely the words "formally vetted to the satisfaction of CAG" are missing in the Minister's statement before Parliament. Interestingly, the purchase of Anti-Material Rifles and T-72 Tank ammunition — mentioned at serial numbers 4.4 and 4.6 of the ATNs, which form a part of the 11 cases as stated to have been "vetted to the satisfaction of the CAG", now stand referred to the CBI for probe along with 25 items that had figured in the list of 35 questionable purchases. |
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Speedier environment clearance from July
New Delhi, April 24 While the final draft notification for the re-engineered environmental clearance process, which also proposes to increase the participation of the state governments, will be finalised and issued soon, the Centre will come out with the final notification in July. Environmental clearance, based on the Environmental Impact Assessment, was introduced as an administrative measure in 1978-79 initially for the river valley projects and later extended to industrial projects. It became statuary after the Environmental Impact Assessment notification in 1994. Taking note of the adverse impact on environment, the Ministry of Environment and Forests issued a draft Environmental Impact Assessment notification on October 27, 2003. Through an amendment on the Environmental Impact Assessment notification in July 2004, new residential and industrial townships, settlement colonies, hotels, offices and hospital complexes and industrial estates with an investment up to and above Rs 50 crore for more than 1,000 persons or discharging sewage of 50,000 litres daily also required an environmental clearance from the Central Government. However, as pointed out by the Govindrajan Committee set up by the Centre, the normal process for getting the clearance was a time consuming and cumbersome procedure, requiring undue effort. The re-engineered environmental clearance process will expedite developmental projects in industrial, thermal power, mining, river valley, infrastructure and nuclear power sectors by streamlining the existing process. It would also help in demarcating projects that need approval from state governments and the Centre and delegate more responsibilities on state governments for granting clearance in certain categories. The project will be approved on the basis of scale of its impact rather than its cost and limit the number of activities requiring clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. A screening committee of the ministry will screen projects cleared by the state and the Centre and determine if an environmental appraisal and clearance is required at all. Proposals likely to have a higher impact on environment or effect on more than one state or a neighbouring country will fall under Category “A” and require clearance from the Centre. Projects under Category “B” will require approval from state government concerned. However, all projects sponsored by the state government or those controlled by them will require Centre’s clearance. The “AB” list includes projects requiring screening by the ministry to determine whether the project requires environmental clearance from the Center or the states concerned. |
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BJP seeks CBI probe into Prabhunath’s allegation
New Delhi, April 24 Raising the issue during zero hour on Thursday, Mr Singh said Mr Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi (Congress) had produced a bogus letter of Cabinet Secretary in the House in the 13th Lok Sabha. He urged the Speaker to have it investigated and take action in the matter, if it was proved correct. |
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Meeting discusses vulture conservation programmes
Dehra Dun, April 24 The decision to bring about the ban was taken recently in the National Board of Wildlife meeting, in which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to ban the killer drug Diclofenac, said Dr Yadvendra Dev Jhala, a scientist at the WII working on the issue. The ban would be implemented in six months all over the country. The decision comes after researchers from Peregrine fund from Pakistan and the USA ascertained after experimentation that the cause of mysterious and sharp decline in vulture population in the subcontinent was the killer drug, last year. At least 300 drug companies in the country are manufacturing the drug at present for human and veterinary use as anti-inflammatory drug and a painkiller. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, which is known to be both cheap and effective however, is not a life-saving drug, the experts said. The drug is already prohibited for veterinary use in the USA and Europe, the experts said. A steep fall of up to 97 per cent has been recorded in the population of the Gyps vultures over the past decade that makes it unprecedented in bird history, the experts said. What makes the decline of vultures more sensitive is that they are tough to bounce back since it takes the vultures about three years to mature and it lays just one egg in four years, the experts said. The ban alone would not help, the scientists believe. Besides effective implementation of the ban, awareness campaigns in areas where these vultures are found would be required to be put in place, said Dr Neeta Shah, a scientist working on vulture population issues. |
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Sikkim gurdwara opened to public
Chungthang, April 24 The gurdwara, founded by Assam Rifles and Army personnel with the help of local Lepcha tribe in the early eighties, was so far restricted to only service personnel and local people due to its strategic location, bordering China. However, with the transfer of Assam Rifles last September, the Gurdwara faced a difficult time to carry out its daily services. |
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New Delhi, April 24
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