Shimla, May 17
The Congress high command is keen to have a consensus on the choice of new Pradesh Congress Committee chief, election for which has been fixed for May 23.

According to party sources, Mr K.C. Lenka, chairman of the state election authority for the organisational poll, has been advised by the central leadership to make all possible efforts to select the next incumbent to the top party post by consensus. However, given the irreconcilable differences between the rival party factions headed by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, and Mrs Vidya Stokes, Minister for Power and former PCC chief, the task it no easy.

In fact, conducting organisational poll at the block and district levels had not been entirely a happy experience for Mr Lenka who was manhandled by enraged workers in full public view here last month. The incident led to the deferment of the poll which was to be completed by April 30.

The thinking in the party is that the reins of the party should with entrusted with a leader from the merged areas, particularly Kangra, from where it would face the major challenge at the hustings. Further, Kangra bore the brunt of the downsizing exercise as all the three ministers who faced the axe were from the district. Consequently, the party lost the byelection in the Guler assembly segment held subsequently. Installation of a leader from the area as the state party chief will help in recovering the lost ground.

While the Virbhadra Singh camp is backing Mr B.B. Butail, who was dropped from the ministry during the downsizing exercise, and Mr Chander Kumar, MP from Kangra, the Stokes camp is in favour of Major Vijai Mankotia, another victim of the downsizing exercise. However, none of them is acceptable to the rival group. A section of the party is in favour of continuation of Mr Kuldeep Kumar, Industry Minister, who was made the PCC chief only a few months ago, but he is himself not keen for it.

There is also a feeling that entrusting the top post to a woman could also help strengthening the party. Mrs Viplove Thakur, chairperson of the state commission for women, is being considered a serious contender for the post.

A clear picture will emerge after the completion of the ongoing second phase of the poll process during which elections to district Congress committees will be held. The district returning officers have been asked to submit the results by May 20. Mr Lenka has been advised by the high command to ensure factional balance at the district level. The complexion of the district committees will provide an indication which way things are moving.

Mandi, May 17
The local Up-Pradhan and his brother reportedly abused and then thrashed Medical Officer Dr Naveen Kumar Lohia posted at the Primary Health Centre (PHC), Seoh, in Dharampur block, 80 km from here last evening.

Though the Dharampur police has registered a case under Sections 353 and 332 of the IPC against the duo, the police is yet to arrest them, alleged Dr Lohia.

Dr Lohia told The Tribune on the phone that he came to his residence at 4.30 pm last evening after duty at Seoh.

The two stormed into his house at 5 pm and began asking him questions about a “patient”. They dragged him out and beat him up without provocation.

Dr Lohia alleged that when his wife came to his rescue she was also roughed up. “It was local residents who intervened and saved me from them”, he said.

Assistant Sub-inspector, (Dharampur) Prem Raj said the police had registered a case under Sections 353 and 332, IPC, against Mr Hemant Kumar, Up-Pradhan, Seoh, and his brother Shashi Kumar.

However, Mr Hemant Kumar told the police that his mother fell ill yesterday and was taken to the PHC for treatment. But Dr Lohia, was not there. ‘’They then went to Dr Lohia’s residence and after a heated argument, they thrashed the doctor”, the police said.

The Block Medical Officer, Dharampur, Dr Rohit Kumar, said the Medical Officer had registered a complaint. “His medical examination revealed that he had sustained bruises on the face and injured his nose.

“I have sent the complaint to the CMO, Mandi, the Director Health Services, and the SP, Mandi, for action against the culprits,’’ the officer said.

Dr Rohit claimed that Dr Lohia was roughed up without any reason.

Dharamsala, May 17
To mark the 10th year of the disappearance of the Panchen Lama, Godun Chokyi Nyima, activists of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress here today observed a day-long hunger strike. About 100 students of the Tibetan Transit School participated in it. A candle light procession was also taken out in the evening in McLeodganj to mark the occasion.

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy blamed the Chinese Government for failing to provide information about the 16-year-old Panchen Lama.

To commemorate the day of his disappearance, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy invited five students each from Tibetan schools, monasteries and nunneries to take part in an essay and letter-writing competition. The students signed their appeal on signature postcards and left hand impressions on a white cloth as part of the centre’s signature campaign.

In a joint statement, the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress and the Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet alleged that the Panchen Lama was taken into custody by the Chinese authorities and it was feared that he might not be alive as no one had heard of him since then.

Both the organisations said they would send letters to the Chinese President demanding immediate proof regarding the well-being of the Panchen Lama and that representatives of the human rights organisations should be allowed to meet him.

Kangra, May 17
Former Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal has extended support of the BJP to two-month-old agitation of lawyers in protest against the imposition of the professional tax and enhancement of court fee by the state government.

Prof. Dhumal announced this while addressing a press conference here last evening. He said the BJP would hold a public meeting in Hamirpur on May 22. He described it as unfortunate that the Virbhadra government was a mute spectator to the “genuine” agitation.

He said Mr Virbhadra Singh was claiming that VAT was in the interests of the common people but factually 83 items which were earlier exempted from sales tax have now been reduced to 43.

He alleged that the interests of horticulture farmers was being ignored and they were not given compensation for the losses incurred by them due to natural calamities. He said the DA instalment to the government employees due in July had also not been given to them. He said as per an MoU, government would abolish 5,000 posts of the state cadre annually and even those posts which were ready to be filled through proper agencies.

He said if the government failed to order a CBI inquiry into the Mumbai musical blast entry tickets.

He said the elections to the post of zila parishad chief and posts of Mayors and up-pradhans of panchayats should be held directly.

Mandi, May 17

The BSNL subscribers in the region will get wireless telephone in remote areas and the much-awaited broadband connectivity in the Mandi-Sundermagar-Joginder and Kulu-Manali will become functional within three months.

Talking to The Tribune on the occasion of the anniversary of the World Tele Union day here today, the BSNL General Manager, Mr Pradeep Kumar, said the new CDMA technology through WLL would now make it possible to operate telephones within the radius of 30 km of the BSNL tower.

“We are erecting 30 towers to cover tehsil headquarters, pilgrimage and tourist centres and national highways in the region”, he said.

The broadband services would be available in the central region soon and would speed up connectivity, benefiting Internet users.

The BSNL would provide “pole-less” network of services up to the households of the subscribers.

Mr Rajinder Kumar, Divisional Engineer, Mandi, was awarded Vashisht Sanchar Seva Medal in Shimla, while Mr Ashwani Kumar, SDE, Mandi, was given Sanchar Seva Medal. Mr Hitesh Kumar, TTA, and Mr Inder Singh were given Sanchar Sarthi medals.

Solan, May 17
Defending the role of former disinvestments minister, Mr Arun Shourie, in the controversial Centaur Hotel deal, former Finance Minister, Yashwant Singh today said that the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestments (CCD) would take the onus if irregularities were proved in the deal. He, however, pointed a finger at the manner in which an inquiry was instituted by the UPA government into the deal.

Mr Sinha, who arrived here late last evening, addressing mediapersons here today, said the much-hyped employment generation scheme of the UPA government was eyewash. With limited scope, the scheme would fail to achieve its purpose and only burden cash-strapped states. He said the economic policies of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government were lacklustre and had only a “tinkering effect” on attracting foreign investment.

Expressing concern at the declining growth rate in the core sector, he said it stood at 8.5 per cent in March 2003 but had come down to 3.7 per cent in March 2005.

With non-BJP states like Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh abstaining from the implementation of VAT along with BJP-ruled states, the BJP was in favour of deferring it till traders were taken into confidence, he said.

Rejecting allegations of favouritism in the hotel deal, he asserted that the reserve money was fixed as per directives of the policy. Since the deal was finalised by the CCD chaired by the Prime Minister, Mr Shourie could not be blamed alone for any irregularity, he said. Justifying why only a single bidder came forward for the deal, he said the government could finalise such deals if the bid was competitive enough.

Commenting on the employment generation scheme, he said covering only 150 districts across the country, it would provide only 100 days of employment to one member of a BPL family with no guarantee of minimum wages.

Asked about the boycott of the parliamentary session by the NDA, he said the UPA time and again created a situation where despite being given time, their leaders could not voice their opinions. He said the Congress had set a record of sorts by registering the highest ever 400 hours of Parliament boycott when in opposition, while the NDA had only abstained from the House for a few days.

Solan, May 17
It was a politician-turned-television anchor’s role that the former Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, today enacted when he descended to the tomato fields of Ms Uma Mehta at Saproon village here to anchor a weekly programme, “Andaaz Apna Apna”, to be telecast on Zee television.

Mr Sinha, who talked to the villagers, got a first-hand account of what a common man felt about the polices of successive governments and their little reach at the grassroot level. Enjoying his new role of a TV anchor, he said it gave him an opportunity to react with the masses. Sources, however, opined that in the garb of this trip, the former minister was accessing public opinion of their defeat in the last parliamentary elections.

The tomato farming, which was adopted for the first time by Uma’s husband in 1944, slowly spread far and wide and it is now the main cash crop of the farmers in the region.

He later left for Kaza where he was scheduled to meet a driver who specialised in driving through the tough terrains of the hills.

Shimla, May 17
Political leaders of all hues have been demanding opening of more schools even though the latest data indicates a declining trend in enrolment at the primary level.

A study conducted by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) has revealed that enrolment was decreasing in primary schools in seven out of the total 12 districts and it was almost static in four districts over the past five years. The maximum decline has been registered in Sirmaur where the enrolment has come down from 65,334 in 2001-02 to 54,276 in 2004-05. Similarly, the figure has plunged from 35,983 in 2002-03 to 34,632 for Bilaspur and from 52,026 to 48,742 for Kulu during the same period.

The thickly populated bigger districts and sparsely inhabited tribals areas also depicted a similar trend. For instance, in Mandi the enrolment declined from 1,03,615 in 2002-03 to 98,021 in 2004-05 and in Kangra from 1,43,467 to 1,41,199 over the same period. In the tribal Lahaul-Spiti the number of students came down from 3,204 in 2000-01 to 2,872 in the last academic session.

Hamirpur was the only district where the enrolment increased marginally from 39,979 in 2002-03 to 41,477 in the last session. There was no substantial change in enrolment in Shimla, Kinnaur, Solan and Una. The decline in the number of students in government school indicated the increasing preference for private schools. Over the past five years a number of private primary schools have come across the state. There is, thus, no justification for opening more government schools. In fact, a comprehensive rationalisation exercise is required to bring the number of schools closure to norms.

The teacher-student ratio was 1:22 as against the norm of 1:40 and 58.5 per cent schools had less than 50 students. In the case of Lahaul-Spiti there was teacher for every six students. The highest ratio 27 students per teacher were in Una. Obviously, far too many schools had been opened that required putting unnecessary burden on the already strained state exchequer.

Over the years hundred of schools have been opened in violating of norms. The matter was also raised in the state High Court which set up a committee to find out institutions opened in violation of the norms as per which a new school could be opened only if there is none within a radius of 1.5 km in hilly area and 2.5 km in the plains. The committee identified as many as 799 schools, which had been opened in violation of norms.

Subsequently, the government has initiated a rationalisation exercise under which 128 schools where another school existed within a distance of 1 km are being merged. Going by the norms many more schools will have to be closed but the local politicians were opposing any such move.

The government will have to demonstrate political will to take the rationalisation exercise to a logical end. It will not only enable the government to provide adequate staff, proper buildings and other required facilities but also save on financial resources.