Kharo (Kinnaur), September 12
The Army has so far failed to pull out the damaged Baily bridge from the Sutlej. Meanwhile, no body was recovered in the river on the fourth day today. As many as 34 Army men were killed in the mishap.

A senior official of the Army posted in Kinnaur said the current of the river was so forceful that recovery vehicles could not pull out the damaged bridge.

“The recovery vehicles have been put into action against the current of the river. That is the only option before the Army to pull out the bridge as on the other side there is no space for deploying the vehicles,” said the official.

He claimed that the Army had managed to drag the bridge little upward and it would be pulled out in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, local residents are worried over the fate of the transport link to upper areas of Kinnaur.

The bridge is a lifeline for tribal people as this happens to be the vital road link from Reckong Peo, the district headquarters of Kinnaur, to upper areas of Pooh and Sumdo in Kinnaur district, Kaza in Spiti valley and Keylong in Lahaul valley. The time is also crucial for the farmers as the apple crop of Kinnaur will be ready for harvest within two weeks.

The area linked through this road is also strategically important from the defence point of view.

After the collapse of the bridge, the only mode to cross the Sutlej or transport essential commodities is a small cable trolley set up jointly by engineers of the Army and the Public Works Department.

There is also another option to reach Pooh and other upper areas via the old Hindustan-Tibet road, but this road is usually closed for the traffic due to snowfall.

Another Bailey bridge, 4 km from Kharo, near Akpa village, was partially destroyed in the recent floods, besides a large stretch of the road. This bridge and the damaged road could only be repaired if the Bailey bridge at Kharo is reopened for heavy vehicles.

A massive “restoration” exercise to pave the way for linking this vital road through a Bailey bridge at Kharo by the 18 Engineers Regiment and repair of the road national highway by the Border Road Organisation (BRO) is being monitored by senior Army officials, besides the district administration. Meanwhile, every effort is being made by the Army to keep the old Hindustan-Tibet road motorable for the time being.

On the other hand, the BRO and the state government have planned to construct alternate roads in the tribal district so that the traffic flow is not affected in case of any natural disaster.

Dharamsala, September 12
Illegal mining in the Binwa khud poses a threat to the historic Shiva Temple in Baijnath where Ravana is believed to have performed puja in order to take Lord Shiva’s idol to his kingdom in Lanka.

Despite a strict vigil by the local administration, illegal mining continues unabated in the area. Over 60 challans have been issued so far for mining in the restricted 200-metre radius of the temple.

A piquant situation develops for the local administration every time it carries out a drive against illegal mining as the squad has to take back scores of horses impounded during the crackdown.

After the action on illegal miners on September 9, the administration had to deal with the task of attending to the nearly 60 horses taken in custody during the drive. Nearly a dozen challans were issued and as many as five horses were impounded from each defaulter.

Most owners of these horses do not turn up to take back their possession once they are impounded. No wonder, guards had to be deployed to feed the horses and keep them from running away.

Kishore Lal, pradhan of the Baijnath panchayat and member of the temple, said the Kir Ganga Ghat of the temple, where devotees take a holy dip, was located very close to the site of illegal mining. “The government has sanctioned Rs 30 lakh for the construction of the ghat and the water level would get lower drastically in case illegal mining is not stopped immediately,” he said.

Since mining is being done on the foothills of the landmass where the temple is located, it poses a threat to the temple itself. “One long-term solution could be restricting the entry in the prohibited area by putting up barbed wires and deploying guards at the entry points,” he suggested.

Mr Sandeep Kumar, subdivisional Magistrate, Baijnath, said vigil had been stepped up in the area and over 10 violators were being challaned for illegal mining every week. “We have also deputed six flying squads in the Binwa khud region to make sure that there is no mining in the radius of 200 metres around the temple. Most of the mining is done late in the night,” he said.

There is, however, no immediate threat to the main temple or its allied structures due to the illegal mining, he added.

Nurpur, September 12
Former Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) Rakesh Pathania will file a suit for Rs 50 lakhs damages against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on whom he had already served a legal notice. At a press conference here last night Mr Pathania took exception of submitting him a notice on behalf of the general manager HPTDC alleging misuse of HPTDC funds by means of hospitality of his guests to the extent of Rs 26.54 lakh when he was vice-chairman and chairman of the corporation from October 1998 to March 2003. He said that the Chief Minister had already made accusation of misappropriation of coporation funds to the extent of Rs 40 lakh at a public meeting during the visit in Nurpur Assembly constituency last year during his sojourn in Kangra district.

“At that time a legal notice had been served on the Chief Minister for furnishing details of misappropriation of funds of the HPTDC as alleged publicly against me,” he informed. He alleged that inspite of submitting requisite information in support of accusations made by the Chief Minister a vague notice had been mailed to him without proof or document. He said that the notice was to defame and harass him as he had never misused HPTDC funds but extended hospitality in corporation for which as per rules he had been entitled for as Chairman of the HPTDC.

Mr Pathania who is also a former local MLA alleged that the Virbhadra Singh Government was meting out step-motherly treatment to Kangra district in development and government jobs. “The appointment of 242 anganwari supervisers is a recent example of discrimination against in which lion’s share had been grabbed by Mandi district,” he alleged. He lamented that not a single person from Nurpur Assembly segment of Revenue Minister. Sat Mahajan had been appointed. He alleged that all development had come to standstill since the Virbhadra government came to power. All announcements by the Chief Minister for the area failed to kickstart even after 30 months. He demanded a high-level probe into the alleged Rs eight lakh scam of the Shane Himahcal mini truck operators union Jassur near here which had landed the union into a controversy of taking over of the management of the union by two factions of the ruling party. Mr Pathania alleged that politics was being played with the Arya government college which had been taken over by the previous Prem Kumar Dhumal government. “ No new faculty, subject lecturer or facility has been added in the college so far by the state government and only hollow announcements are being made to fool the students,” he added.

Solan, September 12
Giving a clarion call to the workers across the nation to stand up in unison against the “anti-employees” policies of the Congress government, the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) general secretary, Mr Gurudass Dass Gupta, yesterday said it was time to fight for the rights. Equating both the BJP and Congress governments as being inimical to the interests of the labourers, he said there was little difference in their economic policies.

Addressing the 15th state-wide convention of the AITUC here today, he said the UPA government which had the support of the Communists would be pressured to accept their demands. Giving a call to workers from all quarters to strike work against the anti-workers policies of the Congress government on September 29, he said only a total suspension of work will pressure the government to accept their demands.

Launching a bitter tirade against the UPA government, he said it only safeguarded the interest of the MNCs while the interests of the weaker sections were overlooked. The government showed more interest in attracting foreign investment and cared little to address the burning issues like unemployment and poverty. He said succumbing to the demands of the MNCs, the government didn’t even hesitate to bring about certain changes in the existing Acts. While the weaker sections demand mere implementation of the existing laws, the government had gone to the extent of declaring strikes illegal. He flayed the Haryana Government’s role in the infamous Honda lathi charge in Gurgoan where hundreds of innocent workers were injured.

He said their party was committed to extend support to the UPA as their demands like provision of 100 days employment to the rural poor, 1 per cent increase in the provident fund interest rate, etc., were accepted, albeit after large scale protest. The BJP government, on the other hand, had cared two hoots to safeguard their interests, he alleged. He demanded a raise of Rs 140 as minimum wages, abolition of contract labour, provision of power, housing, water and other basic amenities for the poor.

Earlier, the state AITUC president, Mr Jagdish Bhardwaj, said there was a need to join hands against the inimical policies of the state government. He said the policy of hire and fire at will of the industrialists was not acceptable to them. He also ridiculed the contract labour policy and said it was against the Contract Labour Abolition Act, 1970. Earlier, Mr Shashi Pandit, the local party leader, highlighted the need to confront the government for its anti-poor policies.

Reckong Peo, September 12
The state government has shut down 15 ayurvedic dispensaries in the tribal district of Kinnaur, putting the life of thousands of residents at risk.

According to a government notification, the villages in which the dispensaries have been closed are Hango, Asrang, Lepa, Jangi, Labrang and Nessing in the Pooh block; Karcham, Sapni, Bruha, Shong, Barsheri and Raksham in the Kalpa block; and Urni, Katgaon and Bari in the Nechar block.

Unfortunately, ayurvedic dispensaries have also been closed in many big villages, having a population of more than 1,000.

“The villagers will have to travel at least one to three hours to reach the nearest health centre,” said Ms Ganga Bhakti Negi, district president, Mahila Morcha of the BJP.

She has warned the government to withdraw this decision, otherwise the villagers would be forced to launch an agitation against the government. “If needed, we will march to the state capital to force the government to withdraw the decision,” said Ms Negi.

Contrary to this, the local MLA, Mr Jagat Singh Negi, has defended the closure of the dispensaries, saying these were “white elephant” for the state government.

Even in the dispensaries, there is a shortage of doctors. Only 23 doctors are posted in the district against the sanctioned posts of 42.

Shimla, September 12
The Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha will launch a nationwide campaign to oppose the policy of the UPA government to provide reservation to minorities which, it warned, could spell disaster for the country.

Mr Amit Thakkar, national general secretary of the morcha, said here yesterday that there was no provision in the Constitution for providing reservation to minorities, but the government recently allowed a quota for the Muslims in Aligarh Muslim University.

He said the morcha would collect one crore signature to oppose the policy and present these to the President of India. The policy of appeasing the minorities could create social tensions and disturb communal harmony.

He also attended the meeting of the state unit of the morcha at which a decision was taken to collect signatures to oppose the reservation policy in all 70 colleges of the state.

The meeting also decided to organise a training camp for workers at Dharamsala from October 28 to 30. 

Shimla, September 12
The district unit of the BJP will organise protests at all subdivisional headquarters on September 19 to highlight the alleged failure of the government to procure apple under the market intervention scheme and expose its anti-people policies.

The party, which met under the chairmanship of its president, Mr Sandeepany Bharadwaj, pointed out that subsidy on farm inputs had been discontinued as result of the memorandum of understanding singed by the government on fiscal reforms with the Central Government. The apple growers were still being illegally charged 8 per cent commission as the Delhi market and the growers did not benefit from the market intervention scheme as small-sized fruit was not procured.

Shimla, September 12
The Phancha panchayat area in the remote Pandrah-Beesh area of Shimla district is a classic example of what need-based micro planning can help achieve in improving the socio-economic conditions of the people.

Coordinated efforts made under the forestry reform project have brought a sea change in five wards of Phancha Nati Tikar, Phancha, Kandri, Pachagat, Magara and Ghanvi.

Located at 42 km from Jeori, the panchayat abound in forest wealth. The main occupation of the people is agriculture and sheep rearing. The panchayat has no road connectivity and people have to walk two to three hours on foot to reach the nearest road head at Ghanvi.

The Rs 60 crore forest reform project, started in 2003 in 85 pilot locations in backward and remote areas of the state where people are mostly dependent on forests for their livelihood, has changed the life of the local people.

The project is being implemented in the five wards through 25 consumer groups. The main stress is being laid on micro-planning at the grassroot level with the active participation and involvement of the people. The construction of pedestrian paths, worms compost pits development, water tanks, rain water tanks, harvesting structures, training and financial help are the main components of the project.

Two storage tanks constructed under the project have brought more area of the panchayat under irrigation. Earlier, the farmers were dependent on the rains and only traditional crops like “fafra”, “koda” and potato were grown. Now cultivation of off-season vegetables is being adopted by the farming community.

The women folk have been imparted training in handloom and weaving and people are adopting latest techniques in sheep rearing. Financial help is being provided to set up handloom.

The Forest Department organises regular awareness camps in the panchayat to educate people about the scientific conservation of the precious forest wealth. A special afforestation campaign has been launched in the panchayat with people’s participation to cover the barren land.

Chamba, September 12
The district unit of the CPM organised a rally in the main bazaars of Chamba town today, demanding the government to pay heed to the main problem of unemployment prevalent in the country.

Later, Ms Sudesh Thakur, secretary, district unit of the CPM, condemned the anti-public policies of the government as it had failed to provide employment and livelihood to the poor. — OC