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Chamba gears up for civic, panchayat poll
Disabled victims of govt apathy
BJP alleges poll code violation
Sale of unstamped meat goes on
Keep education out of WTO purview: ABVP |
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2 held for raping minor
Fewer migratory birds at Pong Dam
Dhumal writes to CM over bank land
Medical education dept extends date
Cedar logs worth 2 lakh seized
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Chamba gears up for civic, panchayat poll
Chamba, December 4 Similarly, the post of the President, Municipal Council, Chamba, has also been reserved for the Scheduled Caste while Dalhousie remains ‘general’. Nagar Panchayat, Chowari, has been reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST), according to a state government’s notification received here. The elections to the PRIs panchayati raj institutions would be held in three phases on December 18, 20 and 22 and for civic bodies on December 24. The results would be declared the same day immediately after the voting is over. The chairpersons of PRIs and president of civic bodies would be elected later at their respective headquarters. The process for filing of nomination papers, scrutiny, withdrawal and allotment of symbols to the
candidates, contesting for the PRIs and civic body elections, is going to conclude on December 7 and 8, respectively. According to official sources, there are three civic bodies in Chamba district — Municipal Council, Chamba, Dalhousie, and Nagar Panchayat, Chowari. The Chamba Municipal Council consists of 11 wards and has about 14,510 voters which include 7463 males and 7047 females. Dalhousie Municipal Council consists of nine wards and has 3977 voters which include 2352 males and 1625 females while Chowari Nagar Panchayat is made up of seven wards with 2261 voters, including 1159 males and 1102 females. Likewise, in PRIs, there are 283 panchayats in seven blocks with 1587 wards in the district. The Chamba block is having 39 panchayats with 45,390 voters. But the elections in the Pangi tribal block could not be held simultaneously due to snowy weather and would be held during the summer next year. Regarding reservation for the posts of chairpersons of seven panchayat samitis in the district as notified by the state government, Chamba Panchayat, Chamba Panchayat Samiti goes to the Scheduled Tribe (ST), Tissa for women, Bhattiyat for women, Mehla for ST-women and Salooni for Scheduled Caste (SC). The post of chairpersons in Bharmour and Pangi panchayat Samitis are unreserved. So far as Zila Parishad wards are concerned, there are total 18 wards in Chamba district such as Killar (ST-women), Bounderi, Thalli, Sidh (ST), Jadera, Kidi (ST), Pulan (women), Khani, Bakan (SC), Saach (ST-women), Jiyunta (SC), Kohri (women), Tundi, Garnota, Banikhet (ST), Snooh, Kanged (SC-women) and Vyana (SC-women). It is pertinent to mention here that the total electorate in Chamba district are 3,01,853 which include 1,53,053 males and 1,48,800 female voters who would play a pivotal role in the formation of local self-government in the state. Meanwhile, the electioneering for general elections to the PRIs, nagar panchayats and municipal councils is nowadays picking up in a big way in Chamba district. Despite tall claims by the political parties not to give a political tinge to the panchayats and civic elections, the support is being extended to their favourite
candidates openly by every political party. The district police has mapped out an elaborate strategy for the smooth conduct of elections to the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh which is the inter-state border region adjacent to militancy-infested belts of Jammu and Kashmir state. According to Dr D.K. Chooudhary, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), district police headquarters, nearly 150 out of 675 polling stations in the district had been identified as ‘sensitive’ and to cope with the situation, the deployment of adequate security personnel was also being worked out. |
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Disabled victims of govt apathy
Mandi, December 4 They are not alone. If one goes by the version of the parents of 192 physically and mentally challenged children identified so far in the district, it can be easily said all claims by NGOs and government remain on paper only. Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the World Handicap Day, organised by the District Red Cross Society and inaugurated by the Divisional Commissioner Mandi Mr K Subrahmaniam, here yesterday, the parents of the physically challenged children rued that they did not get the medicines for the bed-ridden children and other aids like wheel chair and hearing aids. There is no study to know how much money spent on the rehabilitation work actually goes to these children as provided under the Handicapped Person Act, 1995, and 11-point benefits that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) mentions in its pamphlets for public consumption. Take the case of Sanjiv, a student of Class 7, who suffers from paralysis of lower limbs. “I take him to school at a distance of 2 km on his shoulder every day. I have asked for a wheel chair, but nobody cares,” complained Mast Ram, a resident of Kalkhar, near Riwalsar. Though the Sahyog, an NGO in the town, has covered 20 children under the SSA’s home-based teaching and training programme, yet there are over 300 children in the district fending for themselves. The plight Arti Devi, who was brought here to celebrate the day, was no different. “I have applied for a certificate, but nobody listened to me”, rued her father, Gayan Chand, a resident of Machial in Jogindernagar. “We spent most of the earnings on treatment of my son at the Government Medical College-32, Chandigarh”, said Kamla Devi Chattar in Sarkaghat. “His eye-sight and hearing power is weakening every day, but no help has come from anyone so far”, she added and left for her home as she did not know why she was brought here. The NGO trainers also narrated their problems: the patwaris and government officer do not cooperate while issuing certificates. Even the children, who are bed-ridden due to their deformity, do not get the medicine, revealed the trainers. “We are trained only to give the first aid but there are cases who need medical cover,” they said. The Secretary, Sahoyog, Dr N.K. Sharma said they were covering 20 children under the SSA programme in Mandi Sadar. “We have requested the CMO, Mandi, to provide medical cover to the sick handicapped children,” he added. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, Mr R.S. Gupta, said they had submitted a project to cover the children mainly in Karsog and Dharampur under the SSA’s home-based programme but the problem was that no trained NGO had come forward to cover these children. |
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BJP alleges poll code violation
Shimla, December 4 Addressing a press conference here, he said the poll had been reduced to a farce with the issuance of a notification even before the roster for the reservation of wards could be finalised. The Congress which lost the byelections to the Guler Assembly seat and the Kaithu ward of Shimla Municipal Corporation wanted to win the poll by hook and crook, he alleged. The government made 16 unwarranted amendments to the Panchayati Raj Act and even when the election process was on it was issuing administrative interpretations of the Act. Under Section 122 of the Act, a person who had encroached upon government land could not contest elections up to six years after vacating the illegally occupied land. However, only yesterday an administrative interpretation of the law was circulated, saying that if an encroacher filed an affidavit that he had vacated the encroachment, he could contest the election. Nominations were already closed and the circular would help ensure that papers of Congress-supported encroachers, were accepted during scrutiny. The model code was being observed only in breach with the Chief Minister himself making announcements like holding of the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha at Dharamsala and setting up of a university there. |
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Sale of unstamped meat goes on
Kumarhatti, December 4 The meat-shop owners, most of them without licence, were selling the meat freely. According to a random survey, meat available from Parwanoo to Solan, particularly along the Kalka-Shimla National Highway, was not fit for human consumption. As per norms, clearance of meat for sale was required from the Veterinary Department, which puts its stamp after finding it fit. No medical check-up was being done before the sale of meat. There is not a single slaughterhouse in the area with basic amenities like water and proper cleaning facilities. The shop owners use the open area as a slaughterhouse. Most of the slaughter points were surrounded by unhealthy conditions, where stray dogs roam freely thus causing a major nuisance for the residents residing nearby. According to the Animal and Husbandry Department, lack of proper slaughterhouses and assistance from the district administration were the main reasons behind the problem. |
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Keep education out of WTO purview: ABVP Shimla, December 4 Addressing a press conference here today, Atul Kothari, national joint secretary of the parishad, warned that the inclusion of the education sector in GATS would spell doom. The education sector was being included on the pretext of promoting free exchange of knowledge which was paradoxical as patent law was already in place under the WTO regime. He said the parishad would launch a week-long countrywide campaign to oppose the move.
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2 held for raping minor
Baijnath, December 4 Her parents had gone shopping and she was alone in the house when her neighbour, Rajesh, along with another accused, Ashok, abducted her in a car. In a statement to the police, the victim alleged that she was first raped by Rajesh in the car. They threatened her with a knife. Later, she was taken to a room owned by a mason and was locked in a room where she was repeatedly raped for two days. The victim stated that they left her at the railway station in Paprola on December 2 from where she reached home and narrated the episode to her parents. A complaint was lodged on Friday evening. The police has arrested the accused.
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Fewer migratory birds at Pong Dam
Kangra, December 4 This was stated by Prof Chander Kumar, MP, at a press conference here today. He said this year, 41,072 migratory birds had arrived against 51,127 during the same period last year. He said patrolling and supervision was being carried out in and around the dam lake by the Wildlife Department for the protection of the birds. |
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Dhumal writes to CM over bank land
Shimla, December 4 In a letter to the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, he said the plot located in Punjabi Bagh was worth more than Rs 15 crore. He said he had information that a meeting of the board of directors of bank had been fixed for December 9 to sell the plot through negotiations. He said if the government was bent upon selling off the prime land, it should to do so by open auction to ensure transparency and due returns to the bank. He said he was bringing the matter to his notice as the bank was not known for transparency and had been in the eye of a storm over irregularities in conduct of written test for recruitment of staff recently. |
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Medical education dept extends date
Shimla, December 4 A spokesman for the department said for the candidates in tribal and difficult areas, the date had been extended from December 15 to 30. He said the test and viva voce had been fixed for January 13, at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, and Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda. |
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Cedar logs worth 2 lakh seized Nahan, December 4 As per information, no police case has been registered till now. The officials are trying to identify the owner of a cowshed where the logs had been kept. The cost of the wood has been calculated over Rs 2 lakh. The raid was conducted on a tip-off received by the forest department.
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