 |
|
|
Chinese woman claiming to be nun arrested
MLAs to take on executive
Hope for Pong Dam oustees
Industry cries foul over power crisis
One drowned in Beas
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Chinese woman claiming to be nun arrested
Dharamsala, July 22 Even though a case has been registered against her under the Foreigners’ Act for not having the required documents, like passport and visa, the possibility of her being a Chinese spy keeping an eye on the activities of the Dalai Lama and Karmapa is not being ruled out. Identified as Kunchok Chamo, the woman had been keen on meeting the Dalai Lama and Karmapa but did not get an audience till now. According to the police, she had been deported to China in 2004 for staying in India without visa sanction. Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav told The Tribune that investigations were still on and it would be too premature to draw a conclusion about her being a Chinese spy. She had been deported once but came back through Nepal. “She claims she came here for spiritual purpose,” he said. Since she cannot speak English, the police is using an interpreter for questioning her about her motives. A local court here today sent her in police remand till July 25. There has, however, been no reaction from the Tibetan government-in-exile. When contacted, an official said Dolma Ling was an NGO and did not come directly under the central Tibetan administration. The Dolma Ling authorities, meanwhile, said even though they do proper registration of the nuns staying in the monastery, the formalities were not completed in her case as her name had been referred to them by another department. Meanwhile, there have been unconfirmed reports in McLeodganj, where the official residence of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is located, about Chinese spy keeping an eye on his activities while staying there as tourists or monks.
|
||
|
MLAs to take on executive
Shimla, July 22 The government today issued a notification, inviting objections within one week for making amendment to the Act which can allow the use of beacon lights atop the vehicles of MLAs. The MLAs have already given privilege notice against the Principal Secretary, Transport, and Secretary, Law, to Speaker Gangu Ram Musafir. On August 3, the MLAs would discuss the approach of the executive towards them. “The next day we will meet the Chief Minister and the Speaker to inform them about our views on the adherence of protocol and privileges of the legislators,” an MLA said. “It is not just the question of the use of beacon light but the larger issue is that the privileges and protocol of the legislature must be adhered to by the executive, which on most occasions adopts a lackadaisical approach towards the legislators,” another MLA said. They said the bureaucrats did not reply to letters written by MLAs for months. The MLAs also want to take up the issue of denial of rooms to MLAs in Himachal Bhavan in Delhi and Chandigarh. “The MLAs are given the worst rooms whereas many officials and their families who are far below MLAs in protocol are given better rooms,” they alleged. The ruling party MLAs had been irked at the attitude of the bureaucracy even at the time when the high court had termed the appointment of the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and Parliamentary Secretaries as unconstitutional. “Unlike other occasions, the executive acted swiftly and asked them to surrender their official vehicles and vacate bungalows allotted to them,” they said.
|
|
Hope for Pong Dam oustees
Shimla, July 22 Addressing a press conference here today, the Revenue Minister, Mr Sat Mahajan, said the tripartite talks between the two state governments and the oustees had resulted in Rajasthan agreeing to a package. “If the alternative site being given by Rajasthan is acceptable to the oustees, only then will a final settlement be made by the government,” he said. He said the delegation would visit Rajasthan in October to be followed by a meeting between the Chief Ministers of the two states. “Rajasthan has agreed to undertake all development works like setting up of school, health centres, water and electricity at Phase-II within a stipulated time frame,” he said. As per a Supreme Court judgment, the 1,168 oustees were to be given land where it was allotted to them earlier but since houses had come up in Phase -I, the Rajasthan Government had agreed to settle them at another site, said Mr Mahajan. “The fact that Rajasthan has agreed to restore the allotment to 341 persons, which were pending in stage-I at Sri Ganganagar, and give physical possession to the 468 persons whose cases have been settled by the Sessions Judge is a big achievement,” he remarked. He said Rajasthan had agreed to give alternative land to persons whose land now falls in Pakistan following the fencing of the border area and give 50 per cent irrigated land to people who have got land which does not have irrigation facility. “The delegation from Rajasthan has assured that special budgetary allocation will be made for undertaking development works in areas where land has been allotted to the Pong Dam oustees,” said Mr Mahajan.
|
|
Industry cries foul over power crisis
Baddi, July 22 Though the industrial units drawing more than 2 KW load have been directed to set up their own sub-stations and draw power from the 66 KV transformer, but its compliance is still awaited. These units have sought time to draw power from the existing lines as a stopgap arrangement. This has overburdened the supply system leading to power cuts. There were as many as six steel mills in the Export Promotion Industrial Park at Baddi, which had put immense load on the 11 KV lines. Using 5 MW power each they had put immense load on the existing lines. Though they were granted a year’s period to set up their sub-stations but they had not done anything substantial. Mr Arun Rawat, general secretary of the Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Industrial Association, said with several steel mills and other heavy power consuming units in the export promotion park the 11 KV transformer had been bearing excessive load. This severely hampered the working of medium and large units in the region, as there were often unwarranted power cuts. Even tiny and small-scale industries faced the onslaught due to frequent tripping. Officials in the board, however, said initially these units were granted some months to construct sub-stations. A final three-month period had now been granted and notices had been served to ensure compliance. Any failure in compliance would lead to power disconnection. These unit owners had, however, pleaded the lack of availability of equipment in the market for the delay. They insisted that the sudden demand in the market had led to its scarcity.
|
|
One drowned in Beas
Kulu, July 22 He went to the river for washing clothes and slipped. The persons accompanying him tried to save him from drowning. The current was so swift that they could not save him. However, search for the body is on.
— OC
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
