Shimla, August 23
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh yesterday informed the Vidhan Sabha that legislators did not figure in the latest Warrant of Precedence notified by the Centre but assured that the state government would come out with its own order to take care of their concerns.

Replying to a question of Maj Vijay Singh Mankotia (Congress ), he said the state did not have its own Warrant of Precedence so far and it had been following the one notified by the Centre. He said the matter came up after a public interest litigation concerning the misuse of red lights was filed in the high court.

He said along with the customary red lights, the government planned to introduce fixed, revolving, blue and multi-coloured light for different categories of dignitaries.

He said the misuse of lights would be checked and strict action, including cancellation of the registration of vehicle, would be taken against the offenders.

Revenue Minister Sat Mahajan told Mr Jai Ram Thakur that as many as 133 cases of encroachments on government land had been filed against elected Panchayati Raj functionaries. Out of these, 109 pertained to pradhans, 17 to block panchayat samitis members and seven to zila parishad members. So far 45 cases had been decided.

Shimla, August 23
In a major initiative to overcome the problem of stray cattle, the Himachal Pradesh Assembly today passed the state Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill providing for the mandatory registration of cattle.

A new Section has been inserted in the Bill to make the head of every family provide details of cattle owned to the pradhan or secretary within a period of one month from the enforcement of the amended Act. The Gram Panchayat will register the cattle and maintain the records.

It will be the duty of the panchayat to assist the officials engaged by the Animal Husbandry Department for applying appropriate identification marks on each cattle and identifying stray cattle within its jurisdiction.

The owner of the stray cattle will be liable to pay a fine of Rs 300 at the first instance and Rs 500 for subsequent offence.

Intervening in the debate, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh lamented that people were abandoning their old cattle after deriving all benefits from them. It was an inhuman practice inconceivable in a country where the cow is worshipped. It also reflected the changing values of society, which was becoming more and more materialistic. There was an urgent need to take corrective measures and the government planned to create a network of "go sadans" ( cow rescue homes) for keeping the abandoned cattle.

Replying to the debate on the Bill, Mr Harsh Mahajan , Minister for Animal Husbandry, said there were already 25 private and three government-run "go sadans" in the state. The government had sent a Rs 28-crore project for their strengthening to the Centre for funding. He said there was enough space for keeping 10,000 cattle in the three government-managed "go sadans". Besides, the possibility of setting such homes through various temple trusts was also under consideration.

Shimla, August 23
In a move to build pressure on the Centre, the Himachal Assembly today adopted a unanimous resolution seeking Prime Minster Dr Manmohan Singh’s intervention in securing the state’s due share under the Punjab State Reorganisation Act and 12 per cent free power in various interstate hydroelectric projects. Besides 7.19 per cent share in the BBMB projects and the immediate transfer of the Shanan Project from Punjab to Himachal, the resolution also staked claim on proportionate share in Chandigarh. It reflected the hardening of stand on the issue, as the state had so far not been pursuing vigorously its claim on the Union Territory

Cutting across party considerations the leaders of the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP condemned the anti-Himachal attitude of the neighbouring Punjab and Haryana. They had not only usurped the state’s share but had also been opposing tooth and nail special incentives like industrial package, which the Centre proposed to help boost the economy of the state. There was complete unanimity that the state should wage a relentless fight to secure justice.

During the course of the debate Mr Kaul Singh, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, and Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, leader of the BJP, did indulge in some blame game on the issue but Mr Virbhadara Singh was quick to intervene to put matters on the right track. He said the resolution should show the solidarity and the speeches of members should reflect the resolve of the House for securing justice.

Moving the resolution, Mr Kaul Singh said as per the Act the Shanan Project should have gone to Himachal on ‘as is where is’ basis but it was kept under the control of Punjab, which was totally unjust. Moreover, the state had two more projects downstream and for their smooth functioning the Shanan project had to be under its control.

Mr Dhumal said it was the responsibility of the Centre to ensure the implementation of the Act but it had failed to do so. In fact, it had been giving a raw deal to the hill state, which had little political clout. He said the BJP did launch an agitation and organised an “Adhikar Yatra” up to New Delhi in 1993 to press the Centre.

Dharamsala, August 23
Trade of illicit liquor is spreading in the Kangra belt and the police has sent a proposal to the Punjab Police for coordinated campaign against the trade in areas along the inter-state border.

Mr Santosh Patial, Additional Superintendent of Police, told The Tribune that in the past one year, a record recovery of hooch in the district had been made.

He said there was information that hooch manufacturers were getting support from their counterparts in the neighbouring districts of Punjab. Therefore, it had been proposed to launch joint campaign in the areas bordering with Pathankot. He added Nurpur and Indora sub-divisions were particularly notorious for the manufacturing of hooch. “Although, the consumption of home-made liquor is confined to lower strata of society only,” he added.

Today the police has seized illegal liquour from the Baroh Chowk from a car in Kangra subdivision and from a raid on the premises of a resident of Nagrota. Hooch was also recovered from a resident of Chhanni in Indora sub-division and a resident of Rakkar in Dharamsala, who was carrying illicit liquor on his scooter. The police also caught a man with illicit liquor near the petrol station in Jwalamukhi market, on the Hamirpur border. Cases in all these incidents have been registered.

Popular as ‘Lal Pari, in the Nurpur belt, hooch has fixed clientele, despite risk in the consumption of locally distilled liquor.

Every year, more than 300 cases are registered for the manufacturing illicit liquor in the Nurpur area itself but even special drives by the police have failed to put an end to the trade in the area.

“Till some time back, the distillation was carried by tribes settled in the border areas adjoining Punjab but after this illegal trade became lucrative, others have also joined. In many villages like Chhanni, Majra, Thakurdwara under the Nurpur subdivision, illicit distillation and the sale of spurious liquor has become lucrative trade,” said a police official.

The trade has spread in interior areas of Palampur, Maranda, Kangra, Nagrota Bagwan and other small towns. “Hooch is health hazard and also causes revenue loss to the state exchequer and increase in crime in the district,” he said. Most of the cases fail in courts due to lack of independent witnesses and good legal advice available to those running the trade, he added.

The Kangra police has swung into action and is raiding several places under the Nurpur and Jawli police stations in this district. Working stills are being smashed and illicit liquor seized.

Shimla, August 23
Former BJP minister J.P. Nadda today alleged that the Virbhadra Singh government was shielding corrupt officials as was evident by the clean chit given by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to the HP University authorities while a probe into the HP-CPMT paper leak case was still on.

In a statement issued here today, Mr Nadda said during the discussion on the HP-CPMT issue in the Assembly yesterday, the Chief Minister tried to silence the BJP members by saying that the matter was in the High Court, while, on the other hand, he tried to shield the Vice-Chancellor and the university authorities.

“This is a clear example of double standards that the government has been adopting on the issue of the HP-CPMT paper leak,” he said. He alleged that the Chief Minister tried to influence the police investigation and when the High Court gave its verdict on the irregularity, the government lauded the role of the police team probing the matter.

Reckong Peo, August 23
Two persons died on the spot when a truck in which they were travelling fell into the Baspa river from a height of about 200 metres in Sangla valley late last evening. In another accident, one person was killed and two others were injured when a car in which they were travelling fell into Pangi Nullah near Reckong Peo this morning.

Police sources said a truck belonging to Jaypee company fell into the Baspa river in Sangla valley late last evening. The driver of the truck, Shakti Singh, and his associate Shankar Yadav, both employees of the private company, died on the spot. The police has recovered the bodies and handed them over to the health authorities for post-mortem. The exact cause of the accident was not known, but investigations were in progress.

The other incident took place when a Santro car coming from Pangi village towards Reckong Peo hit a school-going girl and fell into Pangi Nullah after its driver lost control over it.

The girl was rushed to the local hospital where her condition was said to be out of danger. Three persons travelling in the car were injured seriously. Later, one of them succumbed to his injuries. The deceased was yet to be identified.

Sundernagar , August 23
The Sessions Judge of Mandi, Mr A.C Dogra, has convicted Sanjay Kumar R/O Jahu, district Hamirpur, for treating his wife Anita with cruelty and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year and to pay a fine of Rs 5000. In the case of default of payment of fine, the convict has to further undergo imprisonment for a period of one month.

The case of prosecution was that the deceased Anita was married to convict Sanjay in the year 2000. After two years of the marriage, her in-laws started harassing her for bringing less dowry. Anita committed suicide on May 7, 2004, and her body was found hanging. The police had registered case under section 498A and 304 ( B) against the convict and two others.

The prosecution examined 13 witnesses to prove its case.