Mandi, December 12
Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal yesterday accused Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh of adding insult to injury of the people of Kinnaur, who were protesting peacefully against the 1000-MW Karcham-Wangtoo management, by ordering firing and lathi charge on them, in which many people got hurt.

Talking to media persons here, Mr Dhumal alleged that far from sorting out the issue between the company and the people, the Congress government had resorted to a lathi charge and police firing on peace-loving people.

"This is an example of how the law and order situation has deteriorated in the state", he said, adding that the government had lost its mandate to rule the state as the unemployment problem and rising prices of commodities had broken the back of the common man and corruption was reigning supreme under its rule.

Referring to the speech of Dr Manmohan Singh during the meeting of the National Development Council in New Delhi yesterday, Mr Dhumal alleged that the Prime Minister’s statement justifying reservation on the basis of religion to Muslims would plunge the country into communal turmoil.

"We reject the proposal and reservation should be on the basis of economic backwardness for all religions, castes and communities. We will take up the matter at the national executive meeting this month", he added.

Kangra, December 12
A tea stall owner has been arrested in connection with the murder of 23-year-old British tourist, Michael James Blakey, whose body was recovered from a nullah near St. John's Church at McLeodgang near Dharamsala on November 28. Disclosing this the Additional District Police chief, Mr Santosh Patial, said yesterday that Pawan Kumar Bhardwaj (29), a resident of Sansal village, who runs a tea stall at McLeodgang had got married a Britisher, Ms Rachel, 35, in July this year.

Ms Rachel and Michael J. Blakey, both Britishers, and Jamyong, a Tibetan, had established an NGO “Tonglen” in 2004 which worked for the welfare of the slum children in this hill town.

Pawan suspected illicit relationship between his wife, Rachel, and the victim, Michael. Thus, he threatened the victim over the issue. The preliminary autopsy report indicated that Michael J.Blakey was stoned to death.

Shimla, December 12
The Government of Himachal Pradesh will provide free medicines to the HIV-infected people and reimburse expenses incurred on visiting anti-retroviral centres along with an attendant for treatment.

It will also provide financial assistance for educating the children of HIV-infected parents and those orphaned due to this disease.

The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, announced this while presiding over the first meeting of the chairpersons of the zila parishads and mayors on AIDS awareness organised by the Health and Family Welfare Department, here today.

He said patients would be provide with full dose of medicines to help prolong their lives as no permanent cure had so far been found to combat this dreaded disease. He said youth were more prone to this disease as most of the patients were less than 29 years and 40 per cent of them were women. He said slogans and basic information about this disease would be displayed at important places like bus stands, panchayat bhawans, corporation offices, schools and health institutions.

The parent teachers association could also play significant role in educating the youths.

The children of infected parents needed special attention to ensure that they were not isolated in schools.

Solan, December 12
Flaying the proposed changes in the drug policy, wherein the sale of 23 household drugs will be exempt from licensing, the All-India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) said yesterday that this would open the floodgates for spurious drug trade.

The amendment, if implemented, would enable general merchants to sell household common drugs like cough syrups, aspirin and paracetamol without licence.

While the reason for this amendment was the easy availability of drugs in far-flung and remote villages, the measure was not considered to be in the interests of consumers.

It would allow the easy availability of cough syrups to the youth, promoting addiction.

Drugs like aspirin and paracetamol, which had side-affects, if taken in excess, would adversely affect consumers.

While a chemist could guide a consumer about its intake, a general merchant would be unable to provide any advice.

The association’s north zone joint secretary Sanjeev Pandit said, “We have submitted a memorandum to the chief minister and voiced our concern about the issue as it will lead to the proliferation of outlets from where household drugs can be sold without monitoring or control”.

The regulatory system, which was inadequate, would be further burdened.

It would be virtually impossible to monitor the stocking and selling of drugs through such outlets.

These retail outlets would promote cheaper, substandard and spurious drugs in the market, opined a member of the AIOCD.

The AIOCD planned to launch a nationwide stir by suspending the sale and purchase of drugs if the government went ahead with this amendment.

The amendment might affect 10 per cent sale, which constituted around Rs 3,000 crore out of the total Rs 30,000 crore domestic pharmaceutical market, estimated the AIOCD.

This would indirectly mean that spurious drug trade worth crores would be promoted.

The association had taken up the matter with the Centre, added Mr Pandit.

Solan, December 12
A magisterial probe conducted to prove the reason behind the December 2 HRTC bus (HP-14-7501) accident, which left 14 persons dead and 30 injured, has accused a driver of a Punjab depot bus coming from the opposite direction for the accident.

The 22-page report which was submitted to the District Magistrate has pointed out that the driver of the Punjab-depots bus, who was yet to be identified, was driving at 70 kms per hour. He had virtually pushed the HRTC bus coming from opposite direction towards the edge of the road. The ill-fated bus broke as many as four parapets before falling down into a gorge. Though the Punjab-depot’s driver stopped the bus some distance away after passengers shouted but after stopping for a few minutes he continued with the journey. The role of the bus driver has been criticised in the report for failing to own responsibility for the tragic accident.

The report further mentions that the bus was coming from Patiala to Shimla. According to statements recorded by a few passengers this Punjab-depot’s bus could not negotiate the curve near Jokhri village and was going in the middle of the road. The HRTC bus coming from opposite direction was pushed towards the edge of the road to avoid head-on collusion. In this process it broke as many as four parapets before rolling down into 300 mts deep gorge. At that time the HRTC bus had covered barely 35 km in one hour 15 minutes.

The District Magistrate, Mr Rajesh Kumar, said five injured persons and a HRTC employee who were travelling in the ill-fated bus had deposed before the committee. The role of the highway patrol has also questioned as it failed to detect the erring bus.

Nahan, December 12
As per information received here, a school bus (HP-17-B-7509) engaged by DAV Public School, Paonta Sahib, on the way to Paonta Sahib from Vikas Nagar side fell into a deep khud near the Kullahal bridge this morning, injuring as many as 12 children.

As per sources, the bus was on its routine trip from Vikas Nagar to Paonta Sahib with schoolchildren. When the bus reached near the Kullahal bridge, the driver failed to negotiate a curve and the bus fell into the Karondewali khud, leading 12 schoolchildren injured.

The injured students were rushed to Paonta and other private hospitals by local residents of Kullahal and the Uttaranchal police.

Chamba, December 12
Sixteen passengers were wounded when a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus (HP-48-4536) in which they were travelling met with an accident at Mulag curve near Sandhi, about 30 km from here, last night.

According to the police, the 16 bus passengers sustained minor injuries and were stated to be safe. All belonged to local villages.

The cause of the accident was reported to be rash and negligent driving.

Shimla, December 12
The community health centres in the hill state will be upgraded into first referral units in a phased manner. This was stated by the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, while inaugurating “Stimulus” a four-day cultural meet of medicos at Indira Gandhi Medical College, here last evening.

He said Himachal Pradesh was one of the 18 states in the country where the National Rural Health Mission had been started. Under it all community health centres would be upgraded into the first referral units and 50 per cent of the primary health centres would provide round-the-clock specialised medical facilities. Thus ,it would help in improving the medical facilities in the state.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said every community health centre in the state were serving 88,911 persons against the national average of 2,43,427, a primary health centre 13,367 persons as against national average of 32,469 and a health sub-centre 2,838 persons as compared to the national average of 5,401. The state was leading in the life expectancy, literacy rate, sex ratio and lower BPL percentage. Himachal Pradesh was the first state in the country where registration of births and deaths had been made mandatory.

He said both Indira Gandhi Medical College and the Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College would be equipped with the best medical facilities to cater to needs of the locals and those living in adjoining states. He said a multi-storied complex was being constructed where auditorium, library and other required facilities would be made available to college students.

Sundernagar, December 12
The SDM Mr Pankaj Rai, today set aside the election of Mrs Dayawanti, president, Gram Panchayat Chambi, held on December 20 2005, on the ground that her husband has encroached upon government land.

The election petition under Section 163 of the HP Panchyati Raj Act was preferred by one of the voters, Kashmir Singh, on the ground that Mathura Parshad, husband of the president, had encroached upon government land in Mohal Bhrari, and prayed for setting aside the election.

Interestingly Dayawanti denied her matrimonial life and deposed on oath that neither she was wife of Mathura Parshad nor three children belonged to her. She further stated that she was serving as maid servant in the house of Mathura Parshad.

On the other hand, the petitioner proved on record tendering various documents and leading oral evidence that Dayawanti was the wife of Mathura Parshad who had encroached upon government land and had filed an affidavit for regularisations of the encroachment before the Tehsildar, Sundernagar.

The court while deciding the petition, ordered that as per the record available on file pertaining to encroachment of land and parivar register and nomination form of the respondent, it was proved that the husband of respondent encroached upon land, and set aside the election of Dayawanti.