H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Devotees throng Mandi, Riwalsar lake
Buddha’s birth anniversary celebrations
Mandi, January 28
Followers of the Buddhist faith from all over the country and abroad are making a beeline for this pilgrimage centre to commemorate Lord Buddha’s 2550th birth anniversary, which began here today.

Hospital closure hits leprosy patients hard
Nahan, January 28
Patients afflicted with leprosy have been deprived of a dedicated health facility with the closure of the local Leprosy Hospital in spite of a recent of High Court directive.

Probe disappearance of CM’s servant: BJP
Shimla, January 28
Mr Rajinder Rana, spokesperson for the state BJP, has demanded a CBI probe into the disappearance of the domestic servant of Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, who has been missing for the past two months.

SC/ST employees seek promotion
Mandi, January 28
The HP Scheduled Tribe Employees Federation (HPSTEF) has urged the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, to abolish the order issued on October 24 last year and promote all the ad hoc SC/ST government employees at par with the general category employees.

14-year-old boy charred to death
Mandi, January 28
A 14-year-old boy was charred to death after the parental house he was sleeping in was reduced to ashes at Kaholi Zan village under Lot panchayat in Gohar subdivision last night. The police has put the loss at Rs 2 lakh.

In-laws booked
Nurpur, January 28
The police on Friday booked seven members of the in-laws of Neelam Kumari, daughter of Hardeep Singh of nearby Baranda village, for harassing her for bringing insufficient dowry.

Kamaleshwar’s death mourned
Shimla, January 28
Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, has expressed sorrow over the demise of Kamleshwar, a noted writer, journalist and film writer, who died yesterday.

Devotees throng Mandi, Riwalsar lake
Buddha’s birth anniversary celebrations
Tribune News Service

Mandi, January 28
Followers of the Buddhist faith from all over the country and abroad are making a beeline for this pilgrimage centre to commemorate Lord Buddha’s 2550th birth anniversary, which began here today.

The inaugural ceremony of the anniversary was presided over by His Holiness Lotsa Rimpochhe of Kee Monastery in Spiti, with the Mandi MP Pratibha Singh as the chief guest.

The devotees circumambulated the sacred Riwalsar Lake here and offered their devotion to the Lotus God, Padamsambhava, and fed fish. Some also took a holy dip in the lake.

Local Hindus joined the celebrations by taking a holy dip in lake along with their children. It is considered sacred for children to take a dip in the lake.

The lake is home to “scared fish” worshiped in devotion to the Buddhist guru sage Padamsambhava, who preached Buddhism in Himalayan kingdoms.

The town wore a colourful look as Buddhist prayers flags tied by the devotees lined the streets.

Riwalsar is the major pilgrimage centre for not only for the Buddhists but also for the Hindus and the Sikhs.

A gurdwara has been dedicated to Guru Teg Bahadur, who is believed to have visited the sacred lake.

Devotees have not only come from places like Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Kulu, Shimla and McLeodganj in the state, but also from areas like Leh-Ladakh, Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan for pilgrimage.

Vice-president of the Guru Padamsambhava Nimgompa Buddhist Mandir Committee, Riwalsar, which is organising the ceremony, L.S. Thakur said the birth anniversary would conclude in April-May and ceremonies were being organised at all historic places linked to the Lord Buddha - Boddh Gaya in Bihar (where Lord Buddha attained Nirvana) and Lumbini in Nepal (where he was born).

“All the pilgrimage centres in the state are organising the ceremony to commemorate the birth anniversary.”

His Holiness Lotsa Rimpochhe will bless devotees and impart “Tsewang Tsetu Bhiksha” to them at a special session tomorrow.

Besides him, the session will be addressed by Tashi Palzor, a Buddhist guru from Lahaul, and Dr V.C. Negi, Bhoti language scholar from HPU.

Hospital closure hits leprosy patients hard
Tribune News Service

Nahan, January 28
Patients afflicted with leprosy have been deprived of a dedicated health facility with the closure of the local Leprosy Hospital in spite of a recent of High Court directive.

As a result, leprosy patients are now feeling stigmatised and ostracised due to the apathetic attitude of the local medical authorities, according to Surat Singh, president, Kusth Rogi Sanghrash Samiti.

He said patients coming for medical treatment needed to be admitted to a separate indoor facility. Such patients were usually not welcome in general ward.

“The need for opening a 10-bed ward for leprosy patients was felt by the High Court in its recent order. To date no such facility has come up,” said a patient.

Patients afflicted with the disease need to be given special care and treatment, said local CPM leader Digvijay.

He said the Leprosy Hospital should have continued to function till some alternative arrangements had been made for such patients.

Chief Medical Officer Devender Oberoi could not be contacted for his comments.

Probe disappearance of CM’s servant: BJP
Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 28
Mr Rajinder Rana, spokesperson for the state BJP, has demanded a CBI probe into the disappearance of the domestic servant of Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, who has been missing for the past two months.

In a statement here today, he said that it was surprising that the police had made no effort to trace the missing person.

He wanted to know if Mr Virbhadra Singh was aware of it and, if so, what action he had taken in the matter so far. If a Chief Minister could not ensure the safety and security of his own servants how would he be able to tackle the mafia dons.

He said a person going missing from the Chief Minister's residence was a serious matter and only an independent investigation could help bring out the truth.

SC/ST employees seek promotion
Tribune News Service

Mandi, January 28
The HP Scheduled Tribe Employees Federation (HPSTEF) has urged the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, to abolish the order issued on October 24 last year and promote all the ad hoc SC/ST government employees at par with the general category employees.

In a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister and the UPA Chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and the chairperson, National Commission for the ST, Mr Kunwar Singh, the HPSTEF leaders, Mr B.S. Negi, and Mr M.R. Negi, stated that the order issued by the Personnel Department last year had violated the Supreme Court judgment on the issue upholding the validity of the Constitutional 85th amendment.

The leaders claimed that the seniority of employees was subject to the order of the Supreme Court and the state government order regularising the ad hoc promotion of the general category employees had affected the seniority of the ST employees.

They demanded that the seniority of the SC/ST employees should be treated at par with the general category employees as it stood on April 7, 1996. "All the eligible SC/ST employees should be promoted and the government should scrap the order passed on October 6, 2006, in view of the Supreme Court judgment".

14-year-old boy charred to death
Tribune News Service

Mandi, January 28
A 14-year-old boy was charred to death after the parental house he was sleeping in was reduced to ashes at Kaholi Zan village under Lot panchayat in Gohar subdivision last night. The police has put the loss at Rs 2 lakh.

According to the police, the fire broke out in the house of Mr Natra Singh in a remote village last night from a burning kerosene lamp. His son was sleeping alone in the room where there was no electricity. His bedding caught fire and engulfed the entire house.

The fire victim has been identified as Dola Ram, a student of Class VIII. Before the fire was spotted by his parents, it had engulfed the entire house, the police said.

In-laws booked

Nurpur, January 28
The police on Friday booked seven members of the in-laws of Neelam Kumari, daughter of Hardeep Singh of nearby Baranda village, for harassing her for bringing insufficient dowry.

The police has lodged an FIR against Chandershekhar, husband, Puran Singh, father-in-law, Nirmala Devi, mother-in-law, Mohni and Dohini, sisters-in-law, and Bhabba and Rockey, brothers-in-law of Neelam. — OC

Kamaleshwar’s death mourned
Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 28
Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, has expressed sorrow over the demise of Kamleshwar, a noted writer, journalist and film writer, who died yesterday. He said Kamleshwar was a great exponent of Hindi literature and his writings were devoted to the cause of the suffering humanity. He had written several books which depicted concern about the people who suffered in silence.

The Chief Minister said it was his proud privilege to confer the first "Shikhar Sahitya Sammaan" on Kamleshwar, instituted by a Himachal-based literary organisation, Shikhar, only last year for his novel, "Kitne Pakistan".

Mr Ganesh Dut, a senior BJP leader, also mourned the death of the littérateur.