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Cong doing vote-bank politics: Rajnath
Rajnath washes hands off CD Fire in Parwanoo unit of
Ind-Swift
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Tackling TB
IT teachers want MoU revoked Chowkidar murdered
Polythene use on
despite ban Sterilisation not to give relief N.K. Kaushik named DME 36 oxen found dead Police remand for killing father Forestry village to be set up Make Nerwa full tehsil
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BJP bereft of real issues, harps on temple: CM Una, April 6 He was addressing Jan Chetna Rally at the college ground here. He said the BJP was now in fix over the issue of the CD that might trigger communal riots in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country. He said it was for the first time in the country that the Election Commission had to take action against a national party and direct the state election commission to file an FIR against its national president Rajnath Singh and others for issuing such a CD. He said whereas the Congress could organise Jan Chetna Rally with its local leaders as the main speakers and attract 20,000 people here at Una, the BJP could not dare to organize Satta Parivartan Rally at Hamirpur with its local leaders and had to invite Rajnath Singh for the same. Virbhadra said byelections were generally held on the death of a sitting MP or MLA, but the voters of Hamirpur constituency were forced to bear this byelection because Suresh Chandel of the BJP, who was elected MP from here, was caught accepting money for asking questions in the Lok Sabha and was disqualified as an MP by the Lok Sabha and also by the Supreme Court. Ram Lal Thakur, forest minister and strong candidate from the constituency, said the Congress had done a lot of development earlier as well as during the last four years in the fields of education, industry, irrigation, roads and health in the state. He said the people knew which party could ensure development in the state. He called upon the people to reject the BJP and vote for the Congress in the forthcoming byelection. Viplove Thakur, state president of the Congress, said the large turnout of the people at Jan Chetna Rally spoke volumes about public faith in the Congress. Industry minister Kuldeep Kumar, MLAs Mukesh Aganihotri and Rakesh Kalia also spoke on the occasion. Revenue minister Sat Mahajan, power minister Vidhya Stokes, irrigation minister Thakur Kaul Singh, agriculture minister Raj Kishan Gaud, food and civil supplies minister Singhi Ram, minister for animal husbandry Harsh Mahajan, excise minister Rangila Ram Rao, transport minister G.S. Bali, MLA Anita Verma were also present on the occasion. Earlier, Virbhadra Singh launched the supply of cheap ration items for BPL families at the municipal park here. He said under the PDS, 1.4 lakh ration card holders throughout the state would get ration articles at cheaper rates through 3,445 fair-price shops. He also laid the foundation stone of a bus stand here which would be constructed at a cost of 18 crore. |
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Cong doing vote-bank politics: Rajnath Hamirpur, April 6 Addressing the Satta Parivartan Sankalap Rally here on the 28th foundation day of the BJP, he also castigated the Central Government on several counts comparing the policies of present regime with that of the previous NDA government. He said, “The Congress-led government is indulging in vote bank politics; while former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had raised the head of the country high through international diplomacy. He dealt with America very aptly, while the present government had not done so in case of nuclear deal.” Coming down heavily on the UPA government on the issue of price rise, he said, “The prices of sugar, LPG and pulses have skyrocketed. The government should take up the issue through the joint parliamentary committee and take action on the issue.” He accused the Congress government of pursuing Muslim- appeasement policy and said while it dithered on the issue of celebrating centenary of Vande Matram, it gave religion-based reservation to them in Andhra Pradesh. Exhorting enthusiastic and responsive crowd, the BJP leader said the party was becoming stronger with every election in the country and after victory in Punjab, Uttarakhand and various municipal election, it was heading towards victory in Uttar Pradesh and next elections in Former Chief Minister of Delhi Sahib Singh Verma, former union minister Shanta Kumar, former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and state BJP chief Jai Ram Thakur also addressed the rally. Talking to mediapersons after the rally, Rajnath Singh said the UPA government had failed on He said the BJP was of the firm opinion that India should not hold talks with Pakistan on J&K issue till it destroyed all terrorist camps on its soil.
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Rajnath washes hands off CD Kangra, April 6 Talking to The Tribune at the local airport here this morning before heading for Hamirpur to preside over a party rally, he said he neither knew anything about this CD nor had seen it. "I am shocked to know that a case has been registered against me because this is the first FIR registered against me in any case throughout my life", he said. It may be mentioned that an FIR had been registered against him, Lalji Tandon and other senior party leaders on the direction of the Election Commission over complaints that the CD was designed to stir communal passions. The EC had also served a notice on the BJP over the video CD issue citing the model code of conduct. Adding that he had full faith in the EC, Rajnath Singh said that the party would file its reply to the notice of the commission. He said the BJP believed in issue-based politics and contested the poll on the basis of issues only. Asked to comment upon the growing indiscipline in the party, he said:"No political party was more disciplined than the BJP in the country". Both Congress and the left parties had witnessed many vertical splits during their political life. The BJP was the only political party which had so far not experienced even a single vertical split. Regarding the issue of corruption he said the BJP was of the firm opinion that corruption should not be tolerated at any cost. About the candidate for the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, Rajnath Singh said the nominee would be decided after recommendations were received from the state unit of the party. Earlier, former union minister and Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, state BJP president Jai Ram Thakur, among others, received Rajnath Singh at the local airport. Former union minister and chief minister of Delhi Sahib Singh Verma also accompanied the party chief. |
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Fire in Parwanoo unit of Ind-Swift Solan, April 6 The fire tenders which rushed to the spot managed to control the fire after about four hours though operations continued till the evening to douse the simmering smoke. Huge smoke plumes rose towards the sky as the fire spread towards the rest of the unit. The policemen who visited the spot said though no definite reason could be sited at the moment but the electricity department had been asked to give a technical report. This would give an accurate idea of the cause of the fire. The first floor which housed raw materials, finished goods, machinery as well as packaging material were burnt. The firemen had to break open the windows, doors as well as walls to douse the fire. Being a place having little access the firemen faced suffocating situations amidst smoke. It was a close shave for the chemicals which were housed in a separate floor. |
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Traffic congestion bane of Palampur Palampur, April 6 In the absence of these bypasses, the narrow Mandi-Pathankot national highway that passes through the town has become a major traffic hazard. There has been manifold increase in the number of vehicles in the town, but the width of most of the roads is the same as it was 20 years ago. Traffic jams can be witnessed in many parts of the town during peak hours. The town has witnessed all-round development over the past few years. The population of the town has gone up from 5,000 to 40,000. Many new housing colonies have come up in and outside the town. However, no effort has been made to widen roads and construct parking lots. On the other hand, old parking lots have been converted into new markets. At present, it has become difficult to move in narrow markets of the town. Lakhs have been spent on the two bypasses over the past 20 years but these have not been made operational till date. The roads in the town are narrow and this leads to traffic bottlenecks. The condition of most of the roads is deplorable. There is a general complaint that the roads are not repaired in accordance with the laid-down specifications. The recent decision of the municipal council to allow fruit and vegetable vendors to sit along the roadside on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway has further aggravated the situation. These vendors have encroached upon a major part of the road so there is always a traffic jam near the bus stand. No one in the administration has bothered to ask municipal council officials to shift these vendors to some other place. Save Palampur, a local voluntary organisation, has time and again urged the council officials to earmark an alternative site for fruit vendors, but in vain. The council is charging Rs 20 per day from these vendors. |
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No sputum test facility for MDR patients Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, April 6 The samples have to be sent to Delhi or Ahmedabad for the test. The samples from the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) here are sent to New Delhi for the culture sensitivity test. Though there is a proposal of the TB division of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for setting up a EQU centre at Dharampur in Solan district, where there is a separate tuberculosis hospital, the project has been delayed as the machinery and equipment is still awaited. Though the ministry has sanctioned the project to the state and crores would be spent on it, the delay in executing the project is causing inconvenience to the patients. Private laboratories charge almost Rs 7,000 for the culture sensitivity test, while it can be got done for Rs 500 in the government sector. “With no provision for sputum culture sensitivity test for AFB in Himachal, all samples are sent to Delhi,” said Dr R.S. Negi from the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at the IGMC. Another problem being faced by patients suffering from multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis is that the cost of treatment is very high. Efforts are on at the government level to provide free medicines to at least patients belonging to IRDP and BPL families. Under the normal treatment for tuberculosis under DOTS, a patient is given three-drug regime for six months while in case of MDR patients, a combination of six drugs is given and that also for a period of 18 months. It has been observed that in most of the MDR cases, the patients are unable to complete the treatment due to cost factor and as such remain infected. Moreover, with no provision for culture sensitivity test in the state, either in the government or the private sector, some of the infected persons remain uncured.
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IT teachers want MoU revoked Mandi, April 6 The IT association in a press note issued here stated that they had taken up the matter with MP Pratibha Singh who had asked the education director to look into the problem and redress it. The association warned that if the matter was not resolved within two days they would protest further. The DOACC was harassing the IT teachers by transferring them to distant places, the note said. The DOEACC was paying them a meager Rs 2,760 per month even as they attended schools like other government teachers. The association stated that the government should cancel the MoU with the DOEACC and take over IT education.On the other hand, the DOEACC officials claimed that the society was incurring losses by running IT courses in schools due to lack of strength. “The government has signed an MOU with the society till 2008”, they said. |
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Chowkidar murdered Nahan April 6 Sources said for the past over 15 years Ram Singh was working on the farmhouse and was living there without his family. Injuries were found on the lower back of his body. He had bled through his mouth. The Paonta police suspected foul play in his death and sent his body for postmortem examination. Paonta Sahib police station SHO Narvir Rathour said the police had received the opinion of the medical officer who had conducted postmortem examination, which hinted death due to injuries. He said the final opinion would come after the receipt of the chemical-testing report. He said the police had registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC and several persons had been detained for interrogation. He said as the deceased was living all alone the police would have hard time searching his links and relations with local residents. The police was investigating on different lines to reach his killer. Paonta Sahib DSP Padam Chand, said the police were not able to get the home address of the deceased, who lived somewhere in Haryana. Local people said they were unaware about his family as he lived alone. His employer also made similar statements. The body was cremated by local residents in presence of his employer. |
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Polythene use on
despite ban Nurpur, April 6 The ban was announced on January 1,1999, during the Dhumal government but the formal notification was issued by the Congress government only on June 4, 2004, banning the use of polythene bags below 70 microns under the Himachal Pradesh Non-Biodegradable Garbage Control Act, 1995. Even though the government empowered 18 officials at the district and subdivisional levels to curb the use of polythene bags, the use of polythene carry bags is rampant in various parts of the state. Environmentalists have urged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to enforce the ban effectively to preserve ecology of the hill state. |
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Sterilisation not to give relief Shimla, April 6 The samiti urged forest minister Ram Lal Thakur not to harp on the sterilisation programme as it was only one of the required measures. There were over 3,00,000 monkeys and only 5,000 were being sterilised in the first phase and that too in the urban areas. Similarly, the plan to plant species which provided food for simians in forests to check their migration to human settlements was also a long-term measure. Several other steps like scientific culling in identified areas and lifting of the ban on export of monkeys would have to be taken to check the menace. |
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N.K. Kaushik named DME Shimla, April 6 Even though Dr Ritu Sarin retired as the DME on December 31, the government had not appointed anyone against this important post. The government yesterday appointed Dr N.K. Kaushik, Principal of Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College, to this post. The appointment of the DME had been delayed and the DPC deferred without any specific reason on February 13. Dr Surender Kashyap, Principal of IGMC, had been holding additional charge as the DME till now. |
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36 oxen found dead Nahan April 6 Sources said the oxen were thrown from a truck. They were lying in heaps. Expert who visited the site said “it seems that oxen had died due to multiple injuries and suffocations”. Oxen were found lying dead at four different places in the Tapu area near village Kunja Matrallion village. They were reportedly brought in trucks by unidentified persons last night and thrown on the riverbank. Residents of the area were taken aback when they found that skins of over 12 animals had been removed. Paonta residents, including a large number of workers of Hindu organisations, including the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and the Shiv Sena rushed to the spot. They said that 32 Oxen were dead and four were unconscious and were dying as no medical help available. Workers of Hindu organisation with the help of social worker Nirmal Sharma buried the cattle on the bank itself. The VHP, the Bajrang Dal and chief of Himachal Pradesh unit of Shiv Sena Madhukar Dogri, in their separate statements, expressed deep anguished over this incident. They said many such incidents had already taken place in past one year in the Paonta area and administration had failed to stop such incidents. They have threatened to launch an agitation against the killing of cattle in the Paonta area. Paonta Dy SP Padam Chand visited the spot along with other senior officials. He said a case under cruelty to animal’s law had been registered. He said information was being gathered to nab the miscreants. |
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Police remand for killing father Mandi, April 6 The postmortem report revealed that the victim had died due to “fatal injuries inflicted on his head and neck and his neck bone was also fractured”. Medical examination of the two accused was conducted at the hospital. Medical report was awaited to ascertain whether they were intoxicated or not at the time of murder, the police said. The victim’s wife, and mother of the two accused, Punu (50), lodged a complaint at the Aut police station around 11.30 am yesterday. In her complaint, she alleged that her husband, Rodu Ram, (54) was sitting in the verandah of house when her two sons, Dhani Ram and Mani Ram, entered the house under the influence of liquor. There was an argument among them, which led to a fight. Punu alleged that Dhani Ram picked up a boulder and hit his father on the head and Mani Ram kicked his father. “After that, they dragged him from the verandah in the nearby field and beat him to death there”, she further added. Aut police station SHO Pritam Chand told The Tribune the accused had kicked and hit the victim, who died on the spot itself. The police has recovered the boulder used in the crime from the spot of murder. The motive of murder could not be ascertained so far. He said Rodu Ram used to stay with his third son, Tabe Ram, at Kamad village. |
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Forestry
village to be set up Shimla, April 6 Climate change was a global phenomenon but its impact was more evident in hills where forest, horticulture and medicinal plant species were moving upwards. It was imperative to carry out research studies to identify the factors responsible for the phenomenon so that remedial measure could be taken, observed Kishwan, who was here on a visit to the Himalayan Forest Research Institute. Studies were also required to quantify the economic value of the forests and their contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) so that adequate budgetary allocation could be ensure under plan to this important sector. Another new thrust area was urban forests which had not received much attention all these years. Urban forests played an important role in mitigating the environmental impact. He stressed the need for readjusting forestry research to be in tune with the emerging environmental challenges and to understand the role of forests in containment of noise pollution and green house gases (GHGs), carbon capture and storage, amelioration of microclimate and improvement of soil Underlining the need to disseminate the research findings and new technologies to various user groups through a well-defined extension programme, Kishwan announced that a model forestry village would be established in Himachal Pradesh this year. It would serve as a demonstration and dissemination forum for extending latest information and technical knowhow of forestry to the people at large.He also announced that ICFRE would soon establish van vigyan kendras (VVKs) on the pattern of krishi vigyan kendras in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The kendras would also provide training to farmers and ensure supply of quality seeds and planting material of local species. |
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