Hamirpur, June 2
Around 59.5 per cent voters cast their votes in the 17 assembly segments for the Hamirpur byelection today. The polling remained peaceful and no untoward incident was reported form anywhere.

The highest percentage (70) was recorded in the Kotkehloor assembly segment represented by Congress candidate Ram Lal Thakur. The percentage was lowest (53) in the Kutlehar assembly segment. The polling percentage in other assembly segment was: 60 per cent in Bilaspur, 58 per cent in Ghumarwin, 61 per cent in Gerhwin, 59.33 per cent in Nadaun, 60 per cent in Hamirpur, 64 per cent in Bamsan, 58 per cent in Mewa, 60.1 per cent in Naduanta, 61 per cent in Gagret, 56 per cent in Chintpurni, 60 per cent in Santokhgarh, 57 per cent in Una, 60 per cent in Jaswan and 57 per cent in Paragpur and Jwalamukhi.

The percent this time is lower then the last elections (61.1 per cent).

In all, 11,75,329 voters were to cast their votes today to decide the fate of six candidates in the byelection in which BJP candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal and Congress candidate Ram Lal Thakur are locked in a contest.

The main feature of the polling was that women were seen in much higher a number than men at many polling booths. At 15 polling booths visited by this correspondent in five constituency of Hamirpur district, the percentage of women was around 10 per cent more than men.

BJP candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal cast his vote at the Samirpur polling booth, while Congress candidate Ram Lal cast his vote at the Ghiryal polling booth.

The polling was brisk in the early hours and long queues were seen in front of polling booths. Polling went on at a good pace in Una district although the day temperature there hovered around 40°C.

The voters of Dhagota village at the Khyah polling booth boycotted polling and none of the total 92 voters went to polling booth to cast vote.

Una: Voting for the Parliamentary Hamirpur constituency went on peaceful throughout the district today. Voting took place for the five constituencies namely Una, Gagret, Santokhgarh, Chintpurni and Kutlehar.

There were reports from Arniala village that someone had set on fire a congress booth. A complaint was lodged at the Una police station and the police is investigating. Other than this, no untoward incident was reported.

While Una constituency reported 58 per cent voting, Gagret 58 per cent, Kutlehar 60 per cent, Chintpurni 56 per cent and Santokhgarh reported 60 per cent voting. Sources said the voting percentage of Una would not be more than 55 per cent. There was hardly any rush as due to hot weather people seemed reluctant to come out to vote. Overall voting went on peaceful.

It was pointed out during deliberations that with the vast wealth of natural resources and manpower, the SAARC countries could emerge as a leading economy of the world after China.

The Pakistani delegates were the most vocal and their main concern was the restrictive visa regimes, which, they said, hindered free movement between India and Pakistan. They also wanted the Kashmir issue to be resolved at the earliest to ensure faster movement on road to South Asian union.

Dr Osman Farruk from Bangladesh said since the SAARC countries shared the history and had much in common they should have a common social sciences curriculum. Speaker of Sri Lanka W.J.M. Lokubandara said the region had its own peculiar problems and aping the west could make them lose their own identity. They fought the foreign powers unitedly in the past and they should evolve their own system and roadmap for progress, he said.

There was a fair number of women participants and the Pakistani delegation had the maximum number - six. Kashmala Tariq was quick to notice that there was no woman on the dais. There were no women in the Indian delegation, though Pratibha Singh, who was a special invitee with the other Himachal MPs, was present.

There was a faux paus when the old national anthem of Nepal, since scrapped by the new regime, was played at the start of the conference. However, this prompted Dinesh Trivedi, one of the Indian delegates to suggest that the SAARC countries should explore the possibility of having its own distinct anthem.

Shimla, June 2
Election to the post of mayor and deputy mayor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation will be held on June 4.

Director, Urban Development, T.D. Negi, said the term of the outgoing mayor and deputy mayor would expire on June 2 and election of new incumbents would take place immediately after oath taking by the elected councillors.

He said the office of the mayor was to be filled from the general category and the office of deputy mayor was open to all categories. After electing the mayor, election for the deputy mayor will be held at the same venue immediately.

The poll shall take place between 12.00 noon to 2.00 pm on the same day, he added.

Shimla, June 2
Shimla today recorded the hottest day of the summer season with the maximum temperature soaring to 28.3°C, the Met office said.

The maximum temperature of Shimla was more than four degrees above normal, while the minimum at 18.2°C was 1.2 degrees above normal.

The Met office said Una was the hottest place in the state at over 41°C, crossing the 40 degrees mark for the second successive day today.

The maximum at Sundernagar soared to 38°C followed by 35.4°C at Bhuntar, 34.1°C at Dharamsala and 36°C at Solan. Dharamsala recorded a minimum temperature of 21.6°C, while Sundernagar and Bhuntar recorded lows of 18.3°C and 14.4°C, respectively. The maximum at Kalpa in Kinnuar district also rose to 7.7°C, which was two to three degrees above normal.

The Met office forecasted rains and thundershowers at isolated places in the state during the next 24 hours. — UNI

Shimla, June 2
Leading parliamentarians belonging to various political parties, editors and journalists from Pakistan, who were here to attend the conference on “Towards South Asian Unity” visited the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) here today.

They remained at the institute for about an hour. The dignitaries included Attiya Anaytulla, S.M. Zaffar, Anjum Rasheed, Ommar Arshad, M.P. Bhandara, Wasim Ahamad, Anjum Ahamad and Kanwar Khalid Yunus.

Chandigarh, June 2
Seasonal streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs in Himachal Pradesh are home to 104 fish species. But now there is a need to check their declining population, says a study conducted by the department of Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh.

The study, “Maturation phases of fish in Pong and Gobindsagar reservoirs”, was conducted last year. It was submitted to the government for perusal.

A team of zoologists studied the breeding patterns of commercial fish species in Pong and Gobindsagar reservoirs. The samples of various species, including
the singhala, catla, mrigal, grass carp, silver carp, rohu and the mahseer, were collected.

These reservoirs are home to Indian major carps and a few exotic carps, including the common carp and the silver carp.

Biologists feel that though pollution, water management practices, channelisation of rivers, etc, are responsible for the decline of aquatic fauna, the rule of thumb to decide the close season i.e June 1 to July 31 (the period during which the fish breeds) for all species is affecting their number.

“Global warming and loss of flooding areas have forced the fish in nature to either prepone or postpone the spawning periods,” explains M.S. Johal, who studied the breeding periods.

“We have recommended that the close season should be postponed for two weeks i.e. from June 15 to August 15, so that 80 per cent of the commercial fish get opportunity to breed in nature. The study also established that older fish breed later than the younger ones,” says Johal.

However, the director, Fisheries, B.D. Sharma, says the close season was not postponed because the study has some
limitations.

“The present sample was small and hence there are chances of error too. Moreover, after consulting fishermen and experts we decided to impose close season on the old pattern,” he adds.

He says the fish fauna has declined massively during the past three years. Though the decline in population is not restricted to any specific area, it is a widespread phenomenon.

Meanwhile, the Fishery Department laid the foundation stone of a fish farm at Hamni, in the Banjar valley in Kullu district last month, to enhance the population of the brown trout in the Tirthan river. For this, the department has sanctioned Rs 2.5 crore.

The government fish farm at Nagni, near the proposed farm, was washed away in 2005.

“The department is planning to stock 2.5 lakh fingerlings every year in the farm. No other commercial activity will be allowed in the farm and this will certainly help in increasing the fish stock in the Tirthan, which is a tributary of the Beas,” the
director says.

Nahan, June 2
Residents of Bherewala village under Paonta Subdivision today blocked Dehradun- Chandigarh national highway for one-and-a-half-hour in protest against the delay in arrival of fire tenders and administrative officers in their village, where four houses were gutted and three buffalos and two oxen died.

According to villagers, the fire broke out in a house after sparking in the high tension electric wire crossing over the house.

Immediately, adjoining house and two enclosures of cattle caught fire. Villagers were unable to save their cattle.

Before any help could reach the spot, inside a cowshed three buffalos and two oxen died due to suffocation and burn injuries.

Villagers said they did not get any help from the fire brigade and the administration in time to save their properties and cattle, “they arrived on the scene when every thing was finished” commented a villager.

The villagers said they had complained to the HPSEB officers several times in order to remove electric wires crossing over their houses as they posed a threat to their lives and property, but to no avail.

Agitated villagers sat on the national highway and shouted slogans against the authorities.

They lifted the blockade after Paonta SDM Amita Mahajan and Dy S.P Shubhra Tiwari visited the village and assured them that the electric wires would be removed and they would be compensated for the loss.

SDM said immediate relief was being disbursed to the affected families 

Shimla, June 2
The pro-government Muthahida Quaumi Movement (MQM) party may have to redefine its role in the wake of bloody clashes between supporters of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and suspended Chief Justice Iftikar M. Chaudhary in Karachi last month, Dr Farooq Sattar, deputy leader of the party said.

The May-12 violence was a setback to all moderate and progressive forces and undoubtedly the MQM, which was in power in the province. However, it was a result of a conspiracy hatched by a part of the establishment which did not support Mussharraf.

The Awami National Party was used as a weapon to engage in unwarranted violence, Sattar who was here to attend the meeting of SAARC parliamentarians explained during an interview with The Tribune.

He said the top brass of the party held a meeting in London with Altaf Hussain in which it was decided that the party would either pull out from the federal government or the provincial government or both after ascertaining views of partymen.

All possible situations were considered and finally it was decided that no step should be taken that would political instability. As it would only strengthen the army and impede the process of democratisation.

It was important as General Musharraf had promised to gradually transfer power as per a well thought out roadmap and above all he was secular, progressive and welfare oriented and not a dictator like Zia Ul Haq. A final decision will be taken at a mega congregation shortly.

The crisis that had gripped the country in the wake of the suspension of the Chief Justice he said his party was opposed to the manner in which Justice Chaudhari was manhandled and rendered incommunicado. The party adopted a neutral stance. However, its decision to hold a rally in May was being viewed as a wrong step. But it was the only way to prevent the country from being destabilised. It was the opposition which called off its rally unannounced and instead diverted its energy to disrupt the rally.

In the entire episode the MQM was at the receiving end of the media which did not do justice to it.

However, Sattar is confident that the party will regain its lost ground with the passage of time. It had in recent years emerged as the genuine middleclass party. It had gained immense popularity due its performance and policies.

Chamba, June 2
District Magistrate Gopal Sharma has issued directives to cable operators functioning in different parts of the district with special warning to transmit all Doordarshan channels, including metro and regional channels to cable network subscribers and other viewers.

He said any lapse in this regard by the operators would be dealt with stringently under the provisions of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, and said the offenders would not be spared.

The operators have also been directed to prohibit transmission of vulgar programmes and obscene channels.

The DM has directed district Information and Public Relations officer Mahesh Pathania to ensure whether cable operators were showing all Doordarshan channels to their subscribers or not.

The I&PR officer has also been directed to prepare a comprehensive report on the functioning of cable operators along with their particulars, including the monthly rent they were charging from the subscribers.