Dharamsala, September 10
Five girls were hired from a reputed company of Delhi to perform dance in the birthday party of former transport and tourism minister G.S. Bali.

This was stated by Raj Arora, organiser of the party and close friend of Bali, in a statement before the one-man judicial committee headed by Justice O.P. Garg here today.

In the open hearing that began in the district magistrate’s court here, he said the company that provided the girls was a winner of the President’s award. When Justice Garg asked to name the company, he said he would produce a visiting card of the owner of the company in the court on Tuesday. He admitted paying Rs 36,000 from his pocket to the company to send the girls to the party. He said the girls were wearing mini-skirts and jeans and that was a common fashion nowadays in big cities and even in Shimla.

When he used the word Shimla, a few lawyers of the BJP present in the courtroom objected to it and said he was trying to defame the hill state. On this, arguments ensued between lawyers and Arora. Raj Arora said he had paid Rs 17,500 in cash to the hotel authorities against the bills raised for the catering service. He said Bali’s family members were present in the party and no liquor was served to any guest.

He said he would produce photographs taken using mobile phones in which Bali’s family members were seen sitting in the party. He alleged the TV channel hid these facts in the clippings shown in the news broadcast.

In reply to a question by Justice Garg, he admitted that Bali danced with girls there, but the person specifically shown in the TV clipping was not Bali. He was Pammi, his friend from Chandigarh, he added. He said one of the dance girls went forward and brought Bali to the centre asking him to dance with her and thus he went forward and danced with her.

He said he had invited Subash Ahluwalia, former principal secretary to the CM, and a few other officials but no mediaperson was invited to the party and no video recording was done by him or any of the guests present there.

Earlier, general manager of the resort B.P. Chauhan told panel that the party was organised by Raj Arora and that Bali came there only for a few minutes. He said no liquor was served from the bar and the party was over before midnight.

Two other witnesses, local residents Dinesh Kapoor and Amit Sharma, also recorded their statements saying they were hurt to see their elected representative dancing with girls wearing short dresses verging on obscenity. Amit said Bali had tried to shutdown power supply and block the cable network when this news item was broadcast on the channel.

Star News reporter Jagwinder Patial did not turn up to record his statement. He and the CEO of Star News had sought one-month time to produce the original CD of the sting operation. Justice Garg granted them time.

Meanwhile, the fact-finding committee of the BJP had provided few CDs to Justice Garg for his perusal. The CDs were the TV recordings of the news item broadcast on the channel. Bali and few other witnesses would appear before the probe panel on Tuesday to record their statements.

Shimla, September 10
Despite the fact that the state government has sought a relief of Rs 1,250 crore from the Centre for damage on account of rain and floods that left almost 100 persons dead, the fact is that the state has received 34 per cent less rainfall during the monsoon this year.

The state has so far received 462.1 mm rainfall against normal 678 mm. The deficiency last year was 20 per cent and 17 per cent during 2005. In 2004, the deficiency was 43 per cent.

Only Una, Solan, Mandi, Kinnaur, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts have received normal rain this year. The worst affected has been the district of Chamba with 75 per cent deficiency, followed by Lahaul Spiti with 71 per cent less rainfall.

“The chances of making up for the deficiency seem bleak as barely two weeks of monsoon period remain,” said Manmohan Singh of the Meteorological Department. Technically, the monsoon period is from June 1 to September 30.

According to officials of the Agriculture Department, crops have not been much affected due to deficient rainfall as there weren’t any prolonged dry spells.

The water level in the Bhakra reservoir is reportedly around 20 feet less this year. The production has accordingly been affected.

Meanwhile, the capital and its surrounding areas received light showers even today. The weather remained overcast since morning. The Met office said the continuing dry spell in the state was likely to come to end with rain at isolated places during the next 24 hours.

Solan, September 10
Opposing the proposal of granting reservations to converted Christians and Muslims, the BJP’s SC Morcha today said this would adversely encourage religious conversions.

Addressing mediapersons here, executive member of the BJP’s SC cell, Virender Kashyap, asserted that it was an attack on the rights of the genuine SC community.

Asserting the BJP’s stern opposition over the issue, Kashyap said a resolution condemning this proposal was adopted at the BJP’s national executive meeting held in August this year. He said it was a question of concern as to why the present UPA government was so keen to pursue this agenda when the previous successive governments had never attempted to do so.

Hitting out at the AICC chief Sonia Gandhi he said ever since she assumed charge of the Congress, such conspiracies to propagate Christianity were being brought forward. He alleged that it was a planned conspiracy as the Vatican Pope had vowed to make India a Christian prominent country by 2015. — OC

Bilaspur, September 10
The state government is spending an unprecedented amount of Rs 130 crore for subsidizing essential commodities being distributed through government fare price shops in the state to all ration card holder families for keeping a check on price rise.

Addressing a series of public meetings at Majari, Chandewal, Karel, Dadrana and Kalakund in his Kotkehloor Assembly constituency, forests, youth services and sports minister Ramlal Thakur said though the rise in prices of essentials was a country-wide phenomena, yet Himachal government was the first in the country which had taken such a pioneering step to help the poor and the common man in the state.

He said the monthly family quota of edible oils had been doubled from this month which was being sold at Rs 40 for refined oil and Rs 45 for mustard oil.

He said now the price of dals had also been reduced further by Rs 5 and now “dal mash” and “Channa” was being sold at Rs 25 each.

Thakur said uptill now the HP Civil Supplies Corporation has provided 81,000 quintals of dals, 24,000 quintals of iodized salt at Rs 5 per kilo and 23 lakh litres of edible oils in the state.

Thakur said the medium irrigation scheme in Changer would cost Rs 88.09 crore to the government and it was being implemented in 6 phases, while its 1st phase was already functioning and was supplying precious water to Dabbat village. He said the scheme would irrigate 940 hectares.

He said the Rs 1.83 crore Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hast-shilp yojna had been sanctioned by the Central government for Bilaspur district which would train village craftsmen.

Nurpur, September 10
Parents of hapless deaf and dumb children are running from pillar to post to seek justice for them. They have failed to convince the Kangra Central Cooperative (KCC) Bank management to give relaxation to their wards in minimum qualification for clerical post in the bank.

The bank has advertised 135 clerical posts with 3 per cent reservation for deaf, blind and disabled candidates. These candidates need to be plus-two qualified for being eligible for these posts. On the other hand, the state government has arranged special schools for imparting education to these students only up to class X. As a consequence, these students cannot continue their studies after class X.

The government has set up five special schools for deaf and dumb students at Dharamsala, Shimla, Sundernagar, Solan and Chamba. All these schools are of matriculation standard. As many as 25 matriculate pass-outs from these schools have been left in the lurch due to lack of communication between the bank management and state education directorate.

According to Dharma Singh, a resident of Bhadwar village and father of Rajiv Kumar, a deaf and dumb aspirant who intends to apply for the advertised post, he has approached the bank management, the office of the deputy director for higher education at Dharamsala and the director, social welfare and empowerment, Shimla, to remove the anomaly at the earliest as the last date for filing applications is September 14. However, he has failed to convince the authorities concerned so far.

Managing director of the bank Dhruv Vashisht admitted that the issue had been brought to his notice. “The management will forward the case to the state government for approval if it was submitted to it in writing,” he maintained.

Solan, September 10
Condemning the registration of a false case against a correspondent of a vernacular daily by an official of the State Electricity Board at Kala Amb, the Solan Press Club today sought immediate intervention of the Chief Minister in the matter.

In an emergency meeting of the press club held here today, mediapersons expressed concern at the incident and said they would meet the CM and apprise him of the matter soon.

The mediapersons while terming the incident as an attack on the freedom of the press said it was an attempt to browbeat the press which endeavoured to highlight the truth. They also condemned the attitude of the board officials who had failed to act in time.

This had not only emboldened the erring official but had led to an agitation in front of the newspaper office on Saturday, they rued.

Earlier mediapersons from Sirmaur met the CM on August 29 at Baru Sahib and had briefed him about the incident. They also handed him a CD containing proofs of various irregularities in the official’s area of operation.

The CM assured them of inquiring into the matter. A similar assurance was also extended by power minister Ms Vidya Stokes when she was apprised of the matter telephonically. 

Solan, September 10
With the Electricity Board failing to provide online information on standard cost data in lieu of infrastructural development charges (IDC), industrial consumers are being charged at non-uniform rates in different industrial areas.

The board is yet to get approval of standard cost data for IDC from the electricity regulatory commission. This is a mandatory condition prior to imposition of any charges on consumers. Though the commission is yet to accord its approval for these charges, the board has already started charging the investors.

Inquires made by The Tribune revealed that while the industrial associations of Baddi-Barotiwala and Parwanoo have sought a stay on levying of these charges, the investors in industrial areas of Solan, Dharampur, Poanta Sahib, Kala Amb, Una, etc., have been forced to shell out hefty amounts as IDC.

Terming these charges as an unfair imposition on investors, an entrepreneur said, “The board has no right to charge these as the regulatory commission has not approved it. When consumers in Baddi-Barotiwala and Nalagarh industrial areas had been spared from these charges why should other investors pay these? an investor said.

There appears to be confusion in the board itself about the levying of these charges. While the board professes that the investors were directed to pay IDC for setting up infrastructure, it was not clear why no uniform rates were devised.

In one case, IDC of around Rs 1,585 per KW had been levied on an investor that amounted to around Rs 2.5 lakh. These charges were withdrawn after the investor approached the chief engineer (commercial) who held that since the IDC worked out by the board for different substations had not been accepted by the commission, these charges could not be raised against industrial consumers.

A situation had arisen where those approaching the higher authorities managed to obtain a stay on such charges while others continued to pay through their nose. A senior official of the board, however, said these charges were likely to be approved soon and even those who had obtained a stay would have to pay the approved rate.

Investors also rued that even the builders, who comprised commercial consumers, should be made to pay these charges as they also contributed significantly to power consumption. They further demanded putting the standard cost data rates on the board’s website so that the consumers knew how much they had to pay in lieu of these charges.

Shimla, September 10
CPM and CPI activists all over the state today organised demonstrations in protest against the joint naval exercises being conducted by the USA, Japan, Australia, India and Singapore in the Bay of Bengal.

A dharna was organised outside the office of the deputy commissioner. The activists later took out a procession and addressed streetcorner meeting at Naaz. They also presented a memorandum to the deputy commissioner opposing the joint naval exercises.

“The Centre is going against the common minimum programme of pursuing an independent foreign policy and now even allies of the USA like Japan and Australia have been involved,” said Tikender Pawar, a member of the state secretariat.

The activists opposed the growing military collaboration with the USA, saying that it was against the interest of India. They demanded that the naval exercise should be immediately stopped and it should be ensured that no such action was taken again.

Protests were held by CPM and CPI activists at Mandi, Kangra, Dharamsala, Solan, Sirmaur, Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur also.

Shimla, September 10
The government is considering to set up a directorate of power.

The government has opened the floodgates for the private sector and it has also taken lead in the country to frame a hydropower policy. However, it does not have the necessary set-up to implement the policy and monitor the implementation of many projects being executed in the private and public sectors. In fact, the Power Department had been virtually a non-entity all these years as the entire responsibility of the power sector was being shouldered by the state electricity board on behalf of the government. The situation has changed with the enforcement of the Electricity Act, 2003, and the board had been reduced to a service provider. It is now answerable to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission and not the government.

Even after privatisation of the hydropower sector the board has been carrying out the job of inviting tenders and evaluating bids for allotment of projects. A wing has been set up in the board to handle the private sector projects. But such an arrangement cannot be made for overseeing implementation of the projects.

For day-to-day monitoring of projects there is no option but to strengthen the department, explains additional chief secretary J.P. Negi, who looks after the Power Department. The government was planning to set up a directorate to be headed by an officer of the rank of chief engineer.

The role of the government does not end after the allotment of projects as provisions of the hydropower policy will have to be enforced not only during construction but even after completion. For instance, as per the policy the independent power producers (IPPs) are required to maintain a minimum 15 per cent discharge in the river downstream the diversion structure at all times as an environmental safeguard for protecting aquatic life, Negi points out. Further, other issues like water, fishing, recreational and navigational rights of local people, 70 per cent employment to Himachalis will have to be taken care of in accordance with the policy.

The proposed directorate will have a key role in ensuring smooth operations of projects set up in the same river basin and taking care of issues like sharing of data, technical expertise and experience, disaster management and other common issues. There is a provision in the policy for setting up a hydropower producers’ forum for various river basins in which the directorate will have an important role as the facilitator.

Chamba, September 10
Some “Bakarwals” (shepherds) of Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir have allegedly taken into possession around 500 sheep belonging to some residents of the Tissa security sector in Chamba district.

An FIR in connection with the alleged theft of sheep was got registered with the Tissa police station by three persons early this week.

Chamba SP S.P.S.Varma had put the security personnel posted along the border with J&K on alert following the incident.

He, however, ruled out the possibility of any hand of militants in the incident.

The occurrence of such incidents had been commonly reported on the borderland for the past several years owing to grazing disputes between the shepherds of Chamba region and the “Bakarwals” of Doda area.

The SP said he had talked to the Doda SP and discussed with him the police strategy to tackle the situation. A joint combing operation was expected to be launched to trace the livestock and arrest the thieves.

Salooni DSP Patial and the Tissa police station SHO had been directed to visit the incident site for investigation. 

Chamba, September 10
A servant in a local dhaba near the main bus stand was stabbed by two unidentified persons last night. The injured was identified as Lachhia Ram, a resident of Laghora village in the district, who is struggling for his life at the local regional hospital.

Both the assailants fled after the incident.

According to sources, two unidentified persons came to the dhaba late last night and placed their order. But soon they had an altercation with Lachhia Ram.

On being infuriated, they stabbed Lachhia, wounding him critically.

Finding the servant critically wounded, people gathered on the spot.

They took him to the local region hospital where he was admitted and is now undergoing treatment.

Chamba SP S.P.S. Varma said the police had registered a case and special teams had been constituted to nab the culprits.

Dalhousie, September 10
To embark on new ventures of harnessing pumped waters, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has identified 56 sites for pumped storage schemes with an aggregate installed capacity of 94,000 MW in the country.

Chairman and managing director (CMD) of the NHPC, S.K. Garg, who was here on a two-day visit to hydroelectric projects in Chamba district said water from the rivers could be utilised repeatedly through the newly invented pumped storage hydropower schemes.

Garg said India was bestowed with viable hydro potential assessed to be about 84,000 MW at 60 per cent load factor equivalent to 1,48,700 MW installed capacity. In addition 6,780 MW in terms of installed capacity from small, mini and micro-hydel schemes had also been assessed, he added.

With an authorised share capital of Rs 15,000 crore and an investment base of approximately Rs 25,000 crore, the NHPC was ranked as a premier organisation in the country for the development of hydropower.

The NHPC has taken a new initiative called ‘Project Kiran’ to implement enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solution framework to achieve higher levels of productivity, performance and profitability.

He said the corporation was operating a 14.1-MW Devighat project in Nepal and had also completed the Nuwakot Rural Electrification Project in Nepal covering electrification of 64 villages along with sub-stations and connected lines one year ahead of schedule.

The corporation had also commissioned the 60-MW Kurichu project in Bhutan on a turnkey basis, Garg said.

He further said the NHPC had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) of India to undertake rural electrification works under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojna (RGGVY) by assisting the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Orissa and Jammu and Kashmir.

Shimla, September 10
The government will provide free education to the disabled with scholarship and additional scholarships for disabled hostellers. It will also consider relaxation in the income limit for allotment of land for house construction so that the benefits were delivered to the maximum members of deserving categories.

Addressing the second meeting of the Disabled Welfare Board here today, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the government would consider setting up old-age homes with disabled hostels all over the state. It would urge private bus operators to share the social welfare responsibility towards the disabled, freedom fighters and other eligible sections of society.

The Chief Minister said that 25, 416 eligible disabled were being provided social welfare pension, incurring an expenditure of about Rs 6 crore annually. He said the government had earmarked half of its budgetary provisions for social welfare activities. It had constructed a disabled home combined with an old-age home at Dari, near Dharamsala, with a view to providing company to the young disabled and the aged people who could guide them in their future endeavours.

Orders had been issued to earmark seats for the disabled in all buses.

Free education facilities were being provided to the disabled up to the highest level along with scholarships ranging between Rs 150 and Rs 450 per month. Free education facilities were also available to the disabled in ITIs, polytechnics and other vocational courses.

Virbhadra Singh said 2,192 identified disabled children were being provided 'home-based education' out of which 420 children were being provided education by NGOs.

The government had decided to allot 2 biswas of land in the rural areas and one biswa in the urban areas to the landless and houseless families. He said 25 metres of land was being provided to the disabled for self-employment ventures for a temporary shed at 5 per cent of the market price or double of the five years average, whichever was less.

The government would initiate action against those who were availing various benefits on the basis of fake disabled certificates.

The Chief Minister said the government was considering setting up a rehabilitation centre for mentally challenged people near Shimla where all required facilities would be made available for their rehabilitation. The government had enhanced the marriage grant for the disabled from Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000.