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Poll Schedule
Garg committee exonerates Bali
6 killed, 60 hurt in bus mishap
1 killed as truck overturns
Ruckus over election, exam dates
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Recruitments before elections questioned
Scribes protest outside SDM offices
BSP to probe foreign accounts
Four BJP leaders revolt
Tribune Impact
Include eco-concerns in poll manifestoes: Samiti
Chetna general secretary Mallika Nadda hugs mentally challenged sportsman Vikram Chauhan after honouring him at Bilaspur. Chauhan won the gold medal in volleyball during the International Special Olympics in Shanghai. — Tribune photo
Ex-bureaucrats join BSP
Bus operators block traffic
Reservation policy condemned
Villagers complain to DC
MC takes samples of sweets
Issues at stake
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Cong seeks change, others say no
Rakesh Lohumi Tribune News Service
Shimla, October 16 Chief election commissioner M.Gopalaswamy accompanied by other two election commissioners Navin Chawla and S.Y.Qureshi arrived in the afternoon and held meetings with representatives of the BJP, BSP, CPM, NCP and CPI, besides the Congress to ascertain their views on various poll-related issues. The non-Congress parties urged the commission to stick to the announced schedule and drew its attention to the fact that the elections had been held in the winter in the past. Speaker G.R. Musafir also met the commission and drew its attention to the fact that the House would not be able to complete the mandatory 35 sittings in the year if the poll was held in December. The Congress group led by forest minister Ram Lal Thakur pointed out that as extreme cold conditions prevailed during December and many areas came under snow it was not possible to hold the elections during this time. Further, examinations in the winter-closing schools were held during this month and as such staff will not be available for poll duty. Moreover, polling stations are also mostly set up in schools. There were already reports of snow in tribal areas. Besides, the completion of the election process more than two months before the expiry of the present term would create a peculiar situation where two Vidhan Sabhas would be in existence. The BJP group comprising general secretary Khushi Ram Balnatah, vice-president Rajiv Bindal, secretary H.N.Kashyap and head of legal cell Rajinder Sharma asserted that the elections could be held in the winter and produced two notifications pertaining to the holding of panchayat poll in December in 2000 and 2005. They urged the commission to go ahead with the announced schedule as the high mountain passes leading to Lahaul -Spiti would remain officially closed from November 15 to May 15. State BSP convener Vijay Singh Mankotia, who led the party representatives, maintained that weather in December was likely to be more benign than that in February. He said the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections had been held in the winter during 1980, 1984 and 1990. He said the Congress was afraid of facing the elections and if dates were changed it would indulge in more indiscretions. The CPM group led by W.R.Wardhrajan, in charge of Himachal affairs, also urged the commission not to change the announced schedule. There would be no constitutional crisis if two Houses existed for two months as such a situation had taken place in past too.
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Garg committee exonerates Bali
Shimla, October 16 The report submitted yesterday was considered and accepted by the Cabinet here today providing the much-needed relief to the beleaguered Congress leader on the eve of the Assembly poll. In his report the one-man Garg Inquiry Committee instituted by the government on the direction of the high court to look into the conduct of Bali did not find anything objectionable or indecent. The report had also indicted the television news channel for airing doctored video clips selectively. It wondered if the sting operation really served any larger public interest. The Cabinet observed that the report fully established Bali’s innocence and from no angle his conduct could be stated to be blameworthy. It accepted the report to that extent maintaining that the inquiry was limited to the conduct of the former minister during the party. The report even suspected that the sting operation might have been carried out at the behest of those opposed to Bali. It has gone to the extent of saying that the news channel had not followed professional ethics and it amounted to criminal dishonesty. Bali had all through maintained that he did not dance with girls and that he remained at the party for just a few minutes and that it was a conspiracy of his opponents to malign him. The inquiry report has vindicated his stand. While the report pertaining to Bali’s conduct had been submitted, Justice Garg will soon submit another report regarding sting operations being carried out by news channels. Supporters of Bali at Nagrota, Kangra , Dharamsala and other places in his home Kangra district burst crackers and distributed sweets as soon as they came to know of the news. The inquiry report has come as a jolt to the BJP which had made it a major issue. It had set up its own fact-finding committee which had indicted Bali. It submitted the report to Governor V.S. Kokje along with a memorandum demanding the registration of a criminal case against the former minister for the violation of various laws at the party. The “clean chit” has deprived the party of a major election issue.
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6 killed, 60 hurt in bus mishap
Dhaliara (Kangra), October 16 Two critically injured passengers were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, while some seriously injured were taken to Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College and Hospital, Dharamsala. Rest of the injured were taken to the Civil Hospital, Dehra. The exact cause of the accident was not immediately known. However, the police believed the driver could not negotiate a curve and the vehicle rolled down into the gorge. The bus was also overcrowded, said Dehra DSP Sita Ram. The bus (UP-14J-7006) was carrying pilgrims and was on its way to Kangra from Chintpurni shrine in Una district. Those who died on the spot were: Manoj Kumar (28), Sundari (24), Rekha (16), Raj Kumar (55) and Jai Prakash. An octogenarian woman, Savitri Devi, who was seriously injured in the accident, died on her way to the PGI, Chandigarh. A spokesman of the district police said 27 pilgrims, who had suffered minor injuries, were released from the Civil Hospital, Dehra, after first aid this afternoon. Ten seriously injured pilgrims were shifted to Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College and Hospital, Dharamsala, where they were undergoing treatment. Driver of the bus Suraj allegedly absconded from the site after the incident. He was, however, arrested from a nearby village in the afternoon. The bodies were handed over to the relatives after post-mortem examination in the evening. Dehra SDM Mamta said the administration had given an immediate relief of Rs 25,000 each to the next of the kin of the dead and Rs 12,000 each to the seriously injured. Other injured would be given relief in accordance to the nature of their injuries, she added.
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1 killed as truck overturns
Sundernagar, October 16 As per information received a truck (HP-33-2773), going to Bilaspur from Mandi, turned over near Slapper as the driver could not negotiate the curve properly. The deceased was identified as Om Parkash (45) from
Bhangrotu. The others injured were identified as Roshan lal from Pairi, Uttam Chand (driver) from
Bagsayar, Sitar Mohamad and Barkat Ali both hailing from Hurla (distt
Kullu). The dead body of Om Parkash was handed over to his relatives after the postmortem. |
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Ruckus over election, exam dates
Dharamsala, October 16 Kapoor alleged that the secretary of the education board ML Sharma came to his office in a night dress along with few of his staff members in a bid to issue a notification in the back date for finalisation of the schedule for the winter session’s examination. The BJP workers gheraoed the secretary’s office and raised slogans against the state government. They forced the secretary to move out of the office so that he could not perform any official duty at the night time. It may be mentioned that the Congress party had taken the plea before the Chief Election Commissioner during his visit to Shimla today that a majority of the schools would be busy in the examination of the school students, therefore, it was not possible for the state government to vacate the school buildings and teachers for election duty. It may be mentioned that the winter session of the schools conclude in December every year and the final examination are conducted in this month. The CEC had demanded a detailed report from the state government through Minakshi Anand chief electoral officer with regard to the school examinations to ascertain whether there was any obstruction in carrying out the election process as per the scheduled dates. When The Tribune correspondent reached the spot, it was found that the secretary of the education board was in his night dress in his office with certain papers regarding examination dates in his
possession. In reply to a question, he said that Minakshi Anand had demanded the dates of the previous examinations of the winter session conducted by the board in the past few years and therefore he had come to his office to provide her the details. He denied that any notification was being issued by the board, in the back date, in this regard. He admitted that the final decision to conduct the examinations for the winter session was yet to be taken although the tentative dates had already been decided which clashed with the poll schedule. |
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Recruitments before elections questioned
Shimla, October 16 The president of the Forum, Desh Bandhu Sood, in a representation given to Manisha Nanda, Chief Electoral Officer said that the examinations scheduled for Novembers 11 and 13 as per an advertisement issued on October 11 should be postponed till the election process in the state was over. He said when the election schedule has already been announced, the government as per the moral code of conduct cannot make recruitments or take a policy decision. “The fact that recruitment of registrars and demonstrators for Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Tanda in Kangra are being held for the third time within this year clearly points towards the fact that the government wants to benefit its own men,” he remarked. He added that since the government was keen to go ahead with the selection process before the installation of the next government clearly reflected its malafide intension. He added that these recruitments which were due to take place in March 2008 were advanced to a later date by the government only to benefit their own men. Sood requested Nanda to refrain the Director, Medical Education from going ahead with the recruitment of 176 doctors till the election process was over. This he added would be in the best interest of the candidates.
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Scribes protest outside SDM offices
Dharamsala, October 16 Protests were held at the sub-divisional headquarters of Palampur, Baijnath, Nurpur, Kangra, Jaisinghpur and Dehra in the district. The journalists threatened to carry out similar agitations at all sub-divisional headquarters of the state if the charges were not withdrawn immediately. KANGRA: Journalists held an hour-long dharna in front of the office of Kangra SDM C. Palrasu today. They also submitted a memorandum to the Governor through the SDM demanding cancellation of the sedation case against three journalists of a local Hindi vernacular newspaper. Journalists of various Hindi and English newspapers, news agencies and news channels, participated in the protest and raised slogans. The speakers on the occasion condemned the registration of the case against the journalists. NURPUR: The Nurpur Press Club (Regd.) today submitted a memorandum to the governor of the state through the local SDM demanding immediate withdrawal of sedition cases against the editor of a daily Hindi paper, Divya Himachal, published from Kangra district and two of its correspondents. A delegation of the club led by its president Kulbhushan Sharma met the SDM and submitted the memorandum to the governor. Media persons from different newspapers later staged a silent dharna on the premises of the SDM’s office to express their resentment against the highhandedness of the state police towards the media.
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BSP to probe foreign accounts
Shimla, October 16 Addressing a press conference here he said permission to developers had been given on a “give-and-take” basis and he was aware of 149 such cases which would be under the scanner. He said the frequent visits of ministers and other leaders to foreign countries raised serious doubts about the purpose. Early this month even Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh went to the USA on an official visit to negotiate a World Bank loan. The state had availed such loans in the past but never had a Chief Minister to go abroad for the purpose. He urged the Centre to take notice of it and order an independent inquiry by an agency like the CBI. He said it was quite surprising that the apex investigating agency had been conducting raids across the country to bring the corrupt to book but it was not paying any attention to the hill state. He said he had not only highlighted cases of corruption but also released an audio CD to substantiate the charges but no action had been taken. Corruption would be the main issue, besides price rise and poor governance. The BSP was against the Himalayan Ski village project at Manali as it was being developed on extraneous considerations. Norwegian experts had selected the Chanshal slopes in Rohru, the home constituency of the Chief Minister, which provided an international standard ski run of about 12 km was the best site for setting up such a village. He wanted to know what had compelled Virbhadra Singh to ignore his own area for which a project report had been prepared more than a decade ago and opt for Manali. |
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Four BJP leaders revolt
Shimla, October 16 Four BJP leaders from Lahaul Spiti, who have applied for the party ticket, today issued a statement that in case the party decides on the name of Markanday they would explore other political options and could go against the BJP. “We will work wholeheartedly for whosoever amongst us is given the party ticket but a person who has changed three parties till now should not be given preference,” they said. Four BJP leaders Mohan Lal Religpa, Sohan Singh, Champa Chhering and Rigzin Hairapa said only a person who had been loyal towards the party and contributed to the organisation should be fielded by the party. “All that goes to the credit of Markanday is that he has changed three parties and this too solely for personal interest,” they remarked. They said giving the party ticket to a turncoat would mar the chances of the BJP, a party which was considered to be disciplined. The four leaders claimed that they had done a lot to strengthen the BJP in the tribal area of Lahaul Spiti. They threatened that in case the party ticket was given to Markanday, they along with their supporters would put their might behind any other candidate. “In a total electorate of 16,000 we can easily make a difference of 2500 to 3,000 votes which can tilt the scales in favour of any candidate,” they claimed.
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HPAIC releases salary
Our Correspondent
Nurpur, October 16 The state INTUC had threatened to launch a fast on October 25 to press the HPAIC to release the salaries in time and revive these sick units. State INTUC general secretary Rajnesh Sharma had given an ultimatum to release the salaries by October 20. The HPAIC through a letter to state INTUC president Amarjeet Singh Baba on October 11 intimated him about the release of salaries. Meanwhile, Rajnesh Sharma has demanded the regular disbursement of salaries like other wings of the HPAIC every month and implement the working plan formulated by the management in March for the revival of the sick HIMAGRICO unit.
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Include eco-concerns in poll manifestoes: Samiti
Shimla, October 16 The samiti has issued a manifesto prepared after a series of workshops, seminars and consultations with the public. The samiti wants that besides declaring the entire Himalayan region as an eco-sensitive zone, the government should set up the Himalayan Environment Development Fund for the rehabilitation of degraded ranges. It has underlined the need for adopting alternative methods of road construction and implementation of industrial and other projects so that the damage to the fragile hill environment could be minimised. Large-scale use of explosives should also be discouraged as it damages the fragile hill strata. Large-scale mining of riverbeds should also be discouraged. It needs to be carried out on scientific lines and debris should not be dumped on slopes. Hydroelectric projects should not be allowed to come up at the cost of environment and the state should not commit the folly of setting up thermal plants. It also opposed the idea of special economic zones and urged the government not to permit any such zone keeping in view the peculiar conditions of the hill state. It suggested to create a separate category of forests to protect pastures. According to the samiti, community forestry should be encouraged, fragmentation of the farmland should be discouraged and the use of genetically modified seeds should be banned in the state.
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Sports star honoured
Bilaspur, October 16 Chetna president J.K. Nadda and general secretary Dr. Mallika Nadda said that 7,500 special children from 168 countries of the world had participated in these games and sports events specially organised for them. As many as 137 such children from India had participated in 13 games and had brought laurels to the country by winning 146 medals, out of which 6 medals were won by four participants from Himachal Pradesh. They said apart from Vikram Chauhan, other children from Himachal Pradesh were Rajat Sharma, who had won three bronze medals in badminton, Bharti had won a bronze medal in Bocce and Dipak Sharma had got a bronze medal in cricket. The Chetna representatives urged the government to provide suitable jobs to such talented special persons with view to develop confidence in them. A number of organisations announced various amounts as awards for Vikram Chauhan. Among others present on occasion were mother and relatives of Vikram Chauhan and members of families of several other special children and representatives of various social organisations, including Elder Citizen’s Association and Pattanjali Yogpith. |
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Ex-bureaucrats join BSP
Shimla, October 16 Two former IAS officers, S.K. Alok and S.K. Justa, former director-general of SSB V.K. Malik and ex-income tax officer S.K. Kalia announced their decision to join the BSP in the presence of party’s state convener Vijay Singh Mankotia here today. |
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Bus operators block traffic
Shimla, October 16 The problem arose when the police and the local authorities brought down the shamianas put up by the drivers and conductors of private buses for a holding a jagrata at the local bus stand near the
Gurdwara. The agitated drivers and conductors first blocked traffic and later refused to ply their vehicles, causing inconvenience to the public. It was after great difficulty that the police was able to restore traffic. |
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Reservation policy condemned
Shimla, October 16 The forum, which met under the chairmanship of president M.L. Dhar , expressed solidarity with 28,000 employees of the state who were to be reverted with effect from June 17, 1995, and posted against supernumerary posts to help implement the Amendment. It condemned the government for ignoring the interests of the general category employees to appease the reserved categories. It condemned the divisive caste-based reservation policy of the government which was introduced for 10 years but was continuing even after 60 years.
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Villagers complain to DC
Hamirpur, October 16 The villagers have said Kaushlya Devi and her daughter Meenakshi were allegedly attacked on Monday night. Krishan Lal, president of the Gram Sudhar Sabha, said, “We lodged a complaint with the Sadar police on October 13 for a similar act and have now requested the DC to provide protection to women and take action against the accused.”
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MC takes samples of sweets
Shimla, October 16 Samples of burfi, ladoo and khoya have been sent to the laboratory at Kandaghat. The food inspectors of the health wing have been collecting samples from all the shops to ensure that hygienic and quality sweets are being sold. |
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Snow in Sirmaur
Nahan October 16 |
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At least six persons, all from Bulandshahar district of UP, were killed and 60 injured when a private bus rolled down into a gorge on the
Chandigarh- Kangra national highway in Dehra subdivision of the district around 1.45 am today.
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