Shimla, January 18
Normal life in most parts of the state remained affected as widespread snow and rain continued to lash the region for the third consecutive day today.

Kinnaur district bore the brunt of inclement current spell with avalanches blocking several roads, including the Hindustan-Tibet road near Karcham, where a huge snow slide buried a stretch of the highway.

A blinding blizzard lashed Sangla adding to the woes of the people in the snow-bound valley. According to reports reaching here roofs of many houses were blown away in Chitkul, Rakchham, Saring and Barseri. The Karchham-Sangla road has been closed again.

The Pooh block remained cut-off and many areas of the district remained without power for the 10th day today.

District officers said opening the roads blocked by avalanches was a great challenge as the snowfall was continuing leading to repeated blockade of roads.

The administration has sought the help of private companies engaged in construction of power projects to open the blocked roads.

Kalpa had 25 cm of snowfall over the past 24 hours, while the lower areas adjoining Rampur subdivision were lashed by hailstorm. The maximum of 148 cm of snowfall was recorded in Dhundi in Kullu, followed by Solang Nullah - 86 cm, Patsio - 33 cm and Bahang (Manali) - 31 cm. Khara Pathar, Narkanda, Hatu peak and Churdhar also had intermittent snowfall.

The lower areas of the state had widespread rain with Bhuntar recording 62.7 mm, Sundernagar recording 20.9 mm and Shimla 15 mm.

In the state capital, the rain was accompanied with spells of sleet. It was relatively warm for this part of the year with minimum temperature of 4.7 °C and maximum of 6.6 °C.

The local met office has forecast more snowfall over the next 24 hours.

DALHOUSIE: Two houses collapsed following a heavy snowfall in the high altitude areas of Salooni tehsil in Chamba district.

These houses belonged to Karnail Singh and Bainsu Ram, both residents of Bhaidoi village in Badkha panchayat, who have been rendered homeless.

Renu Chadha, the local MLA, had directed the officials to rehabilitate these families and provide them the assistance as per the relief manual.

Meanwhile, five security check posts in the district manned by ITBP and the IRPF were under snow, a report said.

Kullu, January 18
Two persons were feared dead in an avalanche at the 12,000 foot-high project site of the Allien and Duhangan (AD) power project at Prini near Manali. One Harish Chanda, son of Dil Bahadur, who was also with the two victims in a tent, told the AD management and mediapersons in a hospital at Manali today.

He said they were sleeping in a tent at the “zero site” when the avalanche came in. He could feel that his legs were buried in the snow and was successful in cutting the tent with blade and reached the tunnel site of the project. He was later admitted to a hospital by the CITU leaders, where his condition was stated to be out of danger.

Chanda said that the other two Khambo Rahul (19), son of Presu Ram of Piyoga village, Rukam district in Nepal and Sher Bahadur (21) of the same village, were not traceable and were feared buried under the avalanche.

Manali SDM had sounded high alert in and around Manali and upper Kullu from dangers of avalanches and heavy snowfall during the next 24 hours. He had requested the residents and the visitors to remain inside their homes or hotels.

The alert was sounded as per the reports received from the Snow Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE). He had also announced closure of schools for the next two days in the subdivision.

Mandi, January 18
Snowbound Lahaul valley continued to be in freezing darkness, giving shivers down the spine to the residents for the past three days as the “LT lines connecting Keylong to the Thirot project run by the HPSEB remained snapped at several places due to heavy snowfall over the past three days.

According to residents, drinking water supply has been hit as water has frozen in the pipes. “Even mobile phones are not functioning as there is no power supply to recharge the sets,” residents told The Tribune on phone.

“Kerosene stoves and coal angithis, which are used for heating and cooking purposes to keep them warm and alive in subzero temperature, are life-threatening as they create hazardous gases jeopardising their health,” said a doctor posted there.

“Most of the officials posted here from outside go on leave during harsh winter months, leaving residents at the mercy of treacherous weather conditions,” they complained.

Chief engineer HPSEB Vijay Sud said the HPSEB linemen and other staff were on the job to restore the power supplies, but the heavy snowfall had hit the restoration work. The Thirot project was running well and supply had been restored to villages around the project area.

Keylong was far way from project and the LT lines were snapped due to snowfall, he added. The power supply would be restored as and when weather cleared up, he added.

Shimla, January 18
The government will be accord top priority to self-employment and improving quality education, besides making the state self-reliant and strengthening the road and health infrastructure.

Stating this during discussions with MLAs regarding plan priorities Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the unemployment problem was being addressed on top priority and sincere efforts would be made to create jobs and promote self- employment in the public and private sectors.

With almost 100 per cent literacy among the youth, the educated unemployed needed to be provided ample opportunities of employment and it would be on top of the government agenda.

He said the government would invite innovative and constructive suggestions from all quarters to formulate a better developmental strategy to help meet the challenge of providing jobs to lakhs of educated unemployed. There were daunting financial challenges before the government which were required to be met by checking unproductive expenditure. The government would welcome any suggestions for mobilising additional financial resources, without resorting to greater borrowings to save the state from falling into a debt-trap.

He assured the legislators that funds would not be any constraint in carrying out developmental activities and priority would be given to the on-going projects. Corruption and inefficiency would not be tolerated and officials achieving financial and physical targets well before the scheduled time would be suitably rewarded. However, those found lax in discharging their duties and responsibilities would face action as per rules and regulations of the Government.

Dhumal said educational institutions would be provided the required infrastructural facilities and staff to bring about a qualitative improvement in the standard of teaching. There was need for creating quality educational infrastructure to meet global challenges in the age of competition.

The government would open only need-based educational and health institutions, with emphasis on the consolidation of the existing infrastructure. Efforts would be made to make sanctioned medical and para-medical staff available to provide best possible health services.

The Chief Minister said the government would ensure adequate budgetary provisions for the projects before laying their foundation stones and observe all formalities so that construction work could be started immediately and completed well before the stipulated period.

He said the government would consider setting up a training centre for police officers at Sakoh, near Dharamsala while the Police Training Centre, Daroh, would continue imparting training to other police personnel.

He stressed the need for strictly enforcing the mining laws and called for imposition of a deterrent fine and punishment to curb the violation of rules. The fragile environment needed to be protected at all costs by curbing unscientific mining. He said the flying squad should be proactive in keeping strict vigil over all rivers that were the perennial source of drinking supply and irrigation schemes.

The Forest and Agriculture Departments should work in close coordination and explore the possibility for setting up bamboo polyhouses. He emphasised the need for conducting crash programmes to train daily wagers in the IPH Department so that their services could be utilised as pump operators to fill the gap caused due to the non-availability of trained manpower.

He said the government would explore the possibility of hiring private medical specialists to meet the shortage in government hospitals. He said the Centre had agreed to form committees with participation of tribal areas to help find a solution to various problems of tribal people.

Chief Secretary Ravi Dhingra said the interaction on MLAs priorities would help formulate a popular Annual Plan. Besides accelerating development, emphasis would be on generation of additional resources and optimum utilisation of public money.

He stressed the need for strictly enforcing the mining laws and called for imposition of a deterrent fine and punishment to curb the violation of rules. The fragile environment needed to be protected at all costs by curbing unscientific mining. He said the flying squad should be proactive in keeping strict vigil over all rivers that were the perennial source of drinking supply and irrigation schemes.

The Forest and Agriculture Departments should work in close coordination and explore the possibility for setting up bamboo polyhouses. He emphasised the need for conducting crash programmes to train daily wagers in the IPH Department so that their services could be utilised as pump operators to fill the gap caused due to the non-availability of trained manpower.

He said the government would explore the possibility of hiring private medical specialists to meet the shortage in government hospitals. He said the Centre had agreed to form committees with participation of tribal areas to help find a solution to various problems of tribal people.

Chief Secretary Ravi Dhingra said the interaction on MLAs priorities would help formulate a popular Annual Plan. Besides accelerating development, emphasis would be on generation of additional resources and optimum utilisation of public money. 

Solan, January 18
With a view to ease off the existing financial crisis plaguing the state co-operative marketing and consumer federation (HIMFED) its employees’ union has demanded distribution of cement in the state.

While this will ensure availability of work to about 300 employees it will help them meet the financial burden incurred in lieu of their salaries. The 300 workers had inadequate work in hand and the federation found it difficult to bear their salaries.

The union however pleaded that since the corporation was overburdened with works like distribution of LPG and ration this work could be entrusted to them.

General secretary of the union Rajender Thakur, who gave a demand letter to the Chief Minister, said an adverse decision to allow distribution of fertilisers through other co-operative societies like IFFCO taken by the previous government had created an atmosphere of uncertainty.

This not only affected the smooth distribution of the crucial NPK fertiliser used during the sowing of crops like wheat but also led to transfer of nearly 40 per cent of federation’s work to IFFCO.

It was this adverse decision, which made nearly 300 employees sit without adequate work. The federation has also demanded the government to credit the proceeds from the apple sales to their federation. This decision had already been taken in their previous regime of 2000 under the market intervention scheme but was yet to be implemented.

The federation has pleaded the Chief Minister to secure the future of 300 employees by implementing these crucial decisions. They have also requested him to transfer back those employees, who had been victimised during the previous government for raising voice against the alleged corrupt practices prevalent in the federation. They have also urged to expedite the inquiry ordered into the infamous fertiliser scam.

Shimla, January 18
The state police department proposes to fill 25 per cent posts of DSP and sub-inspector through limited competition amongst the police personnel.

Nowadays postgraduates and even engineers and other professionally qualified are joining the force at the lowest level. The government has also raised the minimum qualification for recruitment to plus -two.

As many as 69 per cent of the 1,007 constable recruited recently for the India Reserve Battalion were graduates or possessed a higher qualification. One of them was engineer and 62 of them had passed one or the other computer course. The extent of stagnation in the cadres could be judged from the fact that at the level of head constable it takes more than 18 years for promotion.

The effort is also have relatively younger officers at the middle level by providing avenues for quick promotions to the meritorious. Under the prevailing system of promotions by seniority only most of the officers at the middle level are on the wrong side of the age.

At present, 60 per cent of the posts of DSP are filled through promotion and the rest by direct recruitment. The proposal is to raise the quota for direct recruitment to 50 per cent and fill half of it through limited competition among the police personnel.

All cops right from the constable to the inspector level, who possess the minimum qualification and have completed five years in service, will be eligible.

Similarly, at the sub-inspector level the quota for direct recruitment is to be raised from the existing 25 to 40 per cent, half of which will be filled through limited competition amongst constables, head constables and assistant sub-inspectors. They should have been in service for five years and have the requisite educational qualification.

A provision to fill 50 per cent posts of the through direct recruitment has already been made in the state police Act. A similar provision will be made in the relevant rules. 

Kangra, January 18
Despite upgrade of the Civil Hospital by the Dhumal government here to 100-bedded in December, 2000, the hospital remained ailing. The upgrade orders were not implemented till date, as this hospital has become a victim of the political tussle between the BJP and the Congress leaving the patients of Kangra and its surroundings areas in a lurch.

Seven years have passed and still the upgrade orders remained in the files, licking the dust. The people of the town have pinned their hopes to the present government to implement its own order issued earlier.

Former Chief Minister Virbhdra Singh when asked about the hospital said it was a Community Health Centre (CHC) and specialised facilities could not be made available here.

Residents here feel that Kangra is an important pilgrimage and a historical place but the local political leadership could not place its importance in a right perspective before the people in power and thus left the people here craving for basic amenities like health care.

Local residents and people living in the radius of 30 km, including the Changer areas, have pined their hopes on Dhumal now.

Presently, the hospital does not even have the staff required for a 50-bedded hospital. There were no facilities of a surgeon, a physician, a radiologist and an anaesthetist. No major surgeries were conducted in the hospital. The worst affected were the accident patients who reach the hospital for medical treatment as they were to be sent to Dr RP Government Medical College, Tanda, where there were no facilities of CT Scan and MRI and that college was devoid of the required staff.

This, so called 100-bedded hospital, has a requirement of 17 doctors but presently have 6 doctors only. The strength is less than the required in a 50-bedded hospital. According to the hospital sources, out of 6 doctors one gets night off, at least one goes for court evidence and two remain on leave so there remain 2 to 3 doctors to manage.

According to sources, instead of 7 pharmacists there were two as one was shifted to Tanda, instead of 14 staff nurses there were only 9 and against 20 Class IV employees there were only 5 in the hospital. Due to non-availability of surgeon and physician the wards of the hospital remain empty, however, the rush in the outdoors was unmanageable due to less number of doctors here. Mostly, gynaecological patients were admitted in the hospital.

The people here demand that the state government should take all steps to improve the hospital in the larger interests of the patients.

Jogindernagar (Mandi), January 18
PWD and revenue minister Gulab Singh Thakur today ordered a probe into the thrashing of two students by deputy director, Revenue Training Institute, Jogindernagar, R.L. Rao. However, students continue to be up in arms against Rao, who allegedly entered the hostel yesterday night and thrashed two boys with his walking stick.

They raised slogans against Rao and forwarded a complaint to the Mandi DC and revenue minister Gulab Singh Thakur today.

The incident has assumed a political colour as Rao is the brother of former excise and taxation minister Rangila Ram Rao.

The students who were allegedly thrashed by Rao were: Parkash from Jubbal (Shimla) and Gurnam from Una. Though Rao has apologised to the students, the students continue to demand strict action against him.

As DC Subasish Panda was under transfer, the SDO (civil), Jogindernagar, inspected the campus and urged students to calm down.

Denying allegations, Rao said he had gone to the hostel to discipline the students who were shouting in the mess. “I was not under the influence of liquor at that time,” he claimed.

Shimla, January 18
Crisis in the Shimla District Congress Committee (Urban) continues even as the state party chief appointed Anand Kaushal as the new president of the district unit.

President of the dissolved unit Arun Sharma maintained that he had not received any intimation either regarding the dissolution of the district Congress committee or the appointment of Kaushal . He said that an elected body could not be dissolved without serving notice and following the procedure laid down in the party constitution.

Sharma who had already announced that the old body would continue to function and he would soon convene a meeting of the general house to analyse the reasons for the poll debacle in Shimla.

Kaushal, on the other hand, said he would soon constitute the district committee. He disapproved of the action of the dissolved body in taking the internal matter of the party to the media and handed out a veiled threat saying that it mounted to indiscipline.

He said the internal matters of the party should not be raised in public or the media and if some leaders or workers had grievances they should take up these within the party fora.

The district body was dissolved in the wake of the party’s defeat from the Shimla seat on the charge that its functionaries had worked against official candidate Harbhajan Singh. Arun Sharma and other officer-bearers of the DCC, however, maintain that strong resentment among the electorate against Harbhajan Singh led to his defeat despite the best efforts of the party and senior leaders like Virbhadra Singh who campaigned for him.

Shimla, January 18
Three persons were killed and four injured when a tipper (HP-63-1907) fell into a khad near Shilaru, around 55 km from here, today.

Those killed have been identified as Chet Ram, Kamal and Gyaru Ram. The injured, Sanjeev, Daulat Ram, Sanjay and Palat Ram, have been admitted to the IGMC here and Hospital.

A sum of Rs 39,000 each has been given to next of kin of the deceased and Rs 10,000 each to the injured.

Bilaspur, January 18
The HP State Non-Gazetted Employees Federation headed by Ganga Singh Thakur held its state-level meeting under the chairmanship of state action committee chairman Prem Singh Bharmouriya and passed a number of resolutions.

The organisation welcomed the establishment of the BJP government in the state. A resolution demanding action against Laxmi Singh Machan of a parallel organisation was also passed during the meeting. It was alleged that Machan was responsible for victimisation of employees during the Congress regime.

As per another resolution, it was decided to hold organisational elections up to block level by February 15 and at the district level by February 29. It was also decided that all departmental unions should complete their elections by March 10 so that elections of the state NGOs federation could be held on March 15.

A resolution “expelled” Laxmi Singh Machan, Sheshram Azad and P.C. Verma from the primary membership of the employees’ federation for three years. A number of leaders questioned the expulsion of these leaders saying they were not members of their organisation, but of a parallel organisation.

Another decision wanted the new government to hold an enquiry into the recruitments made by the former Congress government on “chits” for which leaders offered to provide proof. It was also demanded that a case be registered in this connection. The leaders also urged the government to accord recognition to NGOs federation that would be elected through popular vote and reject recognition of the body led by Machan.

Kangra, January 18
A controversy has cropped up between two groups of priests of the Bajjreshwari Devi temple here. While one group demands its right to worship and share in the offerings, the other claims that only legitimate children of priests have this right.

The controversy started today when Narinder Nath, Ashok Himachali and Kailash Nath addressed a joint press conference here demanding a clarification from the temple trust as to who was drawing the cheques in the name of Panchayti mentioned at serial number 37 in the official list of priests and baridars since 1986, describing it as an alleged financial scam.

These three priests, who fall in the category of non-baridars, said that Lalit Prasad figuring at serial number 17 was not entitled to any share in the offerings under the temple rules as according to the rules unmarried son was not entitled to this benefit.

The priests claimed that they had approached Kangra deputy commissioner Ashwani Kapoor in this connection on September 14 last year but no action was taken.

Temple officer Ram Swaroop Sharma said that the list of priests and baridars was supplied to the temple trust by the Pujari Sabha connected with the temple and the trust had no role to play. He said 60 per cent of the offerings were going to the temple trust with the rest being distributed among the priests and baridars. It was an internal matter of the priests and the trust had no role to play.

Ram Prasad Sharma, Senior hereditary priest and president of the Pujari Sabha, said the 'legitimate hereditary priests' were within their right to hold puja in the temple and get a share in the offerings.