Shimla, February 25
The war of words on the bus fare hike heated up with six BJP ministers accusing the Congress leaders of misleading the people on the issue.

PWD minister Gulab Singh, forest minister J.P.Nadda, IPH minister Ravinder Ravi, transport minister Krishan Kapoor, horticulture minister Narinder Bragta and health minister Rajiv Bindal asserted in joint statement here today that the hike in bus fares was necessitated only because the UPA government at the Centre had increased the prices of diesel and petrol. It would be better if the Congress leaders put pressure on the central government not to increase the prices of petrol and diesel. Ever since the UPA came to power the prices of these vital transport fuels had been hiked repeatedly.

Reeling out figures they stated that the rates of diesel had been increased by 47 per cent, spare parts by 78 per cent and tyres and tubes by over 50 per cent. Similarly, the prices of mobile oil had gone up by 71 per cent and batteries by 119 per cent. The increase in steel prices had made building of bus bodies costlier by 25 per cent. All these had put an additional annual burden of Rs 80.85 crore on the HRTC. The overall increase in operational expenses came to 75 per cent but the government had raised fares only by 25 per cent.

The previous Congress government had thoroughly mismanaged the corporation as a result of which its financial health had worsened. Further, the corporation had to bear an additional burden of Rs 63.65 crore on account of free and confessional travel being extended to various categories and it was providing services in the remote and rural areas.

Ridiculing the demand for withdrawal of the hike the ministers said that the government would reduce the bus fare if the UPA regime withdrew the diesel price hike. They also pointed out that the previous Congress regimes in Uttaranchal and Punjab had raised bus fares by 73.65 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively, in 2005 and 2006.Haryana had also revised the bus fares.

The government was concerned about the common man and Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal had requested Union Petroleum Minister Murali Deora to introduce CNG buses in the state to reduce the transportation cost. 

Shimla, February 25
State congress general secretary Kuldeep Rathore has termed the hike in bus fares as unjustified and urged the government to review the decision in the larger interest of the people.

Kuldeep Rathore

Addressing a press conference here today, he said the rates of diesel had been hiked by just Re 1 per litre but the BJP government had effected a steep increase of 25 per cent using it as a pretext. There was no justification for such a huge increase. The prices of diesel were increased several times during the Congress regime but it deliberately did not pass on the burden to the people as road transport was the only mode of transport in the state.

The BJP government should take a cue from Union Minister for Railways Lalu Yadav who transformed the loss-incurring Railways into a profit-earning public undertaking by improving efficiency and making proper utilization of its huge assets. The HRTC also had a number of bus stands and other commercial properties which could be exploited to raise resources instead of raising bus fares.

He also criticised the decision to reduce tax on liquor and alleged that the BJP wanted to transform the apple state into a “liquor state” which was not in the interest of the people.

Rathore alleged that the government was pre-occupied with transfers of employees and was completely ignoring development works. The Chief Minister was taking credit for the two India Reserve Battalions which, he maintained, were got approved from the Centre by the Virbhadra government.

He said the Congress would support the constructive policies of the government but it would oppose all anti-people decisions tooth and nail. If required the party would launch an agitation to get such decisions reversed.

Rathore said PCC chief Viplove Thakur was fully competent to take any decision until her successor was appointed by the high command. She had made some changes in the organisational setup in districts from where complaints of anti-party activities were received.

Mandi, February 25
Himachal Pradesh Electricity Equipment and Suppliers Association has urged Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to direct the hydropower companies which were allotted projects recently to go for open tender system for the supply of equipment. They also urged that the outside companies who open their offices in the state to bring about transparency and fair play.

According to president of the association, Anand Kumar, the Chief Minister has ensured that outside suppliers should open their cells in the state. We requested the Chief Minister that the open tender system inviting bids for supply of equipments must be ensured for a fair play, he added.

He said the Himachal-based suppliers face an unequal competition from the outside suppliers due to certain defects in the system. “When the government calls tender we have to pay 4 per cent CST to procure equipment from outside the state. We have to pay 3 per cent to 12.5 per cent VAT on it,” he explained.

On the other hand, the association stated, the ‘outside companies’ pay 3 per cent CST and they pay no VAT in the state. Moreover, this tax goes to other states that in turn result in revenue loss in crores of rupees to the state government every year, Kumar added.

He said the government must ensure that these outside companies open their cells in the state. With this system in place, they will have to pay CST and VAT on par with the state-based companies and make it an even field for them and consequently add to the government revenue, he added.

Dharamsala, February 25
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has said the state government will take up with the Central Government the issue of granting tribal status to the trans-Giri area of Sirmaur district on a par with the adjoining area of Uttarachal. More attention would be paid to the development and welfare of that area, he added. He was addressing the first meeting of the reconstituted OBC Welfare Board here today.

He said there were around 26 backward gram panchayats in Shillai, Poanta and Sangrah blocks of the district that fell under the proposed plan of seeking tribal status keeping in view the difficult geo-physical conditions of the area.

In the past also, a unanimous resolution was passed by the Assembly to get these gram panchayats declared as tribal so that they got additional benefit for speedy development.

He said there were certain other areas with difficult topography such as Bara Bhangal in Kangra and Malana in Kullu, which also deserved similar status and additional financial aid for speedy development. Although backward area sub-plan was under implementation in the state, additional finances were required for accelerated development, he added.

He emphasised on the need to avail maximum benefit from the NREGA scheme for generating rural employment to the unemployed.

He said candidates belonging to OBC, SC and ST categories were provided unlimited chances in the HAS and other allied services in the state with a view to provide more job opportunities to the educated youth of these communities.

He said there was a vast scope for self-employment for youths belonging to the farming community in diversified farming, which would help them to strengthen their economy. He assured people that irrigation network would be strengthened besides encouraging rainwater harvesting for irrigation purposes.

He said the motive behind constitution of the welfare board was to get public opinion through non-official members so that welfare schemes were formulated accordingly.

Social justice and empowerment minister Sarveen Chaudhary said different sections of the OBC community were being provided many benefits to improve their skills under different programmes by providing financial incentives and scholarships to them. She said house building subsidy at the rate of Rs 27,500 and house repair grant of Rs 12,500 were also being made available to them. She said loan facilities at low interest rate were also being made available for self-employment to their youths. She also gave a brief detail of many other social welfare activities.

Food and civil supplies minister Ramesh Dhawala, forest minister J.P. Nadda and many senior officials of the government were also present at the meeting.

Nurpur, February 25
A large number of depositors of Bhadwar gram panchayat in this subdivision after running from pillar to post to recover their deposited lakhs of rupees are now pinning their hope on the new state government.

The depositors had deposited their hard earned money with the local Tikka Nagrota Cooperative Agriculture Society Ltd at their doorsteps so that they could manage the future family plans but the society stopped working a few years back leaving them in lurch.

The hapless depositors revealed to mediapersons today that they had been issued fixed deposit receipts and passbooks by the society after receiving their money deposits. They have appealed to the new state government to ensure recovery of the deposited money along with the interest accrued.

In this connection assistant registrar of the cooperative society Nurpur has confirmed that the department had initiated action and department inquiry was conducted. The secretary of the society was found in the embezzlement of Rs 1,025,960 of the society’s account. He clarified that the erring secretary had filed an appeal against the departmental probe before the secretary of the cooperative department, Himachal Pradesh government. He also asserted that the secretary and management committees of the society were responsible to return deposited money to the depositors.

Meanwhile, local MLA Rakesh Pathania has reiterated that he would take up the issue with the Chief Minister to ensure vigilance inquiry into the alleged embezzlement in the agriculture cooperative society and also raise it in the Vidhan Sabha so that poor depositors could get their hard-earned money.

Sundernagar, February 25
Hundreds of residents from Sundernagar town and its adjoining villages took out a silent procession demanding shifting of the site of the proposed cement plant from Chambi-Khatrwari to some faraway place. They also handed over a memorandum to Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal through the tehsildar.

Residents started assembling at Bharari temple around 11 am. Most of them were from Khatrwari, Chambi, Ghangal, Bharari, Mahadev villages and from different locations of Sundernagar town.

A large number of women formed part of the gathering. Supporting black badges and carrying placards against the cement industry, they marched in a silent procession. The procession started from Bharari and crossed through Sakrah, Jangam Bagh, BBMB Colony, Purana Bazar, Kaharari, Ambedkar Nagar, Bhojpur Bazar, Salah Chatrokhari.

Representatives of various organisations, including the Sundernagar Sangharsh Samiti, the Paryavaran Sangrakshan Samiti, the Kishan Sabha, the Gyan Vigyan Samiti, the Kisan Sangh, the Khatrwari Sangharsh Samiti and some elected representatives from Chambi, Mahadev and Behali gram panchayats addressed the gathering.

They said they were not against the installation of the cement plant but were against the present site that was very close to Sundernagar town.

They said the government could not be allowed to ruin the most fertile Balh valley in the name of development.

According to the president of the Sundernagar Sangharsh Samiti, a memorandum was also submitted to the previous Chief Minister carrying signatures of 5,000 persons demanding shifting of the proposed cement plant. A new memorandum was now being submitted to the the new Chief Minister once again, he added.

Shimla, February 25
With frequent change of commissioners, six in six months, the budget of the local municipal corporation (MC) would now be delayed.

The local MC which was to present its budget tomorrow will now do it in March, following frequent change of commissioners. Ever since, Mohan Chauhan moved out no commissioner has spent more than two months till now.

Those who have had short stints as commissioners in the MC include Shekhar Gupta, Davesh Kumar, A.J.V. Prasad, J.S. Rana and now Amitabh Awasthy. The fact that the lone corporation of the state is Congress ruled and the BJP is in power in the state is another problem.

It is being expected that the budget, which was to be presented tomorrow would now be delayed by a few days. The cash strapped MC is pinning its hope on the state government so that it can at least meet its liabilities, especially the staggering amount that it owes to the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board and the IPH on account of power and water bills.

There could be a confrontation between the Congress and the BJP councillors over the issue of imposing taxes to improve the financial health of the MC. There is a possibility that sewerage or water charges could be increased so that some revenue could be generated.

Mandi, February 25
A critically ill patient, Dharampal of Bargul village in snowbound landlocked Lahaul valley, bled to death in the Keylong district hospital as the state-run helicopter could not land at Stingri helipad due to bad weather today.

Residents said his life could have been saved if the authorities would have been able to airlift him to the Kullu regional hospital in time. The helicopter had to be taken back from the Rohtang Pass as visibility was poor due to cloudy weather, they added. The patient was taken back to the hospital where he started vomiting blood. Later, he died in the hospital.

Residents said had the flight been undertaken in the morning when the weather was comparatively clear, Dharampal could have been saved.

Lahaul-Spiti DC A.S. Rathaur said, “The patient died in the hospital as he was bleeding from the mouth. The first flight was scheduled for Pangi and the second one could not take place due to bad weather. Two more patients have been referred to the Kullu hospital for treatment, but there condition is said to be out of danger,” he said.

Solan, February 25
Two persons were killed and eight injured when a private bus (HP-12-4127) turned turtle at Amb Pani, near Ramshahar, under Nalagarh subdivision this morning. The deceased were identified as conductor Nikku Ram (35) and Mohan Lal (53) of nearby Doli village. Those injured include Krishan Lal, Devi Ram, Ram Swroop, Raj Kumar, Anil, Devraj , Ram Lok and driver Raj Kumar.

The bus was on its way from Doli-via Ramshahar to Nalagarh. Preliminary investigations revealed that as the bus approached Amb-Pani, the driver could not control it due to a snag. In a bid to avert any mishap the driver dashed the bus against the hillock after which it overturned.

Nalagarh SDM Manmohan Sharma, who immediately rushed to the spot to supervise the relief and rescue operations, said a relief of Rs 10,000 each had been given to next of the kin of the dead while Rs 1,000 had been given to each injured passenger.

Shimla, February 25
According priority to housing for urban poor, the local municipal corporation (MC) will undertake construction of 650 dwellings in Dhalli area to accommodate the poor sections which will help check encroachments.

The MC in its monthly pre-house meeting today finalised the detailed project report (DPR) for the construction of 650 flats for the IRDP families and some of the dhara owners (encroachers), mainly on the forest land. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 30 crore and the MC in its meeting tomorrow will approve it and send it to the Centre.

The DPR will be sent to the Union ministry of urban development, which will provide funds for the project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The proposed site for the construction of the flats has also been identified in Dhalli area of the town.

With encroachments being a major problem in the town it is being felt that the only solution to keep a check on this is to create housing for these economically weaker sections who end raising unauthorised structures on the forest and revenue land. The previous Congress regime had started work on the construction of about 250 flats in Totu area of the town under its urban housing scheme.

The main reason why the MC failed to push its anti-encroachment drive was the lack of an alternate plan to rehabilitate those who would have been uprooted. Though the high court has directed the MC to remove each and every encroachment from the town but the MC has not been able to do it, as there has been political pressure and stiff resistance from the encroachers. There are more than 5,000 encroachments in the town with over 1,000 on forest land.

The creation of dwellings for the urban poor will help solve the problem of encroachments to a great extent. “We can accommodate some IRDP families and some of the dhara owners by laying down criterion for those entitled to such houses,” said a senior official.

The MC is keen that some more funds are sought for creation of urban housing for the poor under the JNNURM, in which funds are not much of a constraint.

Dharamsala, February 25
The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Prem Kumar Dhumal has announced that the state government would soon recruit sportspersons in various categories of jobs so as to fill the backlog of three per cent of vacancies reserved for the outstanding sportspersons. He was addressing sportspersons after inaugurating the indoor stadium constructed at a cost of Rs. 2.90 crore here today.

He said the state government would monitor all such recruitments and bring in transparency in the process of providing jobs to sportspersons. He reminded that it was during his earlier tenure as Chief Minister when the sports quota in government jobs was enhanced from one per cent to three per cent to provide more opportunities of jobs to the sports persons.

He said the government would make efforts to create quality infrastructure at the district and block levels for football, hockey, athletics and other sports, adding that sports hostels had been constructed at Una and Bilaspur where coaching in wrestling, judo and kabaddi was being imparted to the youth.

He revealed that 39 stadiums across the state for different sports activities constructed at a cost of Rs. 14 crore and work on 17 such projects was in progress. With the completion of local indoor stadium sports activities in the games of basketball, volleyball, badminton, boxing and martial arts would be carried out throughout the year.

The town already hosts an outdoor stadium, indoor boxing ring, SAI sports hostel and above all international standard cricket stadium. A 400-metre modern athletic track was also under construction. Hence, Dharamsala could well be termed as the sports hub of the hill state.

Dhumal awarded prize money worth Rs. 1.60 lakh to as many as 95 national players of the state, Rs. 43,000 to 16 youngsters who had contributed in youth activities and seven coaches for their exemplary services towards the promotion of sports activities.