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Hurt at violence, Dalai Lama threatens to quit
Candlelight march at Dharamsala
Landslide: Highway cleared, traffic yet to be restored
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Urban Area Tree Protection Act
Three killed, two hurt in accident
Residents thrash Punjab cops
Hamirpur Nagar Parishad presents budget
Water shortage in Shimla suburbs
Sawra Kudu Project
Credit plan for Bilaspur
OSD: Woman doc’s charge baseless
7-year jail for rape
BDC chairman, vice-chairman quit
LIC development officers protest
Govt to book hoarders: CM
Expedition
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Hurt at violence, Dalai Lama threatens to quit
Dharamsala, March 18 Tenzin Taklha, secretary of the Dalai Lama, said that the spiritual leader was deeply worried about the deteriorating situation in Tibet. However, he clarified that the Dalai Lama would remain as the spiritual leader of the Buddhists and his being the supreme temporal authority of the Buddhist community had nothing to do with the current situation in Tibet. The Dalai Lama’s threat has come after fresh allegations made by Chinese PM Wen Jiabao that they had ‘ample evidence’ to prove that the Dalai ‘clique’ were behind the current turmoil in Tibet. He still believes that non-violence was the only better option to spearhead the movement at the people’s level for exerting pressure on China to enter a dialogue on giving ‘meaningful autonomy’ safeguarding local culture and human rights. He has of late been urging his countrymen to show patience but if going by the reports received at the headquarters of the Tibet’s government-in-exile the situation was worsening in all parts of Tibet even as China claims to have restored peace at Lhasa. Political observers were of the view that the Dalai Lama’s threat to resign from the political post was the only face-saving option for him under the current situation in Tibet as he has been a role model of peace in the entire world for which he was given the Nobel Peace Prize. Protests to continue
PM of the Tibet’s government-in-exile Samdong Rinpoche told The Tribune “If they (people in Tibet) resort to violence, the Dalai Lama may not be able to lead their movement effectively”. Rinpoche said peaceful protests against the use of force against in Tibet would continue across the globe to exert pressure on the international community to persuade China to enter a dialogue for a permanent solution to the Tibetan issue. Claiming that Tibet was never a part of China before the aggression of 1959, he said there was need for reverting to the position as prevailed there before the Chinese aggression. “We are prepared for a dialogue at anytime and at any place with China”, he
said. |
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Candlelight march at Dharamsala
Earlier, a group of the refugee community also held a protest rally raising slogans against China tying Chinese flags on their feet. Women and children also participated in the protest. However, no untoward incidence was reported from any part of the district, said Kangra SP Atul Phulzele. Reports against some nationals of Norway, Israel and western European nations, who were found participating in protests against China, would be sent to their respective embassies so that their past record could come under perusal before granting them visa next time, he said. He, however, made it clear that there was no intention of the Indian authorities to deport them back to their countries, as they were in no way involved in any activity against India. Meanwhile, extra security forces have been deployed at McLeodganj and Dharamsala to keep law and order situation under control. MANDI: Tibetans protesting against the cultural genocide of Tibetans in Lahasa by the China today staged a protest march and raised slogans against the Chinese government. They demanded intervention of the international community in Tibet as demanded by their spiritual head the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. Tibetan protesters from all over the region in Mandi and Kullu district gathered here today and staged the protest march
in town. SHIMLA: The local Tibetan population today started a 24-hour hunger strike in front of the deputy commissioner’s office. The Tibetans under the banner of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC) and the Regional Tibetan Women Association started the hunger strike at 5 pm, which will continue till tomorrow. The Tibetans will also take out a candlelight march as a mark of their support to those who had become
victims of religious intolerance and Chinese atrocities. |
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Landslide: Highway cleared, traffic yet to be restored
Manali, March 18 Officials of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) launched a massive effort in the morning and were able to clear the debris by afternoon. However, the road has not been thrown open to vehicular traffic so far. Superintendent (BR-II) of the BRO S.K. Dhiman said there was still a fear of loose boulders rolling down the slope and hence no vehicular traffic was being allowed on the road. Blasting would have to be carried out to clear the boulders, he added. Meanwhile, Palchan-bound traffic had been diverted via Buruwa-Goshal road for light vehicles. Deputy speaker of the Vidhan Sabha Khimi Ram and local BJP MLA Govind Thakur visited the tragedy site and supervised the relief and rescue operations. They also met grief-stricken families at Burwa and Shanag villages. Khimi Ram said an immediate relief of Rs 25,000 each had been released to the next of kin of the deceased, while Rs 3,000 each had been given to the injured. Govind Singh Thakur said a sum of Rs 75,000 each would be disbursed to the next of the kin of the deceased afterwards. He praised all those who participated in the rescue and relief operations at the tragedy site during the night. Meanwhile, the headless body found from the site of the landslide yesterday was identified as that of Tulsi Ram Sharma of Hurcha village in Sainj valley of Kullu district. Shops and business establishments remained closed at Manali to mourn the deaths of those killed in the landslide last evening. President of the Manali Beopar Mandal has expressed grief on the deaths. The Bahang market near Nehru kund is closed since yesterday. |
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Urban Area Tree Protection Act
Shimla, March 18 It is reliably learnt that the Forest and the Urban Departments is likely to place the Act before the Cabinet shortly. With this Act coming into force the penalty for felling a tree will be raised up to Rs 25,000. Besides having a state-level advisory authority, there will be 12 similar bodies at all 12 district headquarters. The Act will ensure that the green areas in the urban bodies remain untouched and there is an increase in the green cover. The shrinking green area and drying up of deodar trees in the ‘Queen of Hills’ have caused a lot of concern, necessitating the need for having an Act which ensures stringent action against the violators. Prior to this, the penalty for drying up a tree or felling it was very nominal, leading to a very callous attitude towards green trees. “Rather than limiting the Act to Shimla, it was felt that all urban local bodies must be covered under it,” said a senior forest officer. Various forest protection measures and concrete steps towards increasing the green cover will be taken not only in Shimla but also other towns like Manlai, Kasauli, Palampur, Dharamshala, Chamba and Mandi. Besides protecting the forest and green areas on government land, the forest authorities will take steps to preserve forests on private lands with the consent of the owners. “The efforts is to save every single tree,” admitted officials. At present it is the Municipal Corporation, which takes action in case a green tree is cut. As per the new Act, rather than giving these powers to MC officials, the matter would be put up in courts so as to punish the guilty. The situation in Shimla is very grave as a study by the Himalayan Forest Research Institute has indicated that many century-old deodar trees were drying up and developing flat tops as these had attained their full age. The need to check excessive construction had been stressed so that there could be natural regeneration. |
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Three killed, two hurt in accident
Nahan, March 18 Police sources said that Vinod Kumar (30) of Anji village and Parveen Kumari (29) of Gagal Shikore village and her daughter Palak were killed on the spot. Seriously injured infant Saurabh and Rajesh Kumar were rushed to the local district hospital. The bodies were handed over to next of their kin after a post-mortem today. The cause of accident was not known immediately. DC Pushpendera Rajput has disbursed immediate relief of Rs 4,000 each to the families of the deceased and Rs 1,000 each to the injured persons. |
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Residents thrash Punjab cops
Una, March 18 They were on their way to Anandpur Sahib to join duty during the Holla Mohalla celebrations. Initially, they refused to pay the entry tax of Rs 30 at the Pandoga barrier saying that they were police officials on duty. This led to an altercation with the police officials posted there. The Punjab police officials, however, managed to cross the barrier without paying the tax. Police officials at Una were informed about the incident and given their vehicle number. At a traffic light point in Una city, a traffic police official stopped them for checking. Once again, the Punjab police officials entered into an altercation with the traffic constable of the Himachal police. They even trashed him. Seeing the Himachal police constable being thrashed by outsiders, local residents gathered there in large numbers and thrashed the Punjab police officials. They were saved by officials of the Himachal police. The police then verified credentials of Punjab police officials from the Amritsar
SSP. The accused Punjab cops were allowed to go after a case was registered against them under Section 186 of the
IPC. The SP, Una, said since the Punjab police officials had tried to threaten the public with their service revolvers, their firearms had been confiscated. The report regarding their behaviour was being sent to the
SSP, Amritsar, he said. |
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Hamirpur Nagar Parishad presents budget
Hamirpur, March 18 There is no fresh tax in the budget. The parishad has decided to charge Rs 100 for giving no-objection certificate (NOC) for every electricity and water connection for domestic purposes and Rs 1,000 for a commercial connection. The main sources of revenue will be house tax (Rs 45 lakh), building fee (Rs 15 lakh), rent (Rs 25 lakh), the second state finance commission (Rs 12.5 lakh) and miscellaneous (Rs 15 lakh) etc. The major expenditure proposed in the budget include Rs 1.14 crore for development activities out of which Rs 40 lakh will be spent on roads and Rs 20 lakh on the constriction of a parking lot besides recurring expenditures. The parishad is likely to save about Rs 32 lakh in the budget. It has also demanded waving of electricity bill of Rs 56 lakh from the state
government. |
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Power board staff protest
Shimla, March 18 Addressing the rally, the speakers accused the government and the management of victimising the leaders at the behest of the rival employees leaders and weakening the board to pave way for its unbundling. It was, in fact, a show of strength by the union to demonstrate its support among the employees to the rival technical employees union, which organised a rally four days ago. The rally was also addressed by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal. President of the union Kuldeep Kharwara demanded cancellation of the union leaders and announced that the members would start a chain hunger strike from tomorrow if their demand were not met. If no step were taken to fulfil the demands similar protests would be organised in other parts of the state starting from Hamirpur. The host of leaders who addressed the rally warned the government that the trifurcation for the board would be opposed tooth and nail. They also opposed merger of various power corporation into the Himachal Power Corporation and alleged that projects were not being assigned to the board for execution to weaken its financially. They maintained that unbundling had not improved the financial health of the state electricity boards. Moreover, the state electricity board was in good shape and there was no need to trifurcate it. The Centre could allow the state to maintain the board as a single entity under the act and the state government should pursue the matter at an appropriate level. They said the unbundling would harm the interests of both the employees. Unbundling would pave way for privatisation, which also deprive the youth of the state of employment opportunities. The union also demanded restoration of the increments of class IV employees and time-bound promotions with jumps after 9 and 18 years for assistant lineman, helpers and other such categories that had been facing stagnation. |
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Water shortage in Shimla suburbs
Shimla, March 18 Even though the Municipal Corporation (MC) is yet to start rationing of water as is the practice during the summers, the supply in suburbs like Chakkar, Dhalli, Bharari, Vikasnagar and parts of New Shimla is being given on alternate days. MC commissioner Amitabh Awasthy said against a daily requirement of 36 million litres, the MC was getting about 30 million litres. “Though there is a water shortage, efforts are being made to give supply to all areas though there are reports of some problem in one or two localities,” he said. The residents have been facing a water shortage even during the winter following the freezing of water pipes. |
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Sawra Kudu Project
Shimla, March 18 President of the sabha Gobind Chatranta said there was great resentment among local people as they were kept in dark about the adverse impact of the project on the environment and in turn their livelihood. The Rs 648 crore project would severely affect the life and economy of over 12,000 people living in the trans-Pabbar river area. The natural resources, which supported life, would be depleted. The area is highly prone to landslides and flash floods and large-scale construction activity only worsened the problem. Besides a dam, it also involved construction of a 11.34-km tunnel which would further weaken the fragile hills. In all about 50 villages, including Ranvi, Thana, Bholar, Mandal, Jhaktan, Jhalta and Giltar would be directly or indirectly impacted. The sabha would launch a campaign to educate the people about the adverse impact of the project as the authorities had failed to provide full information in the documents circulated for preparing the environment management plan. |
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Credit plan for Bilaspur
Bilaspur, March 18 Presiding over a meeting of the district-level coordination and advisory committee here, he said 13,459 kisan credit cards were issued to farmers in the district and 924 women self-help groups, out of total 1,853, had been financially linked with banks. He said these groups had been provided Rs 3.4 crore for expanding their commercial activities in an attempt to improve their financial condition. Lead bank manager K.C. Sharma said the targets of 85 per cent in the priority sector and 160 per cent in the primary sector had been achieved. A Rs 210.6-crore district credit plan had been finalised for the district for 2008-09. “Under the credit plan, 10.40 per cent has been allocated for agriculture, 2.2 per cent for small industries, 19.7 per cent for the priority sector and 18.8 per cent for the non-priority sector,” he added. Parishad chairperson Santosh Dhiman, Indian Reserve Bank assistant general manager Jaipal, NABARD DDM R.L. Negi and UCO Bank’s deputy chief officer Vivek Kaul also attended the meeting. |
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OSD: Woman doc’s charge baseless
Hamirpur, March 18 Addressing a press conference at Nadaun today Sharma said the baseless allegations were a conspiracy to tarnish his image as well as that of the government. Ashok Sharma said he had received complaints against the doctor for being negligent in her duty. When he visited the dispensary hospital at 9.45 a.m. on March 14 the dispensary was found locked which was later opened after calling the attendant. Ashok Sharma even took a picture while getting the door opened with his digital camera at 9.54 am. He claimed if he had really misbehaved with the doctor on March 14 why did she register her complaint on March 16 when the Panchrukhi police station is just a few km away? Sharma said the doctor concerned, who was transferred to Loh - Tikkar in Chamba district over a month ago, was trying to create undue pressure on the government through such cheap tactics for getting it
cancelled. |
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7-year jail for rape
Una, March 18 Public prosecutor Gurdeep Singh Rathore said the accused was charged with raping a girl from Gagret area of Una. The accused was staying at the house of his maternal uncle in Gagret. He seduced a poor girl residing in neighbourhood with promise of lucrative job in Delhi and exploited her sexually. After that he kept exploiting the girl for three years threatening to expose her. He had also allegedly prepared an obscene CD with victim girl. The parents of the girl finally reported the matter to the police, who arrested him. |
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BDC chairman, vice-chairman quit
Chamba, March 18 During the no-confidence motion moved against chairman Amar Singh of Kuther panchayat samiti ward and vice-chairman Onkar Singh of Udaipur ward, 13 of the 18 members of the BDC present on this occasion voted against them, forcing them to quit their posts. The date for elections to these posts would be announced by the Deputy Commissioner of Chamba within a week, Verma
informed. |
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LIC development officers protest
Nurpur, March 18 The agitators raised slogans against the pro- privatisation policy of the government. |
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Govt to book hoarders: CM
Mandi, March 18 Addressing a public meeting at Dodan Thala in Sarkaghat subdivision today after dedicating the 33/11 KV sub-station at Cholthra constructed at a cost of Rs 2 crore under the APDRP to the people of the area Dhumal said, Kandapattan Water Supply Scheme would be completed on priority. He also laid the foundation stone of Sadhot bridge over Rosho
khad. |
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Expedition
Dharamsala, March 18 |
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McLeodganj, March 18