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Hamirpur Byelection
HIS ASSETS
3 observers appointed
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No confirmation on Sarabjit’s plea
Debt repayment to be restructured: CM
Fruit growers’ plight discussed with Delhi CM
70 pc jobs in SJVN projects sought
Govt ex-official in the dock
2 linemen suffer electric shocks
Ahluwalia provides asset details
Road Users Act comes into force
Plan to construct cricket stadium near Shimla
Army men tame fire
Timber seized
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Hamirpur Byelection
Hamirpur, May 3 Former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who is stated to be annoyed with the party leadership for ignoring him after the defeat of the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, was not present in the meeting. Addressing the rally, president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee Viplove Thakur lashed out at Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal for promoting family rule by nominating his son, Anurag Thakur, for this election. She said, “Before comparing family of Sonia Gandhi, the BJP leaders should keep in mind the sacrifices that this family has made. Are there any equals to the sacrifices made by Indira and Rajiv Gandhi for the country?” Attacking the BJP on inflation, Thakur said, “The present price rise has been due to allowing forward trading and import of wheat and rice by the previous NDA government. However, the UPA government is making all efforts to contain prices.” The HPCC president said, “Why is the state government not giving permission to prosecute health minister Rajiv Bindal when an inquiry in the case against him is complete?” She said, “Our fight is against state power and capitalists in this election.” She appealed to the people to reject the BJP candidate. Congress legislature party leader Vidya Stokes said, “Why is the BJP government organising bandh against price rise when it itself has failed to act and reduced subsidy on PDS ration?” Criticising the state government for 25 per cent bus fare hike, She said, “Himachal is the only state in the country which has raised bus fares.” Stokes said, “We must not tolerate injustice and reject the BJP in this election.” O.P. Rattan assured the gathering to raise the burning issues of the area in Parliament, if he is elected. Kangra MP Chander Kumar, former ministers Ram Lal Thakur, Kuldeep Kumar, MLA Sukhvinder Singh, former MLA Anita Verma and several other leaders also addressed the rally. |
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HIS ASSETS
Hamirpur, May 3 Rattan has Rs 2,72,892 in savings bank accounts, FDRs for Rs 4 lakhs, Rs 25,000 in ICICI bank, NSCs worth Rs 2,05,000, besides 100 gm gold (valued at Rs 1 lakh) and Rs 30,000 in cash. Rattan has share in ancestral land at Mehatpur (valued at Rs 2,43,970) and at Basdehara Brahmana (valued at Rs 2, 22249 and Rs 13,630). He also owns a residential building constructed on ancestral land valued at Rs 25 lakh. Wife of Rattan has Rs 2,56,137 in savings accounts, Rs 1,79,178 in PPF account, Rs 30,000 in ICICI bank, Rs 3 lakh in post office joint account with her son and Rs 10 lakh in the MIS of post office as retirement benefit. She also owns 375 gm gold worth Rs 4 lakh and one Alto car, besides Rs 10,000 cash. She owns land in Mehatpur (valued at Rs 3,20,560) and at Rampur Saini district in Punjab (valued at Rs 20 lakh). Rattan owes Rs 70,000 to the HP Vidhan Sabha and had paid income tax of Rs 4,850. His wife paid income tax of Rs 1,300 during the last year. No criminal case is pending in any court against Rattan as per details submitted by him with the nomination papers. |
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3 observers appointed
Shimla, May 3 They were R. Binchillo Tong, B.K. Kharel (general observer) and Milind Gawai (expenditure observer). Chief electoral officer Manisha Nanda said political parties were free to contact these observers and could lodge complaints about violation of the model code of conduct to them. |
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Centre alone can’t tame prices: Sharma
Shimla, May 3 He was addressing a press conference here today. He said the Centre was fulfilling its responsibility by ensuring adequate supply of foodgrains and other food items to all state. “The Centre and the states would have to put in joint efforts to tackle the situation,” he said. He said despite a lot of criticisms from various quarters, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had imposed a ban on exports of foodgrains so as to ensure food security in the country. He said it was for the state governments to take effective steps like checking hoarding and black marketing, ensuring display of price lists and smooth functioning of the PDS. “It would have been better, if the government efforts were directed towards checking hoarding rather than observing a bandh,” he said. He said the government was supposed to govern and take stock of the situation to manage its affairs smoothly. “It is mandatory to display price lists, but in many states, including Himachal, this is not being done,” he said. |
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No confirmation on Sarabjit’s plea
Shimla, May 3 He said he spoke to India’s high commissioner in Pakistan in the morning, but there had been no confirmation till now. “He is to meet the Pakistan foreign minister and only then we will be able to know exactly as to what is the latest position with regard to Sarabjit’s clemency plea,” he said. Sarabjit’s death sentence was deferred twice due to the efforts of the Indian government and human right activists. “We are very optimistic and hoping that Pakistan would grant him life imprisonment and efforts are being made by the Indian government at the highest level,” he said. |
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Debt repayment to be restructured: CM
Shimla, May 3 He said the purchasing power of every section of society had gone up. The government had released 5 per cent interim relief to the employees in the state. He said concerted efforts were being made to check prices of essential commodities by keeping an eye over wholesale traders and hoarders. “Flying squads have been pressed into service to ensure availability of foodgrains and other items in the open market,” he said. He blamed the UPA government for failing to control prices that were kept under check during the NDA regime. “Price control is a Central subject, but the government had miserably failed to do anything substantial on that front,” he said. The fact that the Bharat Bandh call given by the BJP was well received by the people was a clear indicator that price rise was an issue that had affected every section of society, he said. |
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Fruit growers’ plight discussed with Delhi CM
New Delhi, May 3 Himachal horticulture minister Narender Bragta yesterday called on Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit in the Delhi secretariat and listed the problems being faced by fruit growers who came to the mandi from different parts of the state to sell their produce and are being charged 6 to 8 per cent commission by the agents. Bragta referred to the Act that the Delhi government passed several years ago to ensure that commission agents did not overcharge fruit growers and levied commission on buyers instead. The Act was, however, not being implemented effectively, and the practice of charging 6 per cent commission from growers was continuing. Bragta also raised the issue of Himachali fruit growers being charged 8 per cent commission. He said the Delhi government had agreed to penalise those who indulged in overcharging. It had also agreed to Himachal’s proposal of setting up a separate flower market for floriculturists from the state. “We had asked for a separate air-conditioned flower market,” said Bragta, who has also sought construction of Kisan Bhawan at Azadpur Sabzi Mandi considering farmers have to wait for days to unload their produce which reduces its value due to delay in loading. |
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70 pc jobs in SJVN projects sought
Shimla, May 3 Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal has raised the issue with Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. “The state had sought a detailed report on the employment status of Himachalis in various projects being executed by the SJVN, which clearly reflected that the state was not getting fair share of employment,” he said. Dhumal urged Shinde to direct the authorities to start recruitment process of personnel in categories where they were facing shortfall. He added there was no dearth of skilled, qualified and experienced personnel in the state. Dhumal said the SJVN was to generate 3,707 MW power on the Sutlej basin alone and Himachal was an equity partner; so a fair share of employment must go to the local youth. “Besides the 1,500-MW Nathpa-Jhakri project, the 412-MW Rampur project has been assigned to the SJVN and as per the new power policy 70 per cent jobs in all power projects must be given to Himachalis,” he said. He said the state would give preferential treatment to the SJVN even in future, provided Himachal got its share in return in all areas, including employment. The Chief Minister said it had been made compulsory for every project executor, industrial house and other business ventures to provide adequate employment to the local youth. Some of the industrial houses were even providing in-house skill upgrading to the youth so as to train them for particular job requirements, he added. |
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Govt ex-official in the dock
Kangra, May 3 Chand said he randomly inspected the Civil Supplies Corporation’s Area Office Wholesale and LPG godowns Bhatta-Kufar on April 23, and found many irregularities committed in various purchases. He said an analysis of data on record seized from the office revealed that Patial as an area manager in that office had resorted to huge unfruitful expenditures on gifts, sweets, hosting lunches, dinners, solemnising bhandaras and inauguration of medicine shops during 2006-2007. Citing example the minister said on the honorarium to employees on Diwali between October 17 and 19, 2006, Patial incurred Rs 3,14,900 besides Rs 2,47,786 were incurred on Diwali gifts by him. He said stringent measures should be adopted to avoid unfruitful expenditures. Many bills pertaining to the expenditures were forged. He recommended special audit of the area office at Shimla be conducted by the accountant general of the state for the last three years within two months. Patial had exercised monopolistic powers for incurring expenditures and there was nothing on record that he had ever sought approval from MD or Board of Directors for doing such huge expenditures. The minister directed the managing director to issue a show cause notice regarding the alleged bona fide financial irregularities to Patial and then he be charge-sheeted. |
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2 linemen suffer electric shocks
Nahan, May 3 Sher Bahadur, an assistant lineman of the HPSEB, reportedly fell down from an electricity pole after suffering an electric shock while working on it. Before hitting the ground he reportedly hit the roof of a nearby building. He was taken to the Dadahu referral hospital by the residents in a critical condition. After the incident, another lineman Rajender Kumar reached the spot and thinking that the power supply had been cut off by the substation authorities, he tried to climb the same pole. He also received a severe shock. Residents immediately ran to the nearby substation and got the power supply disconnected. In charge of the Dadahu referral hospital Dr Antal said Sher Bahadur had been injured more severely. His two teeth were broken. He also suffered injuries on the head and other parts of the body. In an email message sent to Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, residents have demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident. |
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Ahluwalia provides asset details
Shimla, May 3 The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had sought details from Ahluwalia about the assets owned by him and his family. The Home Department had asked the Vigilance Bureau to look into the assets owned by the bureaucrat. Though April 27 had been set for furnishing the details but it was only two days back that he furnished the details. Sources said he had given details of the properties, bank accounts and other assets of his family, including his wife and two children. The Vigilance Bureau will now assess the value of these properties and other assets and accordingly decide whether a case would be registered or some action would be taken. His wife, Meera Ahluwalia, principal of Government College, was questioned about her foreign jaunts, allege to be sponsored by some companies. It also alleged that she is associated with certain companies like Amway, LG and Tupperware despite being in government service. |
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Road Users Act comes into force
Shimla, May 3 A spokesperson said here today that permits and passes for plying vehicles on roads in sealed or restricted areas would be given only to those whose workplace or residence was situated in that area. “A fee of Rs 2,500 per route per annum would be charged for a permit for a route in “sealed areas”, while Rs 2,000 would be charged for a permit for every route in “restricted areas” from private vehicle owners,” he said. In case of government vehicles, permit charges in case of “sealed roads” and “restricted roads” would be Rs 1,000 per route annually. He said applications forms could be taken from officials posted at the counter at gate number three of the secretariat from 10 am to 12 noon. |
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Plan to construct cricket stadium near Shimla
Shimla, May 3 This was stated by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal here today. “Efforts are being made to get the ownership of the Anandale ground from the defence authorities as its lease had expired 28 years back,” he said. Another place that could be considered for the purpose was Katasani, 30 km from here, he added. “A detailed project report is being prepared and a sum of Rs 45 crore is proposed to be spent on it,” he said. |
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Army men tame fire
Kangra, May 3 Vineet kumar, fire officer Dharamsala, said property worth Rs 10,000 was destroyed in the fire but property worth Rs 1 crore was saved with the help of the Army. |
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Timber seized
Solan, May 3 The driver and another accomplice deserted the truck and fled when the police signalled it to stop. The truck was on its way to Chandigarh from the Kotkhai area. |
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