Shimla, May 10
Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal said today that there was need to rewrite the history of the country as even today it was being taught in a distorted form to children in the schools.

Speaking at the ‘Naman 1857’ function organised here on the Ridge in memory of the martyrs who had raised the banner of revolt against the British Raj in 1857 he said unfortunately the real message given by these martyrs had not reached the masses.

Dhumal, who addressed the gathering amidst heavy downpour, said some people with vested interest had tried to present the historical facts before and after Independence in such a manner, which gave the impression that only one family had fought for the freedom of the country.

He also lashed out at the Central Government for allowing a group of people from England to enter the country when their mission was to glorify their role in suppressing the 1857 uprising. “The fact that they were able to land in India with such a mission is a total failure of the Central Government as they should not been allowed to enter the country,” he remarked.

He further said statues and busts of freedom fighters would be put up in their villages so that they get due recognition and their families are honoured.

With the weather playing foul, all arrangements made by the organisers of the function were practically washed out as heavy rain lashed the town in the evening.

KANGRA: A 57-minute silence was observed today at 18:57 hours at the local municipal grounds to pay tributes to the martyrs of 1857 Revolution.

Social justice and empowerment minister Sarween Choudary, who was Chief Guest, on the occasion of ‘Naman 1857’ spoke on the relevance of the day and gave befitting tributes to the great martyrs of the freedom struggle. The function was organised by the Rashtriya Suyamsevak Sang (RSS).

Hamirpur, May 10
With the stage all set for the Hamirpur byelection, the BJP campaigners are focusing on the youthfulness of their candidate Anurag Thakur while the Congress supporters are relying on the experience of O.P. Rattan.

Anurag Thakur, son of Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, is making a debut in the electoral politics against former MLA from Una O.P. Rattan, who has also served as the media adviser to former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, besides other top politicians.

The supporters of Anurag Thakur are presenting their candidate as a young man with pleasing personality and a new vigour to take up the problems of the area in Parliament.

Telling about the qualities of Anurag, spokesman of the BJP Rajinder Rana says, “Anurag has proved his worth as the president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association by getting built a cricket stadium at Dharamsala and taking the assets of the association from Rs 16 lakh to Rs 16 crore in his seven-year term.”

“He is not new to politics and has been a political activist for long. He is very popular among the youth due to his contribution in promoting cricket,” he adds.

On the other hand, Congress leaders are banking on the long experience and expertise of O.P. Rattan.

Vice-president of the state Congress committee Rajinder Zar says, “Parliament is the top forum to discuss political issues and to frame policies and only an experienced person like Rattan can truly represent the people of the area in Parliament.”

Anurag supporters cite his appeal among every section of society as his biggest merit. The people will ultimately opt for an experienced politician than a new entrant into politics, they claim.

Hamirpur, May 10
Vishva Hindu Parishad president Ashok Singhal has termed the project to dismember Ram Setu a big abuse to the Hindu community.

Speaking at a three-day seminar organised by Jagdev Chand Memorial Research Centre at Neri here today, Singhal said, “This project of the Central Government has hurt sentiments of the Hindu community. How can you say it is man-made or a natural formation?”

“When they are denying the very existence of Lord Ram, how will they recognise the “setu” linked with his name?” Singhal said.

He said, “The issue of Ram Janmabhoomi cannot be settled in the court since it is a question of faith of millions of people.” He urged Hindus to get united to settle such issues.

He said, “In the name of liberalism, several objectionable things are being taught in schools and time has come to give a proper reply to all such things.”

He said there was a need to restructure history being taught by so-called secularists and hoped this research centre would play a significant role in that field.

Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal said, “There have been a lot of distortions in the history of our country compiled by the British writers and others in the name of secularism and there is a need to rewrite it and incorporate new facts.”

He said, “Efforts should be made to narrate glorious moments of our history to young generation since it inculcates a sense of nationalism.”

“The mindset of some people has to change since they have been opposing introduction of patriotic song like Vande Matram, which depicts our culture. The time has come when India can once again regain its status of “dharamguru” of the world and such research centres can play a leading role in that direction,” he said.

Sundernagar, May 10
A large number of local residents from Khatrwari, Ghangal, Bharari and Chambi areas assembled and raised slogans outside the buildings where the SDM-cum-LAO hears objections against the setting up of the cement plant in the Khatrawari- Chambi area.

Many persons and social organisations have filed objections in response to the notification issued by the government under the Land Acquisition Act.

Majority of persons were against the setting up of the cement plant near Sundernagar but few were expecting huge compensation so they were favouring its setting up. But when the company offered Rs 9.50 lakh per bigha against the earlier rate of Rs 80 lakh, the farmers started opposing it.

The district administration had fixed May 8, 9 and 12 for hearing objections at different places. Earlier, the dates were till May 18 but were preponed.

According to local residents all this was done under political pressure, they further told that the short notice of dates was given to them that too amidst harvesting season in order to give advantage to the company so that farmers could not be present. But all farmers, who have earlier filed objection, attended the hearing and deposed to shift the plant.

On May 8, the objections were heard for the Khatrwari area at Bharari and on May 9 for the Ghangal area at Mahadev. At both the places large number of persons, including ladies, gathered outside the revenue buildings (patwarkhana) and stated raising slogans against the cement plant demanding it’s shifting.

The LAO had to hear objections amidst slogans; the local resident stated that the present site was not fit for the project being on the agriculture land.

The representatives of Sundernagar Sangharsh Samiti addressed the gathering and accused the government that it was adopting duel standard. On one hand it declared that no agriculture land would be acquired for the project on the other hand it has ordered compulsory acquisition.

The next public hearing would be on May 12 at Bharari for Chambi and Bharari areas.

Shimla, May 10
It could be mid-May but it is back to wearing sweaters and jackets in the “Queen of Hills” with the temperatures dipping once again as rain lashed many parts of the state.

The maximum temperature in Shimla was recorded at 21.2°C while the minimum was 12.7°C. The temperature for this time of the year is about five degrees less than normal.

With barely a few days of warm weather the residents were seen wrapped in shawls and sweaters as the mercury dipped after frequent spells of rain throughout the day. In fact, the tourists arriving here to escape the heat of the plains were caught unawares as they had to buy woollens.

According to the local Meteorological office, there has been 3.1 mm of rainfall in Shimla in the morning and 0.2 mm in the afternoon. There are reports of rain from other parts of the state as well, including Sundernagar, Bhuntar and Mandi.

Reports from Chamba said there was fresh snow in the higher reaches of Pangi and Saach Pass today morning. Temperatures in other parts of the state have also dipped.

The maximum temperature at various places in the state was Sundernagar 29.4°C, Bhuntar 29.4°C, Kalpa 18.9°C and Dharamsala 30.4°C. The minimum temperature at Sundernagar was 13.7°C, Bhuntar 12.4°C, Kalpa 2.6°C and Dharamsala 17.3°C.

According to the local Met office, the forecast for the next 24 hours indicates light to moderate rain, thundershower at a few places. However, the city witnessed a heavy downpour today evening.

Shimla, May 10
A goal of 100 per cent enrolment has been achieved in Lahaul-Spiti and Bilaspur districts by the Universal Elementary Education Department and Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA). Director, elementary education, C. Palrasu yesterday said Kinnaur, Hamirpur and Una districts would also achieve 100 per cent enrolments shortly. “Efforts were being made under the SSA to motivate the parents and children to get them back to the formal stream of education by organising counselling camps jointly with other departments,” he said.

He said 697 of the 4,075 schoolchildren had already been covered in the first quarter. “The remaining children constitute less than the eligible age group of six to 14 years,” he said. He informed that education is being provided by 10,682 primary schools, 4,231 upper primary schools and 331 EGS centres in the state. He added that directions had been issued to speed up the enrolment campaign so that emphasis can be laid on providing quality education.

Solan, May 10
Lawrence School, Sanawar, and Welham (Girls) School, Dehra Dun, continued their winning streak on the second day of Major Jagpal Memorial Basketball Tournament being held at Subathu Pinegrove School.

Lawrence School, Sanawar, beat Army Public School, Dagshai (boys), 30-13. Akinjeet remained the top scorer contributing 20 for the Lawrence team, while Tarun scored 10 points for Army school team.

In another match, hosts Pinegrove School (boys) defeated Punjab Public School, Nabha, in a one-sided contest. They won 30-3. Dhruv and Avkaran scored 9 and 8 points, respectively, for the host team.

In the girls’ pool, Lawrence School, Sanawar, beat YPS, Patiala, 26-4. Shrinjin and Yashodhaa scored 8 points each for Sanawar. Welham Girls School outplayed Vidya Devi Jindal School, Hisar, by a huge margin of 50-8. Surbhi scored 14 points and Somya scored 10 points for the winners, while Rubi contributed 4 points for the Hisar team.

In another exciting match, Pinegrove (girls) outplayed YPS, Mohali, 16-7. Jasmine scored 8 points and Sunandanee scored 4 points for Pinegrove, while Jaskiran scored 3 points for the YPS team.

Some matches were played under floodlights in which YPS, Patiala, boys got the better of Military School, Chail, by a margin of 24-13 while Lawrence School defeated YPS, Mohali, 46-29. Among the girls, Welham girls outplayed Lawrence School girls 59-10, Vidya Devi Jindal, Hisar, beat YPS, Patiala, 14-4.

Nahan, May 10
Chief information commissioner of Himachal Pradesh P.S. Rana today pulled up several officials for not providing information demanded under the RTI Act even after several months. He was addressing officials of Paonta subdivision at Paonta today.

He said three NGOs of Paonta had topped Himachal Pradesh in seeking information under the Act. He said these NGOs, the Sirmaur Vichar Manch, the Sirmaur Consumer Protection Society and the Jan Ekta Samiti, were doing remarkable work in the public interest.

Nurpur, May 10
The agitating workers of the Irrigation-cum-Public Health (IPH) Department, Nurpur circle, today called off their indefinite dharna that had been going on in front of the office of the superintending engineer (SE) for the past five days here.

The dharna was reportedly lifted following a dialogue between acting state president of the IPH workers union Madan Rana and SE R.K. Kanwar. The talks went on for five hours. The union was assured that promotions would be granted to IPH workers before October by inviting seniority lists from the department’s divisional offices by August 31.