Nurpur, October 4
Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today said his government was committed to develop the state as industrial and education hub and to ensure requisite infrastructure like roads and bridges for this purpose. Addressing a mammoth gathering at Kathgarh in this subdivision this afternoon after laying the foundation stone of private Arni University, he said days were gone when only one particular area of the state had industrial area. “Now the government is making concerted efforts to develop industrial areas in every district and big houses are being motivated to set up industries throughout the state,” he added.

Lauding the K.D. Education Trust, Delhi, to set up its university in lower Kangra district and its assurance to start medical college later on, Dhumal said his government was also trying to bring another reputed Hydrabad-based university in the state. He said the government would ensure reservation of seats for bona fide Himachalis in professional colleges being set up in private sector in the state.

Lashing out at the opposition Congress party the chief minister said as and when his government launched development projects it made hue and cry by levelling baseless accusation of selling state  interests.

He accused the previous Virbhadra government for issuing notification for opening medical college in Mandi in back date after enforcement of model code of conduct in the wake of assembly elections.

“Recently, the government has exempted stamp duty levied on mortgage deeds for taking agriculture loans which directly curtailed state exchequer to the tune of Rs 35 crore per annum,” he asserted.

The public meeting was also addressed by education minister I.D.Dhiman, transport minister Kishan Kapoor, irrigation minister Ravinder Ravi , local MLA Des Raj and Congress MLA from Nagrota Bhagwan assembly constituency.

On this occasion J.K.Jain, chairman of the K.D.Education Trust, revealed that the proposed Arni University would be an ultra-modern professional  university.

Shimla, October 4
As part of its endeavour to rope in private doctors in providing quality specialised services to the people, the government has finally launched its formula of public-private partnership by engaging specialists on a daily basis.

The beginning in this regard has been made by engaging services of anaesthetist, who are in great shortage in the health institutions in the state. As per the arrangement worked out by the Health Department, they will be paid Rs 5,000 per day irrespective of the fact whether one or six surgeries are performed that day. Whenever wthere is an emergency case to be dealt, the private anaesthetist would be given Rs 1,000 per case.

Health minister Dr Rajeev Bindal said the department had already engaged the services of private anaesthetists at Chamba, Hamirpur and Una districts. “We are already in the process of finalising names of private specialists in the filed of medicine, paediatrics and surgery and fixing the remuneration to be paid in engaging their services in the government health institutions,” he revealed.

He said in the border areas like Nurpur, Nalagarh and Nahan the government was exploring the possibility of engaging the services of anaesthetists and other specialists from nearby town like Pathankot, Chandigarh and Yamunanagar, respectively. “The sole objective of the government is to ensure that people do not face any kind of inconvenience and the best possible medical facilities are provided to them,” he said.

Faced with acute shortage of doctors, especially specialists, the government had decided to engage the services of private practitioners to tide over the problem till regular appointments could be made. With strict implementation of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Test (PNDT) Act, the health authorities will find it the more difficult as it will be mandatory for only radiologists to run ultra sound machines.

Despite advertising posts of specialists with enhanced remuneration on contract basis the department is still struggling to fill the vacancies.

Paucity of specialist doctors has severely affected the effective implementation of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) Project in the state.

Bindal said the government was in the process of setting up of the Rogi Kalyan Samitis in every health institution right from the primary health centre to a medical college. “It was due to the delay in setting up these samitis that a sum of Rs 36 crore received under the NRHM during 2005-07 was left unutilised and as such the amount has now been adjusted against the Rs 100 crore received now,” he said.

Shimla, October 4
Health minister Dr Rajeev Bindal today announced that two multi drug resistance (MDR) laboratories would be set up at Dharampur in Solan and Tanda medical college, Kangra, for the convenience of patients suffering from tuberculosis.

Speaking at the launch of the National Family Health Survey report prepared by International Institute for population sciences, he said that even though the state was rated at the top with regard to most of the health indicators, there were areas of improvement, including anaemia and low rate of institutional deliveries.

Bindal said at present samples had to be sent to Delhi or other places to get the test done for MDR but now the government had decided to have its won two laboratories. He said this facility would help in treating TB patients, especially those who develop drug resistance and could not be treated under DOTS.

Bindal said in order to overcome the problem of anaemia which adversely affected the infant mortality rate and maternal health. “We will launch the first phase of the Anaemia Free Himachal Project from the districts of Kangra and Hamirpur from October 21 and complete the first round within three months,” he said.

He also announced that the government was planning to issue a master card to every family in the state, detailing income, agriculture, banking and health status of all family members. He added this would be an important document, which would be the indicator of the health and prosperity of the family.

Principal secretary, health and family welfare, Deepak Sanan said the department would prepare a complete database about all health indicators. This he added would be made on line and would be updated on a monthly basis.

Shimla, October 4
The Resident Doctor’s Association of the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) has condemned the callous behaviour shown by the directorate of health services in placing a physician under suspension without going into the details of the case.

General secretary of the association, Dr Piyush Kapila, said the patient had been in hospital for only two hours and the call to the suspended physician was sent at 8.25 pm. “He arrived in hospital at 8.35 pm while the patient had died at 8.30 pm, so where is the question of negligence on the part of the doctor,” he said.

Dr Kapila said the call should have been sent to a paediatrician rather than a physician as all patients below the age of 18 years were treated by peadiatrician. He added that in this  particular case the child was aged 14 years.

He lamented that this kind of treatment towards doctors would prove detrimental for the state where doctors were selflessly performing their duty. He said the association sympathises with the family and relatives of the deceased.

He sought the intervention of the authorities in looking into facts and doing justice.

Shimla, October 4
Representatives of the Brakel Corporation and its associate companies today had a personal hearing with Asha Swaroop and Ajay Mittal, chief secretary and principal secretary of the power ministry, respectively, with regard to cancellation of the show-cause notice issued to it by the government.

The representatives, accompanied by their legal counsel, held a four-hour long meeting with the principal secretary, followed by a meeting with the chief secretary.

Brakel after filing its reply to the show-cause notice issued by the government is now seeking cancellation of the notice. The outcome of the meeting was not known so far as discussions carried on till late.

The corporation had been allotted 960 MW of Jangi Thopan and Thopan Powari hydroelectric projects in Kinnaur district by the previous Congress regime. With various problems, including a delay in the payment of Rs 173 crore upfront money, the BJP regime issued a show-cause notice to the company as to why the allotment made to it should not be cancelled.

The issue of allotment of Jangi Thopan (480 MW) and Thopan Powari (480 MW) had been dragged to the high court by Reliance Energy, a rival company, but the court later directed the issue to be decided by the government.

The matter of cancellation of the project to Brakel and inviting fresh tenders was also discussed by the state cabinet after which the show-cause notice was issued.

Shimla, October 4
The Supermax Company, which has been lying closed since June 30 after a worker was killed in a shootout, has sought a rehabilitation package of Rs 50 crore from the government for the losses incurred due to closure.

A request for giving Rs 50 crore as a bail out package was submitted to the deputy commissioner on the behalf of Subhash D. Chaudhari, GM, corporate HR. The company has urged the government to provide them a soft loan of Rs 45 core and Rs 5 crore as a  grant-in-aid.

The company, which is in the process of undertaking repair, maintenance and calibration of the plant that has been lying closed since June 30, intends resuming production only after receiving the help from the government. “We have suffered major losses and lost a huge share of the market in north India to our competitors so the government should compensate us,” said company representatives.

They said they were keen to start operation but having suffered huge losses and expect the government to bail  them out.

They said since the government failed in providing them adequate security and allowed the workers to go on a complete rampage in the presence of the police.

The officials said they were keen to start operations and were hopeful that the government would extend them financial help.

Chamba, October 4
Three persons were killed on the spot and three others were feared to have been drowned in the waters of the river Ravi while a woman was seriously wounded when a Santro car went out of control and plunged into the river at Khani Mor near Kharamukh on the Chamba-Bharmour highway, about 45 km from Chamba, this morning.

The reports said the ill-fated vehicle in which seven persons, including four women, were travelling was coming from Kangra and on its way to Bharmour tribal township met with an accident at Khani Mor near Kharamukh.

The bodies of three deceased were extricated and identified as Ashok Kapoor, a superintendent in the education department, his son Yuganshu and a relative Kanchan, the reports said.

The three others who have been feared drowned in the Ravi included Abhishek, another son of Ashok, and two daughters of Kanchan. They are still missing and their bodies could not be traced as yet. However, persistent efforts were being made by the the people and the project officials to recover the bodies, the reports said.

The lone survivor was Chanchal, wife of deceased Ashok Kapoor who was rushed to the regional hospital Chamba in serous condition, is battling for life.

Meanwhile, the local authorities distributed an immediate relief of Rs 15,000 each to the next-of-kin of the deceased, the repots revealed. The police has registered a case. 

Shimla, October 4
A 19-year-old married woman from Chattisgarh was allegedly raped by a fellow labourer in the Chotta Shimla area of the town.

The married woman, hailing from Sihar village in Sargunja district of Bihar, is working as a labourer in the Flowerdale colony below Chotta Shimla. The crime took place on Friday but it was reported to the police today. The accused, Rajkaran (22), who also hails from Bihar, has been taken into custody by the police and a case has been registered against him.

Shimla, October 4
Governor Prabha Rau today released the open series maps for civil use brought out by the Geo-spatial Data Centre of North Western Zone, Survey of India (SOI).

She also released the Defence Series Map for use by the defence services. All socio-economic development activities, conservation of natural resource, planning for disaster mitigation and infrastructure development require high-quality spatial data. The advancements in digital technologies have now made it possible to use diverse spatial database in an integrated manner.

The responsibility for producing, maintaining and disseminating the topographic map database for the entire country rests with the SOI.

Open series maps are brought out exclusively by the SOI primarily for supporting development activities in the country.

Dr Prithvish Nag, Surveyor-General of India, Maj-Gen P.N. Kaul, Additional Surveyor-General, North Western Zone and Maj-Gen A.K. Padha, Additional Surveyor-General, HP, briefed about the activities of the SOI.

He said the national map policy was aimed at encouraging a flourishing geo-spatial industry and related knowledge services.

Dharamsala, October 4
The allegedly proximity shown by former transport minister and congress MLA G.S. Bali to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal at a function organised at Tanda Medical College yesterday has created a stir in the Kangra BJP circles.

In the function, despite not being invited by the local administration, Bali made his presence felt. He even accompanied the Chief Minister in the car after the function. Though on the stage various BJP leaders spoke openly against him, he held his ground and stayed on the stage at the function.

The moves of the congress MLA have not gone down well with the BJP leaders from the district. Sources here told that the senior BJP leaders from the district, including two ministers, two MLAs, the BJP’s district president, held a meeting yesterday evening at the house of a BJP office bearer to discuss the recent developments.

The leaders present at the meeting objected to the way the Chief Minister allegedly displayed soft corner towards the congress leader.

The leaders have generated the data regarding the alleged preferential treatment being given to the Nagrota Bagwan constituency during the BJP rule despite the fact that it represented by the congress MLA.

The Tribune managed to get copies of the data. As per the data, during 2008-09 the Nagrota Bagwan Assembly constituency under the MMGPY scheme of the union government the constituency got Rs 5,85,000 till date, that is much more than the funds sanctioned to many other constituencies represented by the ruling party. Baijnath and Palampur constituencies have not got even a single penny under the said scheme till date.

Also in other development works the Nagrota Bagwan constituency has got liberal grants as per the generated data. Till date, funds worth Rs 20,05,000 have been sanctioned for the Nagrota constituency, where as many Assembly constituencies as Kangra have got just Rs 6,80,000, Palampur just Rs 7,26,000, Guler 3,10,000 and Baijnath just Rs 20,000.

Though the data collected by the BJP leaders might not reflect the true figure as development is planned keeping in view priorities in areas rather than representation by the parties, but it clearly reflects the fissures appearing in district BJP.

Interestingly, there are 12 BJP MLA’s from Kangra district.

Hamirpur, October 4
Former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has accused the state government for allegedly creating a regional divide in the bureaucracy and the government servants in the state.

Talking to mediapersons here on Friday he said, “The present state government has divided the government servants on regional lines which is biggest misfortune of democracy and even middle-level government servants in the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat at Shimla have been divided on regional basis.”

Virbhadra criticised Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal for promoting his son Anurag Thakur as his political successor in the state and said, “Dhumal is promoting his son as his political successor not only in Hamirpur but also in the state; there is no ban on promoting his son in politics but this is definitely a matter of concern among the BJP leaders he added.”

Former Chief Minister said, “During its nine months rule the BJP has carried no development and the state has gone backwards economically and politically and sarcastically.” He said the government had three achievements to its credit, transfers, inquiries and announcements.

He accused, “Dhumal is working with political vendetta which is against the democratic norms and developments works in the areas represented by the Congress MLA’s are not being started despite budget allocation and tenders are not being allotted even for the NABARD schemes while elected representatives in the PRI’s owing allegiance to the Congress party are being removed from their posts on flimsy grounds.”

He also criticised HPCA president Anurag Thakur “for making patrons as voters in the State Cricket Association by amending the constitution and demanded restoration of old constitution on the basis of which he was elected for level playing for every one in the elections of the HPCA.”

Virbhadra also criticised the government on the issue of PTA teachers, for not strengthening the PDS ration scheme and on the government’s move to review decision of previous government’s last six months of rule and said, “Dhumal should not work with preconceived notions but be magnanimous.”

Mandi, October 4
With a view to improving educational standard in government schools, O.P. Sharma, director, education, has issued directive to all principals of over 12,000 government-run senior secondary schools to implement the school calendar and ensure its compliance. The idea is to bring about an overall personality change in students making them competent with those of public schools.

Talking to The Tribune, Sharma said the school calendar was a part of department’s efforts at bringing about a change in teaching atmosphere in government schools in the state. The emphasis was participation of all teachers and students in co-curricular activities, he stressed.

He said that each school had to conduct cycle tests and mid-term tests as recommended by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). These tests aimed at improving academic activities in schools, he added.

Sharma said the education department would also make regular mandatory checks in each school so that the calendar becomes a tool of achieving higher ends of education, he added. The teachers should ensure that all students participated in sports, academics and extra-curricular activities round the year, Sharma added.

The NCERT had evolved guidelines for the school calendar and government schools were following them, he added.

The school principals’ performance would be judged on the basis of how he/she scored over performance in the implementation of the school calendar, he added. 

Mandi, October 4
The Right to Information (RTI) Act has brought to light “irregularities” in use of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) Programme funds in four panchayats in Seraj block and casual manner in which officials concerned are dealing with the programme. The Rural Workers Association (RWA) has demanded a vigilance probe into the alleged NREGA scam.

The RTI activist-cum-RWA convener, Lawan Thakur and president Sant Ram claimed that the irregularities had come to light under the RTI Act in the use of NREGA funds in four snowbound panchyats of Khalwan, Thata, Pung Jahalgad and Khani.

They claimed that the information given by the ADC-cum-NREGA nodal officer and the BDO, Seraj, under the RTI Act about the use of funds did not match and gross irregularities.

They furnished details of the RTI information stating that the NREGA nodal officer has given them information that they could not give much employment under the NREGA from October 2007 to February 2008 in the four panchayats as these fall in snowbound area.

But on the other hand, the RWA alleged, ADC’c RTI information contradicted the information given by the BDO. “Over 689 persons in Thata, 652 persons in Pung Jahalgad, 688 in Khalwan and 767 persons in Khani panchayats were given employment within 15 days after receiving applications”, they added, quoting details given by the BDO’s under the RTI Act.

They further charged that even payments worth Rs 3.17 lakh, Rs 3.75 lakh, Rs 10.14 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh, respectively, were not made to the beneficiaries in these four panchayats as per provision of the NREGA. Even unemployment allowance Rs 3 lakh is not paid to workers that violate the Act.

Thakur rued that the ADC gave them a bundle of Photostat copies of the NRGEA complaints and did not assign any reason or gave any answers as what he action he took over the complaints. “The RWA was charged Rs 1,500 for supplying the vague information”, he said.

Thakur said the NREGA funds were being misused and vigilance probe be ordered in case of four panchayats. “When these are snowbound areas then how these “persons” got work under the NREGA”, they questioned.

Una, October 4
While addressing mediapersons under ‘Meet the Press’ programme here today, Padam Singh Chauhan, deputy commissioner, said that during the current financial year, Rs 6 crore would be spent by the social justice and empowerment department under various schemes in the district.

The deputy commissioner said the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes’ 217 eligible people would be provided subsidy for the construction of new houses. As many as 164 eligible people would be provided subsidy for the repair of their houses totalling Rs 82.20 lakh during this current financial year. He said till now 35 eligible people had constructed houses and 24 eligible people had repaired their houses under this scheme.