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Administrative Reforms Tibetans complete 50 years in exile Tibetans holding a peaceful march on the occasion of golden jubilee of Tibetan struggle at McLeodganj in Dharamsala on Tuesday. Photo: Kamaljeet
Code of conduct puts commercial projects on hold
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Drive to check forest fires launched
Resignation sought over ragging incident
Artistes regale audience at Holi fest
Students’ agitation enters 5th day Cong, BJP continue blame game
Sister-in-law of CM’s brother killed
Hearing in Singhi Ram case put off
Anganwari workers protesting for the acceptance of their demands. A Tribune photo Youth Cong to have 3-tier units Tension prevails over clash Grace marks sought Hold protest march in
Shimla
Dr Chauhan new principal
Mobile phones stolen
Extra time granted
5 get jail for thrashing woman
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Dhumal calls for revival of branch inspection system
Tribune News Service
Shimla, March 10 Presiding over a meeting to review the progress of Administrative Reforms and Foreign Assignment Organisation here today, he said at times applicants complained of delayed response to their requests by various authorities without any valid reasons. In a democratic system common man had to be listened to and his concerns addressed. The revival of branch inspection system would make it possible to rationalise the staffing pattern and re-allocate the surplus staff to other branches having inadequate manpower. For efficient delivery of services using information technology training programmes should be formulated for the staff of the state secretariat to keep them updated about the latest trends in office administration. Continuity had to be maintained in rotational training programmes of all the departments. He said all the service matters of the employees should be disposed by officers concerned at their own level, without waiting for the intervention by the courts. Dhumal said that the people had to be educated about the national rural employment guarantee scheme so that they could take full benefit. He said people were getting themselves registered to obtain job guarantee cards under the scheme but most of them were unaware about the programme. He said the cumbersome form and application system needed simplification and single page system must be adopted. The instructions already issued for inviting applications for various vacancies on plain paper needed to be reiterated and applicants had to be informed that they should not get documents zeroxed unnecessarily.
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Tibetans complete 50 years in exile Dharamsala, March 10 In his address the Dalai Lama said since he came to India on March 10, 1959, efforts were being on for peaceful solution to the Tibet problem. However, due to persistent rejection of their genuine demand the trust of Tibetans in Communist Party ruler of China is declining. Even the Chinese intellectuals were now supporting the Tibetan movement. Since March uprising last year about 300 articles have been written by the Chinese intellectuals in the favour of Tibetan cause. The solution of Tibetan problem is beneficial for both China and Tibet, he said. Later, while responding to a query in a press conference, the Dalai Lama said the policy of the Indian Government towards the Tibet issue is ‘over cautious’. I am hopeful that the Indian Government would change its stance, he said. The Dalai Lama said China is no more a country that is working on an ideology. The Communist Party of China that is ruling the country could no more be termed as the party of workers. Now, money is more important in China than the cause of workers. Since ideology of the Communist Party is changing it should also modify its stance on Tibet. China should slowly reduce its military presence in Tibet that would act as a confidence-building measure. While responding to a query from Taiwanese journalist the Dalai Lama expressed willingness to visit Taiwan. As many as 31 Australia-based Chinese democratic activists also joined the ceremony at the main temple. The pro-democracy Chinese activists flayed the Communist Party of China for continuing atrocities against the Tibetans. They said we were ashamed at the acts of the Chinese Communist Party. The activists received hearty welcome from the Tibetans here. Meanwhile, the 50th anniversary of exile was marked with protest and candlelight marches by the Tibetans. The entire Tibetan business establishments at McLeodganj remained closed.
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Code of conduct puts commercial projects on hold
Solan, March 10 The board has put on hold such permission to industrial units and real estate projects soon after announcement of the general elections on March 2. This would not only delay the inception of various projects, including industrial activities and real estate projects by nearly two and a half months but the investors would incur monetary loss under such circumstances. Ruing this uncalled for hold on the consent to operate the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Industries Association president Rajinder Guleria along with a delegation of the association today met the Election Commissioner(EC). Guleria said, “We apprised the EC of the illogical decision as the consent to operate did not form part of any policy and was purely an administrative procedure which was followed by the board.” He added that already 10 to 12 investors had approached the association within days of announcement of the code of conduct and this number would rise further in case the EC did not give relief. Earlier, the association had already sought a recommendation from the State Pollution Control Board stating that the consent to operate did not involve any policy decision and was purely an administrative procedure, hence the binding of the code of conduct should not be applied to it. This was more so since the board of management did not have a single political nominee as its director, as against earlier occasions, and hence there was no scope of political decision-making. Also the board merely ratifies such cases after all formalities for granting the consent to operate are completed. Hence there was no political fallout. Guleria added that the EC had promised to send the case to the deputy election commissioner at Delhi with a positive recommendation to allow the grant of this consent. With less than a year remaining for the central industrial package to lapse the investors were in a hurry to come into operation and this undue delay of two and a half months was being seen as a major impediment at this crucial juncture. With the markets already facing slump and business being at an all- time low, the lone scope of the investors was to catch up with commercial activities at the earliest. The investors added since the neighbouirng states had not put on hold any such consent it was reasonless for Himachal to hold back such cases. They were, however, hopeful of the EC adopting a positive stance on the issue to save them from undue delay. |
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Drive to check forest fires launched
Bilaspur, March 10 Apart from mobilising a force of more than 400 forest personnel, active cooperation of villagers living in fringe areas of forests was also being sought. They were being urged to cooperate in the task, Divisional Forest Officer Pushpender Rana said here today. Rana said villagers had been directed not to burn anything in the open without getting permission from the Forest Department. They had also been told that in case of any fire information should be provided to the divisional-level control room at phone number 224809 or other range control rooms at phone numbers 222919 (Sadar range), 9816312953 (Jhandutta), 262026 (Kalol), 284032 (Sughar Ghat), 255226 (Ghumarwin) or 273595 (Bharardi range). To minimise the risk of forest fires, controlled burning had been undertaken in 1,200 hectares and long stretches of forest roads cleared of inflammable materials, he said. Fire observation posts had been set up on hilltops at nine places in the district, he added. The villagers cooperating with the department in the endeavour would be awarded Rs 5,000 apart from starting special schemes in their villages, the DFO said. On the other hand, those responsible for any lapses on the issue could be punished under the Forests Act, 1927, which had the provision of two-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 apart from losing traditional rights on forests, he said.
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Resignation sought over ragging incident
Shimla, March 10 Addressing a press conference here today he said the minister must own moral responsibility for the incident which had lowered the image of the peaceful hill state in the country. He said the most deplorable aspect was that such fatal incident took place even after the deceased had lodged a complaint with the authorities. He said the incident had also made it evident that the government had failed to implement the recommendations of the Raghvan Committee and various directions of the Supreme Court to curb the menace of ragging in letter and spirit. The government wanted to make Himachal Pradesh the education hub of the country but it would not be possible unless the government took effective measures to maintain peace on the campuses of professional
institutions. Referring to the statement of Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal that injustice done by the UPA regime at the Cnetre to the hill state would be the main election plank of the BJP only reflected his double talk. Over the past one year the BJP leaders had tried to take credit for all projects and schemes sanctioned by the Centre and now when polls were round the corner they were talking
of discrimination. |
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Artistes regale audience at Holi fest Sujanpur (Hamirpur), March 10 The dance sequence enacting the scenes from the life of Lord Krishna was a great performance during an hour-long presentation by the troupe, which kept the audience spell bound. Mandi Divisional Commissioner Ashwani Kapoor inaugurated the cultural programme by lighting a lamp. After this presentation famous Punjabi playback singer Sunita Bhatti enthralled the audience by her popular songs like Do Ghadiyan Ruk Ja Soneya, Damadam Mast Kalandar, Gore Rang De Gulam, Mera Lak De Hulare, Nal Chal Mundya, etc. Bhatti also made the audience dance on the tunes of some of her fast songs. Adding colour to the cultural evening, Punjabi humorist Randeep Rana made the audience laugh narrating hilarious episodes. He was on his best while narrating incidents based on the daily life in Punjab. Randeep Rimpy from Doordarshan Kendra, Jalandhar, famous for her TV programme Lashakara, who was the anchor of this programme, also regaled the audience during this programme. Earlier local artists and singers from other parts of the state entertained the audience with popular Pahari and Hindi film songs. Hamiprur DC Abhishek Jain, SP Asif Jalal, ADM Vijay Chandan, SDM Pankaj Rai and other dignitaries were present during the first cultural evening. KULLU: Holi was celebrated with great fervour here today. The festivities here continue for eight days and conclude on full moon night. During these festivities, members of the Mahant community walk through Ramshila, Akhara Bazar and Sultanpur areas singing traditional Holi songs and reach Raghunathpur to pay obeisance to Lord Rama (chief deity of the district). The Sutardhar Kala Sangam, a social and cultural organisation, organised “Holi Sandhaya” and “Matki Phor Utsav” during this period. State president of the Congress Kaul Singh Thakur was the chief guest of the Matki Phor Utsav. The last two days of the festival were celebrated as “Chhoti Holi’ and “Badi Holi”. The markets of Kullu town remained closed on these days while people played Holi and took out processions. Today “Badi Holi” was celebrated. Descendants of former rulers also join the people in the streets and accompanied the procession to Akhara Bazar. KANGRA: Holi was celebrated with enthusiasm here on Tuesday. Although the government offices remained open, a large number of the people in different localities were seen playing with colours. However there were no Holi celebrations at Dr RP Government Medical College, Tanda, in view of the tragic incident that the college witnessed on Sunday night. Instead of celebrating Holi, students and staff of the college observed a one-minute silence in memory of the departed soul. A large number of members of the Jain community thronged the town in connection with the three-day Holi festival. They celebrated Holi at Old Kangra Jain Temple, but without colours. The community does not use colours. The antique idol of Lord Adinath was decorated with gold ornaments. A flag was hoisted on the temple premises and later a procession was also taken out.
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Students’ agitation enters 5th day Solan, March 10 The students alleged that last evening the SWO tried to push away the students and also intimidated them for continuing their strike. The CSA rued that on one hand the SWO was supporting their demands when they were holding talks with the university administration, but on then other he was adopting this anti-student attitude which was quite unfortunate. The CSA had initiated a chain strike on the campus in support of their demands which included a re-appear chance to the compartment cases of four-year B.Sc course which was abolished after the new course was introduced last year. Mithilesh Kumar, who headed the sangharsh samiti, which spearheaded the agitation, said the denial of this chance would prolong the four-year course, as they would have to spend an extra semester in clearing the compartment examination. The other demands included grant of admission to non-Himachalis in the PhD courses on vacant seats and proper use of the funds generated in lieu of placement and training of MBA students. Instead of addressing the demands of the CSA the vice-chancellor had shown no inclination to meet the agitating students, the students rued. The university in a press note circulated to the media offices, however, said the demand charter put forth by the CSA had already been discussed on February 28 and later its proceedings were notified whereby it was proposed to initiate quick action on the 19 demands submitted by the CSA. The university authorities therefore asserted that there was no reason to continue with the agitation, which entered its fifth day today. The CSA, however, contended that only few demands of the 19 presented to the university had been taken into account while there was no mention of the main demands.
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Cong, BJP continue blame game Mandi, March 10 Congress spokesperson of the Mandi parliamentary constituency Chander Sekhar has termed the statements issued by BJP president Jai Ram Thakur and party’s Mandi candidate Maheshwar Singh that “Congress MP Pratibha Singh did nothing for Mandi and that Virbhadra Singh was forced into contesting the election” as misleading and baseless. He said projects like IIT, ESIC medical college, Rs1,365-crore Rohtang tunnel, Bhanupali-Bilaspur railway line etc. were UPA government’s contribution to the state. He said these projects were given to Himachal because of efforts made by Pratibha Singh. Maheshwar Singh was an MP twice, but he could not name even a single achievement for Mandi, he added. He said the people of Mandi region came to know about the MP Local Area Development Fund (MPLADF) because Pratibha Singh distributed her fund equally among all 16 assembly segments. The Rs 12.5-crore Jawahar Urban Renewal Mission Project implanted in Mandi town was also an achievement of Pratibha Singh, he claimed. “Virbhadra Singh is a “jan nayak” and the statement that he was forced into contesting the Lok Sabha elections reflected how desperate BJP president Jai Ram Thakur was to get a ministerial berth by singing pro-Dhumal song,” he said. Dhumal had become “politically blind” because of his love for his son, he alleged. On the other hand, Jai Ram Thakur claimed the state government had fulfilled over 80 per cent of its poll promises and the people of the state had already made up their mind to rout the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections. Maheshwar Singh had claimed that Pratibha Singh won the last election not as a Congress candidate, but as CM Virbhadra Singh’s wife. “She did not travel to many areas and the voters have made up their mind to punish the Congress this time,” he said.
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Sister-in-law of CM’s brother killed
Hamirpur, March 10 She had received injuries when she fell into a ditch on being pushed by Baldev Singh and later succumbed to her injuries in Toani Devi Hospital. The police has arrested Baldev Singh, a resident of Sangrod village under the Bhoranj police station, on the charge of murder under Section 302 of the IPC. Hamirpur SP Asif Jalal said, “Druba Devi, on hearing screams went to Baldev Singh’s house to restrain him from quarrelling with his wife at 8 pm last night. Baldev Singh who was under the influence of liquor got infuriated on her intervention in his family affair and pushed her, as a result of which she fell into a ditch and was seriously injured.” The accused was produced in the local court today where he was remanded to the police custody for three days. Druba Devi was cremated today in her village after a post-mortem examination. Roop Singh Dhumal and other relatives visited Sangrod village and expressed shock on the death. |
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Hearing in Singhi Ram case put off
Dharamsala, March 10 The daughter of Singhi Ram, Upma Kayshap, however, did not appear and was granted exemption from personal appearance for today’s hearing. The hearing on the application of Surinder Malhotra to become approver in the case was fixed |
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Anganwari workers protest
Shimla, March 10 They demanded minimum monthly remuneration of Rs 4,000 for workers and Rs 3,000 for helpers. They also demanded regularisation of their services and reservation for the posts of JBT teacher and ANM workers. Other demands included facility of provident fund, gratuity and a lump sum amount of Rs 2 lakh for workers and Rs 1 lakh for helpers as retirement benefit.
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Youth Cong to have 3-tier units Nurpur, March 10 Talking to mediapersons here today, he said new units would be constituted at assembly and Lok Sabha levels. Such units had already been constituted in Punjab and now the exercise was on in Gujarat. Later, the exercise would be conducted in other states. Under the latest guidelines from AICC general secretary and in charge of the Youth Congress Rahul Gandhi, office-bearers of the organisation were being elected through direct election. The system involved selection of eight delegates in a democratic way. “The winner of highest margin of votes will be the president of the unit, followed by the posts of vice-president and the general secretary,” he said. The three top posts would have no reservation, whereas the remaining five posts would be reserved for SC/ST (male), ST (female),
OBC, minorities and woman (general category). The new concept would replace the old system of constituting Youth Congress units through nominations, he said.
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Tension prevails over clash Bir (Palampur), March 10 To bring the situation under control heavy police force was called from Baijnath and Palampur. Senior police officers from Palampur and Baijnath also reached on the spot to control the situation and persuaded both the groups to sit together and resolve the matter. Later, the Baijnath SHO claimed that the situation was under control. Bir Gram Panchayat pradhan PL Sharma said the Tibetans had been residing here for the past 40 years and they had good relations with the local residents. He termed this incident as unfortunate and said with the intervention of elder people of adjoining villages situation would be brought under control.
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Grace marks sought Bilaspur, March 10 In signed statement issued to press here today, state association leaders, including district president Laxman Thakur, general secretary Rajesh Sharma, senior vice-president Bhopal Chaudhary and others, said in series A question no. 4 and 10 and in series C question no. 3 and 22 were wrong. They demanded that the students should be given grace marks in these papers. They said such a situation not only wastes precious time of the students, but also unnecessarily confuses them and puts them under severe mental strain. They said earlier also attention of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education has been drawn to this fact that the annual examination question papers should be without any mistakes or lapses and the board had given assurance to the association, but the situation does not seem to have improved at all.
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Hold protest march in
Shimla Shimla, March 10 The protesters assembled at Pantha Ghati and raised anti-China slogans. They walked several kilometres to reach Naz hotel where a rally was held. The speakers condemned the Chinese authorities for the reign of repression let loose on the Tibetans in their homeland. They appealed to the international community to put pressure on China for resolving the
Tibetan issue. They demanded immediate release of the 11th Panchen Lama and end to the atrocities being committed on the innocent Tibetans by Chinese authorities. They also drew the attention of the world community to the dumping of nuclear waste in Tibet and the large-scale transfer of Chinese population to Tibet to reduce the local people
to a minority.
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Dr Chauhan new principal
Shimla, March 10 He has been posted as professor and head of the forensic medicine department on his own request. Dr Anil Chauhan, professor and head of ophthalmology, has been given the additional charge of principal till further orders. |
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Mobile phones stolen
Mandi, March 10 He found that his shop’s lock was broken and some unknown culprits have stolen away 30 Nokia mobile phone handsets worth Rs 80,000 from the shop.
— TNS
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Extra time granted
Shimla, March 10 The secretary of the commission said the time had been increased to 30 minutes on the plea of the candidates on the pattern of the Union Pubic Service Commission. |
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5 get jail for thrashing woman
Sundernagar, March 10 The court sentenced them to simple imprisonment for six months and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 each under Section 452 of the IPC (trespass), imprisonment for six months under Sections 147 and 149 (unlawful assembly) and simple imprisonment for four months besides a fine of Rs 500 under Section 323 of the IPC (causing hurt). Accused Sami Ram, Moora
Devi, Kamala, Sita and Bidhi Chand, all residents of Chailchok in Mandi district, had entered the house of Khem Lala on July 26, 2007, around 11.30 am. They thrashed her and caused injuries with a hammer.
— OC
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Booked for arson Mandi, March 10 He charged that his brother-in-law Raj Kumar along with his wife came to his mother-in-law’s house and abused him and burnt the house on March 8 causing a loss Rs 45,000 to
the property.
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The Tibetans here today observed the 50th anniversary of their exile from Tibet after Chinese aggression at Tsuglag Khang (main temple) at
McLeodganj.
