Tanda (Dharamsala), April 9
Drastic changes can be proposed in the Raghavan committee recommendations on the issue of ragging. Changes can be proposed in the report to be submitted to the Supreme Court on April 20 by the three-member Raghavan committee that arrived at Tanda medical college today to probe into the Aman Kachroo ragging case.

The committee members, Dr AK Aggarwal, Dean Maulana Azad Medical college, Dr Rajindra Prasad, Principal of Ramjas College, Delhi, and Tanvir Aeizad, arrived here around 5 pm today.

They said inquires had been already held into the ragging episode. Their objective was to review the overall scenario with a view to forming future policy to prevent such cases. “We are of the view that if the Raghavan committee recommendations, as circulated by the Supreme Court, had been implemented, the Aman Kachroo incident could have been prevented. We would study the overall scenario to propose measures to prevent such things in future. For that, some drastic changes might also be proposed to the existing recommendations,” the members said.

The committee members met the principal and heads of departments of the college. They also sought from the college administration the documents submitted to the ADM, Kangra, for magisterial inquiry. The committee members would also meet the ADM in the evening.

They would spend the entire day meeting students, faculty members and other staff in the medical college tomorrow. They had even called the general public and other interested persons to depose before them in Dhauladhar hotel at Dharamsala.

Secretary (Health) Deepak Shanan also met the members of the committee at the college.

Shanan told The Tribune that strict instructions had been given to vice-chancellors of all universities in the state to implement the Raghavan committee recommendations properly. Now that the anti-ragging ordinance was also in place, the government had ordered zero tolerance to ragging incidents in any of the institutes.

Acting principal of the college Anil Chauhan provided requisite information to the committee members.

Bilaspur, April 9
Noted environmentalist Medha Patkar today said that political parties must turn “green” to refocus their attention towards environment protection by according it top priority as it involved the issue of livelihood of people Having led agitations like Nandigram and Narmada which made the world notice her, Medha today extended her full support to various organisations fighting under the banner of the Himalaya Niti Abhiyaan in Himachal at a rally organised here today. “Unless and until the gram sabha is placed above the Lok Sabha this kind of exploitation of natural resources and displacement of people will continue to happen,” she said in an exclusive interview to The Tribune.

Though not averse to the idea of activists and NGOs being politically active, especially at the time of elections she felt that it was people’s movement which was always stronger than any political party. “It is political parties which must approach the people’s movement rather than the other way round as politics is not just about elections,” she says while talking about hesitance on the part of activists to take up an active role in politics

Medha who visited the hill state for the first time to extend support to people’s agitation against setting up of power projects, cement plants, special economic zones, ski-villages and above all the problem of displaced persons said the issue of environment was yet to emerge as a real issue in the eyes of political parties.

Medha said politics was not just about contesting elections but also raising real issues and agitating for it. “All political parties from Left to Right are following neo-liberal agenda, forcing the people to resort to movements to assert their political rights,” she said. She said if the BJP could raise the issue of Ram Setu which, according to her, is not all that significant why they have not tried to take up the cause of lakhs of displaced persons.

She said Nehru had termed the Bhakra project as the “modern temple of India” but even after six decades the displaced people were still fighting to get justice. “In the judgment on Narmada, the court had observed that the displaced persons of Bhakra dam were far better off but the fact is that the world does not know the reality as their fight for justice is still on even after 60 years,” she said.

Solan, April 9
Contemplating arrest by the police in a recent case involving suspended ADGP B.S.Thind, Shubash Ahluwalia, a former principal private secretary to former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, today moved an application for anticipatory bail in a local court here today.

The development came as a surprise to the police which was concentrating on the case of extortion, cheating, criminal intimidation and conspiracy registered against Thind.

The Parwanoo police, meanwhile, took handwriting and signature samples of Thind in the court of the Additional CJM, Kasauli.

Meanwhile, with Thind being bailed out by the court the focus had shifted to an inquiry being conducted by the state Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau in his role in facilitating an investor Ankit Gupta for getting his land measuring about 33 bighas exempted from acquisition proceedings at Kalu Jhinda.

Sources in the bureau said that the matter pertained to Thind’s tenure as ADGP, CID and Law and Order, during the regime of the former Congress government. Thind had assumingly introduced Gupta’s father Mahesh Gupta to the then principal PS to CM Shubash Ahluwalia to ensure that his 33 bighas land was excluded from acquisition.

Sources in the bureau said that the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) was acquiring land at Kalu Jhinda in the Baddi industrial area to set up an education hub in 2005. Several bighas of land was being acquired for the purpose. Mahesh Gupta had bought about 33 bighas of land in his son Ankit Gupta’s name at the site which too fell in the acquisition and this would have scuttled his proposal to set up a paper mill. Since he was known to Ashok Mittal, who had registered a case against Thind, the former introduced him to Thind.

Gupta had earlier approached the minister concerned who had directed the HIMUDA CEO to examine the case and report any possibility of exempting the land. But since the land fell along the road head and was strategically placed at the centre its exemption would have scuttled the whole project. The then CEO, therefore, expressed his inability to do so. Gupta then met Ahluwalia through Thind who later made him meet the former CM Virbhadra Singh. A note was allegedly sent from the former CM’s office to the CEO HIMUDA to exempt this land from acquisition but the CEO again cited similar reasons and asserted that in case this land was left out, the whole project would have to be shelved.

The bureau was now inquiring into the role of all concerned and it was known that lakhs had exchanged hands in this case. A questionnaire had, therefore, been sent to the former CM in this matter. The bureau’s DGP D.S.Minhas when contacted said that they were yet to receive any response to the questionnaire and further investigations were underway in the matter.

Manali, April 9
Inclement weather conditions prevailing in the entire upper Kullu valley for the past couple of days have severely affected the snow-clearing operations of the Border Roads Organisations (BRO) on the 475km-long Manali-Leh Highway again today.

Commander 38, BRTF, SK Doon, said due to the fresh snowfall on the Rohtang pass the snow-clearing operations on the Manali-Rohtang road was disrupted again.

He said the snow clearing team from Manali was short of Rohtang pass and had to come back again to Gulaba camp.

Due to bad weather conditions in the region this was the fourth time that the team had to bring all snow-clearing equipments and machines to the lower camp.

Doon further said on March 24 the team cleared the snow at Rahni nallah, which was having about 40 to 45 ft high snowfall due to avalanches during winter. He said the target to reopen the Rohtang was on April 10, but now it was delayed due to inclement weather conditions.

Due to the fresh snowfall in the region the BRO again started the snow clearing on the road from Gulaba on the Manali-Rohtang road today.

Vehicular traffic on the Manali-Rohtang pass road was disrupted near Gulaba, about 19 km from here this morning.

Meanwhile, hundreds of tourists who have come to this hill station from nearby plains to enjoy snow at “snowpoint” were delighted to see the hills donning an impeccable white mantle.

The entire higher reaches of the Kullu valley, including the Rohtang pass, the gateway to Lahaul-Spiti, Pir panjal ranges, Chanderkhani pass, Hamata ski slopes, Bhrighu slopes, Beaskund, Dhundhi, Solang valley, Marhi and Gulaba experienced fresh snowfall last evening.

Shimla, April 9
With the former chief minister Virbhadra Singh engaged in his own election battle in the Mandi constituency, the BJP is making all-out efforts to score its maiden victory in the Shimla(reserved) constituency.

The BJP has never won the seat which has been an impregnable Congress bastion all through. Thanks to the stranglehold of the ‘raja’ over the electorate which enabled non-descript leader like late K.D.Sultanpuri to win the seat six times in a row. The extent to which the party has dominated the electoral arena could be judged from the fact that it had lost the seat only twice.

Thereafter, it was the 1999 polls in the wake of Kargil conflict which saw Congress lose all the four seats but the BJP lost the opportunity to make history as it had left the seat for its alliance partner, the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC). The party sees a window of opportunity in the absence of Virbhadra Singh who is not able to spare time to campaign for the Congress candidate Dhani Ram Shandil in the constituency.

Regional factor will also come into play as the constituency is spread over Shimla, Solan and Sirmour districts. While the BJP candidate Virender Kashyap hails from Solan, Shandil is from Shimla. Traditionally, the Congress has always done well in Sirmour and Shimla districts, be it the assembly elections or the Lok Sabha polls. At present out of the total 13 assembly segments in the two districts, nine are represented by it. However, all the five seats of Solan are with the BJP which has made the battle evenly poised to some extent.

A major reason for the continued Congress dominance has been the apple versus orange rivalry between the upper and lower hill areas of the state. While the Kangra region and other lower hills are identified with the BJP, the higher hills comprising the apple belt have been synonymous with the Congress. Both the parties have been playing the regional card to garner support. The BJP has in recent years made a conscious effort to shed its anti-apple growers image. It inducted an apple grower Narinder Bragta in the ministry ahead of others in 1998 and also gave him the horticulture portfolio. But so far its efforts have not translated into electoral support. It could win only two seats in the district in the assembly election.

So far campaigning has been on a low key and party leaders and candidates are organising small meetings and no big rally has been held.

Dharamsala, April 9
The death sentence awarded to two Tibetans by the Lhasa municipal intermediate people’s court has evoked strong protest from the Tibetan government-in-exile and various Tibetan NGOs.

According to sources, these are the first outcomes of the trials started against the Tibetans who participated in the March 14 uprising last year. The court has awarded death sentence to Lobsang Gyaltsen on the charges of burning down two cloth shops in downtown Lhasa on March 14, 2008. Loyak, another Tibetan, has been awarded death sentence for his alleged role in burning a motorcycle shop. The incident had reportedly claimed the life of the shop owner, his wife, son and two employees.

Two other Tibetans, Tenzin Phuntsok and Kangtsuk, have been awarded suspended death sentences. Their death sentences have been suspended for two years. Darva Sangpo has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

In a measured statement issued here today, the Kashag (Tibetan government-in-exile) has said that it is deeply concerned that two Tibetans have been sentenced to death and two others have been given suspended death sentences with two-year reprieve. There is no due process of law and the courts in the People’s Republic of China are political instruments of the authorities.

The Kashag has appealed to the Chinese authorities to release all political prisoners and provide them with proper medical treatment. Continued repression of Tibetans by China is fuelling even deeper resentment. The Kashag believes that the best way to resolve the issue of Tibet is to address the just concerns of the Tibetans.

The Tibetan Youth Congress also held a press conference in the evening. It alleged the accused did not get a fair trial in China. “Through these death sentences, the Chinese government is trying to give a message to all Tibetans living in Tibet that anybody resorting to protests against it will be dealt with sternly,” it said.

Manali, April 9
The dream of Henry Ford’s great grandson Alfred Bush Ford to set up a $150-million ski resort near here has landed in soup as the state government has put the project in deep freeze. Instead, it is mulling a 16-km-long Palchan-Rohtang ropeway project at the same site.

Though the high court has given three months to the six-member committee headed by the Secretary (Tourism) to consider the Himalayan Ski Village (HSV) project, the panel has not been able to do so even after a period of around one year. The present government has now floated tenders for the construction of 16-km-long Pulchan-Rohtang ropeway.

The MoU for the ski villager project was signed during the Congress regime. The company planned to invest Rs 1,700 crore with 15 per cent share from Ford. It also proposed to build 8-km-long ropeway between Palchan and Gulaba mountain top opposite the Rohtang Pass.

The HSV company sent a letter to the state government objecting to the Palchan-Rohtang ropeway project saying different yardsticks were being adopted for the HSV project and the Palchan ropeway project.

President of the Janjgran and Vikas Munch, Manali, VC Katoch said the ski project would spell disaster for ecology of the area. They would never allow any such project to come up in the upper region, he had proclaimed. “The company has not got consent of villagers for the project. Moreover, the site is the “taposthali” of various deities,” he said. HSV managing director John Sims said the company had asked the state government to clear its stand on the project as more than a year had already elapsed.

The company had also alleged that the state government had applied different standards for the HSV and the fresh ropeway project. Sims claimed the company was serious about the project. It had already invested Rs 28 crore on preparing detail project report (DPR) and completing various codal formalities.

HSV director Ajay Dabra claimed villagers of Palchan were ready to give their land to the company. Commissioner (tourism) Manisha Nanda said public hearing would take place soon.

Hamirpur, April 9
While a long dry spell had damaged more than 70 per cent rabi crop in Hamirpur district during this season, the intermittent rain over the past few days is adding to the woes of farmers by damaging their standing crops.

According to the agriculture department, the loss, which was estimated to be about 76 per cent a few weeks ago, might go up to 90 per cent now. Though all rabi crops like pulses, grams and other crops have been hit hard due to the inclement weather, the worst affected is the wheat crop, which is almost ready for harvesting.

Vijay Kumar, a farmer from the Kohli area, said, “Earlier, the long dry spell had affected seed formation and led to attack of yellow rust on crops, and the recent rain has blackened wheat.”

“All our crops have been adversely affected due to untimely rain that has brought down temperature and led to accumulation of water in the fields,” said another farmer Karam Dass.

Farmers feel they will have to wait for a few dry days before entering the fields for harvesting and other works.

Confirming the report of heavy losses to framers due to hostile climatic conditions, Deputy Director Agriculture Ajeet Singh Rana said, “The current spell of rain is definitely going to affect the crop yield. The damage to the standing crops ready for the harvesting may go up to 90 per cent.”

He said, “We have already submitted a report in this regard to the state government. To give relief to the farmers, the government is providing 50 per cent subsidy on all seeds for kharif crops.

Chamba, April 9
Two persons were feared buried alive and two houses destroyed in which they were residing at the time when a landslide slid down from the hillside struck these houses at an outlying Parmar Bhatori village in Pangi tribal sub-division following heavy downpour for the past couple of days, according to reports reaching at the district headquarter town of Chamba today.

Resident Commissioner (RC) of Pangi GR Bharti, who was away from the sub-division confirmed the incident and said the revenue officials had been directed to rush to the occurrence site and carry out relief and rescue operations so that the buried persons could be identified.

The officials, including tehsildar, Pangi, who had reached the incident site, which is about 32 km away from Killar, the sub-divisional headquarters, were on the job to supervise the rescue operation recovering the bodies of the deceased, the RC said. The RC also directed the officials to disburse an immediate relief to the affected and aggrieved families as per the relief manual of the government.

Shimla, April 9
Decks have been cleared for implementation of the 960 MW Jhangi-Thopan-Powari project in Kinnaur district with the signing of the pre-implementation agreement between the government and the Brakel Corporation.

The corporation also deposited Rs 86 crore as the second instalment of the upfront premium for the project as per the fresh conditions imposed by the government.

Chief secretary Asha Swaroop, who is also holding the charge of power, signed the document on behalf of the government and managing director of the corporation Dean Gesterkamp on behalf of the company.

The project had been hanging fire ever since the BJP government assumed office as it served notice on the company for cancellation of the project.

It took more than a year to settle the issue as the government finally agreed to allot the project to the company imposing new stringent conations to with the latter agreed.

The company has been given only 12 months for preparation of the detailed project report and 24 months for signing the implementation agreement under the fresh terms and conditions.