Shimla, November 6
Elaborate arrangements have been made for the by-elections to the prestigious Rohru and Jawali Assembly constituencies to be held tomorrow.

Manjit Singh of the Congress and Khushi Ram Balnatah of the BJP are virtually locked in a straight contest in Rohru, while in Jawali, it is essentially a three-cornered contest involving Baldev Raj (BJP), Sujan Singh Pathania (Congress) and BJP rebel Mandan Sharma (Independent).

In all, 14,5957 electors, including 1,702 service electors, will cast their votes. The Rohru segment has a total 70,416 electors while Jawali has 75,541 electors.

Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Khachi, today said as many as 93.58 per cent electors in Jawali and 89.05 per cent in Rohru had been provided photo identity cards.

He said 209 polling parties had been deployed in the two constituencies, out of which 118 were in Rohru and 91 in Jawali. In all, 581 police personnel and 209 Home Guards had been deputed for poll duty to ensure smooth, transparent and peaceful election, he said.

An auxiliary polling station has been set up for the people of Sath Kuthera village in Jawali in Pong Dam area where 88 voters will cast their vote. There were 37 electors above the age of 99 years and 109- year- old Sunpati, under the Parsa polling station in Rohru, and 111-year-old Bansi Lal of Batahari in Jawali, were the oldest. Khachi clarified that the ration card was not a valid document for establishing identity.

The Election Commission of India had allowed electors who had not been issued photo identity cards to cast vote by producing any one of the 13 alternative photo documents. The counting of the votes will take place on November 10.

Solan, November 6
In a stark violation of court orders, the Ghaziabad-based office of the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has been conducting inspection for granting GMO Baddi-based unit of Fresenius Kabi Oncology Limited to conduct inspection for WHO-GMP for issuing Certificate of Pharmaceutical Products (COPP) despite the court granting a stay order.

It is worth mentioning that the Madras High Court in its orders dated October 13, 16 and 23 as well as the Hyderabad High Court in its orders dated October 16 have granted stay to the directions of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for authorising CDSCO offices for granting COPP approvals.

As per the court directions, respective state drug controllers had been directed to issue these certificates as before. However, in blatant disregard of these directions the Ghaziabad office of the CDSCO not only sent its inspectors to Baddi to get these inspections done here today but also no information was furnished to the local authorities.

Sources in the pharmaceutical unit, however, confirmed that the two-day inspection, which had begun yesterday, concluded this evening and their plant had been inspected for granting WHO-GMP COOP for an injection unit.

D Roy, deputy drug controller, CDSCO, Ghaziabad, when contacted, however, said he would issue no COOP till he was directed to do so by the DCGI. Though he did agree that the CDSCO inspectors were inspecting the Baddi-based unit, expressed ignorance as to why the inspections were taking place.

The DCGI was not available for comments and his office informed that he was busy in a meeting and would be available on November 10.

Baddi-based drug licencing authority Navneet Marwaha said he had no intimation or information about such an inspection taking place at the said unit as they had not been informed by the CDSCO inspectors. He said they had stopped issuing COPPs from October 1 after receiving directions from the DCGI in September but after these directions were stayed by the two high courts they had resumed giving these certificates.

President of the Himachal Drug Manufacturers Associations Sanjay Guleria said it was surprising how the CDSCO was conducting inspections when the courts had stayed the DCGI orders.

Shimla, November 6
Schoolchildren at the elementary level will be to a great extent relieved of the fear of annual examinations with the introduction of system of continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE) from the current academic session.

The long overdue step has been taken as a part of the exercise to reform the education system and to begin with the new method of periodical evaluation will be implemented up to the seventh standard. There will be no annual examination for class I and II and the children will be assessed and promoted entirely only on the basis of the CCE and final grading will be carried out as per directions of the directorate of elementary education from time to time.

However, from class III to V the annual examination will be accorded only 40 per cent weightage and the CCE 60 per cent. There will be three quarterly tests under the CCE, which will matter more than the annual examination. A detailed record of performance of each student will be maintained, including the performance in the first and second terms and the annual examinations. The weightage will be 10 per cent for each term and 20 per cent for the final examination.

In case of class VI to VIII the annual examination weightage will be higher at 60 per cent. While the CCE will be accorded 40 per cent weightage, the two terms will have 15 per cent each and the annual examination 30 per cent. The final grading will be carried out after taking all marks into consideration. The system has been formulated in consultation with parents and teachers who were scrapping the examinations all together.

The students with total percentage marks in CCE and examinations between 96 to 100 will be placed in grade A+, 91 to 95 in A, 81 to 90 in B+, 71 to 80 in B, 61 to 70 in C+, 51 to 60 in C, 41 to 50 in D+, 35 to 40 in D, 20 to 34 in E+ and 1 to 19 in E.

Under the new system the teachers will be required to co-relate the classroom process with evaluation and take into account not only the scholastic achievements but also the abilities like expression, regularity, discipline and participation in co-curricular activities. Besides taking into account the year round progress of the child, the teachers will also ensure participation of parents and keep them posted about the performance of their wards.

Dharamsala, November 6
The unfortunate bus accident that claimed lives of 34 passengers near Haripur, about 50 km from here today, brought gloom for a poor labourer’s family from Sudernagar area of Haryana. The family lost 12 members in the accident.

Ram Lal, who is working as a labourer in Nagrota Surian area, was unconsolable at the accident site. Narrating his tale of woes, he said the entire family of his brother had come to meet me.

“I am suffering from TB. My brother was on his way with his family to see me. But fate had other plans. I have lost everything,” he sobbed.

Ram Lal said his family belonged to Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. “Since we were landless labourers, we migrated to Nagrota Surian area about 15 years back. I worked as a rag picker and played dhol on auspicious functions in the area. My brother and his family were working as migrant labourers and these days were residing in Haryana. They were to leave for Rajasthan for labour work from Dehra today. However, now there is nobody left in the family,” he said.

Besides, family of an official in the transport department also lost three members in the accident.

Dharamsala, November 6
The Chief Electoral Officer Anil Khachi has rejected the complaint of BJP candidate from Jawali against the local SDM OP Thakur. The BJP candidate yesterday complained to the election commission against the SDM. He alleged that the officer was biased against the BJP.

The election commission had sought the report in the matter from the deputy commissioner, Kangra. The DC sent the report regarding the matter, including the CD of the incident, to the office of election commission this morning.

Khachi when contacted on phone said ironically the ruling party complained against the SDM. ‘However, we have basis for doubting the neutrality of the SDM. He would conduct the elections.’ He said the only lapse on the part of the SDM was that he failed to mention the exact place where the rally of BJP was to be allowed. However, this was just an error of judgement and the officer could not be blamed for that.

Shimla, November 6
The CPM today held a demonstration outside the main branch of the Sate Bank of India in protest against the repeated misbehaviour of a section of SBI officials with the customers.

The secretary of the CPM Shimla district committee, Sanjay Chauhan today said it was unfortunate that some of the officers of the SBI branch were hand in glove with private banks in helping them increase their business. “We will soon provide a list of such officers who take bribe for sanctioning loans and help private banks gain business at the cost of the State Bank of India,” he said.

Chauhan said these officials misbehaved with the customers and used abusive language, forcing the customers to withdraw their account.

Kullu, November 6
Four persons were detained yesterday for illegal hunting in the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) area. The killed birds were collected by wildlife forest officials to further send them for DNA tests.

Divisional Forest Officer BS Rana said he had personally visited the spot yesterday and the poaching of endangered species of birds came to the light. The killed birds were sent for DNA tests to Dehradun, he added.

The DFO said illegal hunting was common during winter. The GHNP covers about 620 sq km comprising the upper catchments areas of the Tirthan, Sainj and Jiwa rivers which flow westward and tributaries of the Beas which support the unique Himalayan biological diversity and protected, endangered and threatened wildlife species and the spectacular pheasants were among the most important.

He admitted that though men were keeping strict vigil, public participation in conserving the wildlife wealth needed to be strengthened.

He further said the GHNP was one of the two national parks in the world with a population of endangered western tragopan, now adopted as the symbol of the park.

SP KK Indoria said four persons were detained after the initial findings. He said the police would also expedite vigil against the poachers.

Mandi, November 6
Rich folk theatre in Himachal is dying a natural death as young budding artistes seeking a career in theatre have no training centre-cum-professional repertoire in the state as both government and Department of Art, Language and Culture remain as apathetic as ever towards their demand of such centre catering to over 500 artistes.

Even Himachal Pradesh University has no theatre department, artistes rued.

Though the government restarted the historic Gaiety theatre in Shimla with much fanfare, it is ruled by the “wives of state’s babudom” as theatre artists have no representation in the newly constituted dramatic body, theatre artistes complained.

Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the four-day-long HPU youth festival (drama and theatre) here, theatre professional Dr Kailash Ahluwalia, who was one of three judges for the festival, said, “Himachal has a good crop of budding artistes and reservoir of folk theatre. They lack financial assistance and professional theatre training centre like Anupum Kher’s centre in Chandigarh.”

He said the theatre had lost patronage and the government and department remain apathetic.

The budding artistes have no job opportunities and careers in theatre as the state has nothing much to offer. “Haryana has Rs 75 lakh budget and Himachal has Rs 6 lakh and HPU pays Rs 1.25 lakh for organising youth festival each year,” the artistes rued.

Kedar Thakur and Rupesh Bali from Sankalp; Dayal Prasad from Abhilash; Lawan Thakur, convener Indian People Theatre, Mandi; and other theatre groups asserted that they lack funds and even the Gaiety charges Rs 10,000 as rent for a play and give no time and space for rehearsal. At that the government pays paltry Rs 5,000 for performance, they rued.

The HPU gives its artistes paltry Rs 15 per head and stock them in badminton and sports halls where there is no water, proper beds and toilets, participants rued. “It happens in each festival. We have no auditorium in Mandi for artistes,” they complained.

Vice-Chancellor Sunil K Gupta, who was the chief guest here today, when quizzed on the issue, said, “We have centre for visual and other arts and have started a course in pahari miniature. We promote theatre among youth and give Rs 100 per head and Rs 25 as DA.”