Dharamsala, December 10
In order to make a complete ban on plastic more effective, the state government has decided to make the departments concerned liable, if plastic is found littered in their areas.

An order to this effect was passed by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal last evening. As per the orders, if plastic is found littered on forest land, the officials concerned of the department will be held liable. Similarly, in case plastic is found littered near roads, the junior engineer of the department concerned will be held liable.

The Himachal Government has already empowered even head constables to challan anyone for littering plastic. However, as per information collected by The Tribune, till date no one has been booked for the offence.

Though there is a complete ban on plastic carry bags in the state, plastic comes in through consumer items. To check the littering of such plastics, the state government had made a policy of buying back plastic from people, who are supposed to collect it in their homes.

The respective municipal councils and panchayats have made agencies to buy plastic from people, which will collect it from their home.

The government decided that the municipal councils would buy plastics from people at the rate of Rs 3 per kg and further sell it to the PWD at the rate of Rs 4 per kg. It was decided that the PWD would use plastic in construction of roads.

However, since plastics comes in a very small quantity in the state, there is not much incentive for people to collect it in their homes. People can collect at the most 1 kg plastic in their houses that can fetch them just Rs 3.

So instead of collecting plastic in their houses, they prefer to throw it in dustbins.

It is also a very hard job for council officials to segregate plastic from other solid waste at dumping site.

The government should in fact outsource the job of collecting plastics to scrap or junk dealers, who are already in profession of collecting waste, segregating and selling it further to various agencies.

If junk or scrap dealers get the government’s mandate to collect plastic litter from various areas it can ensure a steady source of income for them and help the government achieve the objective of stopping plastic from littering.

Shimla, December 10
The seamier side of society in the “Dev Bhoomi” is exposed as Dalit victims from across the state narrated pathetic tales of atrocities at a public hearing organised by an NGO to mark International Human Rights Day here today.

Discriminatory practices like segregation of water sources, pathways and funeral grounds have been there for long. However, some heinous cases like rape of minors, murder, demolition or burning of houses and forcible occupation of land and even poisoning of water sources by members of upper castes have left no one in doubt that the Dalits are still at the receiving end.

In all, 25 Dalit families presented their cases before a five-member jury during the public hearing organised by the Centre of Mountain Dalits Rights.

The mother and the grandfather of a 9-year-old rape victim of Dareh village in Jwalamukhi have been running from pillar to post for justice for the past more than nine months. She had remained hospitalised at Dharamsala for over two weeks and finally identified the boy after 20 days but no action has been taken.

They were not given any information about the progress of the case and they had to use RTI to get the DNA report. They doubted the authenticity of the test report and feared that the analysed sample might not be of the 22-year-old accused who happened to be a close relative of village pradhan.

Their grouse is that the case was registered under IPC and not under the Prevention of Atrocities on Scheduled Castes Act. The family knocked door of the state authorities and also wrote to the NHRC and the President of India but to no avail.

In the second case under the same police station, an 11-year-old Dalit was raped five years ago and despite their best efforts, the parents had not been given any information about the progress made.

In a case in Chopal, a 17-year-old Dalit boy Anil Kumar was allegedly killed by upper caste Thakurs, who found him talking to girls of their caste. His body, which was thrown in a nullah, was cremated right away and even his mother was not allowed to see it. Only yesterday, a Dalit, 35, was found dead near his house.

The house and orchard of Sahi Ram of Pulwahal village were destroyed merely because a member of his family strayed into the path used by higher caste people. Not only that the attackers also got a false FIR registered against the victims.

In another case, a bottle of poison and human excreta were poured into a water source used by Dalit families in the Rajgarh area. Jhamnu Ram of Bandli village complained that the ancestral land his family had been cultivating for the past over 60 years had been taken over by members of the upper caste with the connivance of local revenue officials. There was also a case a school in Seraj where Dalits and upper caste children were segregated while serving mid-day meals.

Convener of the Centre Sukhdev Vishwakarmi said the purpose of the public hearing was to sensitise the people about the issue of discrimination against the Dalits. His organisation would follow up all the cases and ensure that the authorities take prompt action in such matters.

Dharamsala, December 10
On the first day of the filing of the nominations, 38 candidates from Kangra district filed papers for the zila parishad elections today.

The maximum nominations had been filed from Palmpur subdivision. The number of total nominations filed had been 11 from Palampur, informed RS Gupta, DC and election officer, Kangra.

One candidate from Kangra, six from Dharamsala, three from Rait, three from Indora, four from Baijnath, five from Dehra, 11 from Palampur and five candidates from Jawali filed their nominations on day one.

The information disclosed that from Palampur subdivision 11 candidates have filed their nominations for nine wards. Ward No. 16 - Kalund (general category) Yashpal Walia, Kapur Chand and Vikram Kumar, for Ward No. 17 - Ghuggar (general category) Khajoth Singh and Atma Ram, for Ward No. 18 (in reserved category for the SC) Amar Singh and Santosh Kumar, Ward No. 23 - Kothi Pahada (general category reserved for women) Urmila Bhuriya, Ward No. 28 (general category) Baljeet Singh and Jwala Prasad, Ward No. 30 Naura (general category reserved for women) Manbhari Devi have filed the nominations.

In Dharamsala subdivision, Ward No. 10 (Khaniyara) Harbhajan Singh, Uttam Chand and Pawan filed their nominations while from Ward No. 9 (Dari) Dhani Ram Awasthi, Ritu Vats and Jasveer Kaushal have filed their papers.

From Nurpur subdivision, Ward No. 55 (Indpur) Ashwini Kumar, Ward No. 53 (Gangath) SS Pathania, Ward No. 1(Shekhupur) Rita Devi have filed the papers and from Kangra subdivision Ward No. 12 (Haled Kalan) Jagdish has filed the nomination.

Nisha Sharma has filed her nomination papers from Dehra subdivision from Ward No. 33 (Tihri), from Ward No. 38 (Sihorpai) Manju Bala filed the paper, joginder Chaudhari from Ward No. 40 (Haripur), Vijay Kumar from Ward No. 42 (Paragpur) and from Ward No. 48 (Rihdi Kutheda) Dharampal Sharma have filed nomination papers.

Shimla, December 10
It is for the first time that advocates of the Shimla Bar Associationburnt the effigy of a former Chief Justice of the state High Court in protest against the shifting of the District Courts from the present site to the Chakker area.

As per members of the Shimla Bar Association, V.K.Gupta, former Chief Justice of the High Court, was instrumental for this proposal.

The Shimla Vyapar Mandal also observed a three-hour bandh in support of the Bar Association against the move of shifting of District Court Complex. The HP High Court Bar Association and other Bar associations of the state have also abstained from the work in support of the demand of Shimla lawyers. All shops of Shimla remained closed till 1 pm.

President of the Shimla Bar Association Harsh Khanna said the new complex being constructed was neither suitable for litigants nor advocates.

Meanwhile, members of the HP High Court Bar Association at its meeting resolved that in order to compensate a day’s abstention today, they would work on any Saturday and requested the Chief Justice to make any Saturday as working day of the court.

Dharamsala, December 10
The Tibetan community here stands for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident, who had been fighting for Tibetan rights in China and serving 11-year sentence there. Xiaobo was jailed last year.

“The strong stand taken by the Nobel Committee in presenting this year’s award to Liu Xiaobo has not only undermined the totalitarian Chinese regime, but also generated a hope among people who are oppressed around the world,” said Kirti Dolkar Lhamo, president of the Tibetan Women's Association.

Liu Xiaobo, a strong advocate of the Tibetan people, has authored many articles commenting on the occupation of Tibet, including “The Crisis in Tibet is the Failure of Materialist Dictatorship” and "Twelve Suggestions for dealing with the Tibetan Situation", which was written in response to the 2008 uprisings in Tibet.

Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison for advocating democratic reforms, yet China's Premier Wen Jiabao, told CNN in October that the people's wishes for, and needs for, democracy and freedom were irresistible.

The conferring of the award to Liu heralds that the struggle for democratic reforms in China has reached a great height and will inspire activists in China.

The Dalai Lama acknowledges that in the years ahead, the future generations of China will be able to enjoy the fruits of the efforts Chinese citizens are making towards the responsible governance.

“We urge the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, to raise the issue of Tibet with Wen Jia Bao during his India visit and press the Chinese government to implement the political and human rights reforms for which thousands of Chinese and Tibetans advocate,” said Lukar Jam, a former political prisoner and the vice-president of the GuChuSum Movement of Tibet.

“We also request the Chinese government for the immediate release of Liu Xiaobo and all heroic Tibetan and Chinese human rights defenders suffering in prisons in Tibet and China,” he said.

More than 3,000 Tibetan political prisoners, who have exercised their right to free expression, are lying in Chinese prisons in Tibet. Tenzin Deleck Rinpoche, a revered Tibetan religious and community leader, is serving a life sentence.