Hamirpur, April 17
Though some influential shopkeepers in the Main Bazaar of Hamirpur have extended their shops by covering the open space leading to shrinking of the market area, the authorities have failed to take any action in this matter so far.

The beginning in this case was made by a politician of the ruling party who first covered the open space by extending the roof and later raised walls to use the space.

Emboldened by inaction in the above case, many shopkeepers have started covering the open space in front of their shops by extending roofs.

This is not only spoiling the symmetry of the bazaar, but also leading to more congestion in the market which is already full of encroachments.

Most of the shopkeepers are carrying the extension work on holidays to escape eye of the law and major work is completed during the night.

Today being Sunday, a shopkeeper took full advantage of the holiday and carried out the extension work to avoid public attention.

The people carrying out the extensions have not reportedly sought permission from the nagar parishad or other authorities.

Executive Officer (EO) of the Hamirpur Nagar Parishad Vijay Sharma said, “Shopkeepers have not sought permission to carry out any extension in the bazaar and I will look into this matter.”

President of the nagar parishad Deep Kumar said, “Extending roofs to cover open area in the main market is not good in the interest of the town and people are committing a mistake by doing this. However, I will ask the EO to initiate action tomorrow.”

Hamirpur SDM Pankaj Rai said, “We have been very strict in removing encroachments and in this case also we will issue notices and take strict action.”

Dharamsala, April 17
Despite the negative publicity as a Chinese spy, the recent controversy has in fact helped 17th Karmapa Uygen Trinley Dorjee who had been living in Dharamsala for the past 10 years under the strict vigilance of security agencies.

Highly placed sources here told The Tribune that seizing the opportunity generated due to the current controversy, the Karmapa’s close aides had now stepped up efforts to take him to the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim. They had started hectic lobbying with the government of India to get Uygen Trinley Dorjee recognised as Karmapa.

In case the government of India recognises Uygen Trinley Dorjee as the 17th Karmapa, he might be allowed to visit the Rumtek monastery.

Despite the fact that Dorjee was recognised both by the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, he has not been allowed to go to Rumtek monastery that is the traditional seat of the Karmapas in India. The Rumtek monastery is allegedly under the control of Shamar Rinpoche who was second in command to the 16th Karmapa. Rinpoche has installed Thai Trinley Dorjee as the 17th Karmapa.

Without naming anybody, Karmapa’s followers are alleging a conspiracy behind labelling him a Chinese spy. Recently, founder secretary, Bharat Tibet Maitri Sangh, Roshan Lal Negi, a resident of Kinnaur district of Himachal, who used to work as interpreter for the Karmapa and the Dalai Lama, held a press conference and dispelled the Chinese spy theories regarding Dorjee.

He said China had banned the photos of Karmapa as he was the only reincarnate lama who was recognised both in China and outside. The Chinese authorities had even banned amulets of Tibetan Buddhism worn by devotees. In view of this, labelling the Karmapa as a Chinese spy was a far-fetched speculation, he added.

Negi also said Buddhist followers of Karmapa in Himachal were ready to donate money to build a monastery for Karmapa. However, Karmapa had denied the offer.

Interestingly, most of the benami properties created by Karmapa-based trusts in Himachal are in the name of a Kinnaur resident. The most famous is the Trilokpur monastery in name of Sewa Devi Negi, a resident of Kinnaur. In the recent past, Sewa Devi, admitted in the court of the District Magistrate, Kangra, that she had bought the land on which the Trilokpur monastery had been created.

The sources here also told The Tribune that in the near future many more Karmapa aides might go to the press as a damage control exercise.

The Karmapa has been on a tour to Bodhgaya and Varanasi for the past one month. It is after a long time that he has been allowed to make such a long religious tour even within the country. 

Dalhousie, April 17
To make the Sakshar Bharat Mission a total success, government officials engaged in the activities of the mission will get positive remarks in their annual confidential reports taking into account the excellent work done by them in the ongoing campaign. Besides this, five panchayats of the district will also be selected for conferring awards under the mission for their outstanding performance in the campaign.

Stating this here today, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Chamba Devesh Kumar said it was only Chamba district which had been identified under the mission.

The DC said the non-government organisations (NGOs) had also been assigned the task of identifying the illiterate persons and the aspirants who would teach them at their doorsteps in their respective areas. He affirmed that the NGOs achieving the best results in this mission would also be considered for awards.

“Various departments, especially giant establishments like the Public Works Department, Irrigation and Public Health, Forest, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Welfare Departments have furnished the lists of illiterate employees with the names of those who will make them literate”, the DC revealed.

Shimla, April 17
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today granted Rs 40 lakh for the installation of floodlights to illuminate the towering idol of Lord Hanuman atop the Jakhu Hill.

He made the announcement to mark the Hanuman Jayanti after paying obeisance at the famous temple. He said the installation of the 108-ft-tall idol, the tallest image of the god in the world, at an altitude of 8,000 ft at a cost of Rs 2 crore and the beautification of the Jakhu temple premises was part of the government’s efforts to promote religious tourism. The government was also trying to provide basic amenities for the convenience of the tourists.

He said the idol of Lord Hanuman was visible from far-off places, thereby giving “darshan” to devotees from distant areas. He said the installation of floodlights would add to the magnificence of the majestic idol and it would be visible from afar even at night. He directed the temple authorises to improve the approach road and footpath leading to the shrine.

Tourists thronged the Jakhu Hill in strength as being the highest point of the city, it provided a panoramic view of the Shimla hills.

Earlier, Dhumal participated in the devotional ceremonies organised by the temple committee to celebrate Hanuman Jayanti. 

Kangra, April 17
All political parties cutting across the party lines must join hands to fight communalism, terrorism and Naxalism in the country and put heads together to revive the national character which is fading away with every passing day.

Stating this here today, AICC General Secretary Mohsina Kidwai expressed concern over the deterioration in the national character among individuals and stressed on rebuilding the same.

She said corruption was a result of deterioration in the national character in all sections of society and need was to infuse this character to the younger generation through primary and high school education.

Kidwai said Congress leader Vidya Stokes had conveyed to her that the Dhumal government was not taking seriously the issues raised by the Congress.

She said the Congress would launch an agitation in Himachal to expose the BJP government’s failures on different fronts.

She said the Dhumal government had failed to utilise the funds provided by the Central Government and more than Rs 250 crore remained unutilised.

She was here in connection with the engagement ceremony of RS Bali, son of former Tourism Minister GS Bali.

Among others who attended the function were form\er Governor and AICC treasurer Moti Lal Vohra, Union Minister Virbhadra Singh, Leader of the Opposition Vidya Stokes, MP Viplove Thakur, Congress MLAs and a large number of bureaucrats.

Narinder Bragta, Sarween Choudary and Ramesh Dhawala, ministers of Dhumal’s Cabinet, also attended the function.

Palampur, April 17
Virbhadra Singh, former Chief Minister and Union Minister for Small and Micro Industries, today made a scathing attack on the state BJP government headed by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. He alleged that the BJP government was misusing the provisions of Section 118 of the HP Land Revenue Act and selling valuable properties of the state to outsiders at throwaway prices. He quoted that in the past three years 15,000 hectors of land was given to outsiders by the present BJP government.

Virbhadra said the Congress party would approach the appropriate courts to seek remedy and not allow the BJP leaders sell the assets of the state. He said the entry of builders in Shimla posed a serious threat as they had axed hundreds of green spices for setting up housing colonies in gross violation of law.

Only stiff opposition by the Congress to such acts in the state Assembly, had stopped the construction. Till date the Chief Minister had failed to initiate action against the officers who had permitted the builders to come to the state and provided them no-objection certificates.

Referring to the setting up of private universities in the state, Virbhadra said it was a big scam as the state government had yet to frame rules to govern such universities.

He also said all development activities in the state had come to standstill for the past three years since the BJP was voted to power. He said only Centrally sponsored projects like PMGSY, World Bank and NABARD-aided project were in execution in the state. In such projects too the government had filed to utilise the funds and the same had lapsed. 

Solan, April 17
The Himachal RTI Activists’ Federation has extended support to Anna Hazare’s campaign to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed by Parliament aimed at rooting out corruption from the country.

President of the federation RM Ramoul, during a meeting held at Paonta Sahib today, said all the RTI activists of the state had joined hands to raise their voice against the nexus of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.

General Secretary of the federation MS Kalra said units of RTI activists had been formed at every district headquarters to keep strict watch on the corrupt elements and these would help information seekers under the RTI Act.

Welcoming the appointment of Bhim Sen, the new Information Commissioner, the federation expressed hope that he would live up to his honest image.

The federation also passed a resolution urging Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to give practical shape to his decision of ending corruption by according prosecution sanction and launching judicial proceedings against tainted officials within one month.

The members appreciated the CM’s initiative to amend the Himachal Lokayukt Act to make it more meaningful.

Referring to the criticism of Anna Hazare’s fast unto death by politicians, senior RTI activist Subodh Abhi said they were baffled by the mass support for his movement.