Dharamsala, May 11
A Karmapa follower from Taiwan, Tsengjai-jai, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her rented accommodation in Sidhbari this afternoon.

Sources here told The Tribune that 35-year-old Taiwanese woman had arrived here on March 24 on a tourist visa valid till September this year. She had rented a room on way to the Gyuto Tantric Monastery where the 17th Karmapa, Oygen Trinley Dorjee, was staying.

Today the owner of the house, in which the deceased was staying, informed the police that she had bolted her room from inside and was not responding to her calls.

The police reached the spot and broke open the door. Tsengjai-jai was found hanging from the ceiling fan.

The sources said there were no marks of injury on her body. After hearing the news of suicide, many Lamas from the Karmapa monastery reached the spot. They, however, refused to divulge any detail to newsmen present on the spot.

The sources said the deceased used to go to the monastery and work there.

SP, Kangra, Diljeet Thakur said the deceased was found hanging from the ceiling fan with a thin nylon string. However, no suicide note had been found from the spot.

They were trying to locate the acquaintances of the deceased in the area to find out her antecedents.

An investigation into the case is still going on and the case has been registered.

There was no official reaction from the Karmapa office regarding the suicide. His spokesperson was not available for comments.

The Kagyu Karma sect of the Tibetan Buddhism that is headed by the 17th Karmapa has considerable following in Taiwan. Many visitors from Taiwan come and visit the Karmapa and the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala.

Shimla, May 11
With staunch Dhumal loyalists demanding disciplinary action against party MP from Kangra Rajan Sushant for his embarrassing utterances, the infighting within the BJP is likely to intensify with leaders from rival factions knocking at the doors of the high command.

It is reliably learnt that both Chief Minister PK Dhumal and state BJP chief Khimi Ram Sharma met senior party leaders in Delhi yesterday. Even though the remarks made by the belligerent MP during the past two months have been brought to the notice of the high command on several occasions, there has been no action or mediation, which can help defuse the situation.

The fact that no action has been taken against Sushant so far is making the situation awkward not only for the Chief Minister, but also for senior leaders. The Chief Minister on his part has tried to ignore his utterances even though they are being viewed as very damaging for the BJP regime.

Senior party leaders are now beginning to demand action against Sushant who has been demanding that narco test must be conducted on the Chief Minister, ministers as well as on him. Two Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS) Satpal Satti and Virender Kanwar, both hailing from Una, have demanded disciplinary action against Sushant.

The MP has, however, been claiming that such a demand is merely a part of his crusade against corruption.

“No action on the part of the high-command is sending a very wrong signal, especially in view of the fact that the BJP MP is giving enough ammunition to the Congress to lash at the BJP regime,” a party legislator said.

Dhumal loyalists also point that levelling these kinds of allegations against his own party leaders is an old habit of the Kangra MP. “Since no strict action has been taken against him in the past, so it has become a habit with him to make irresponsible statements which are very damaging for the party,” party workers opined.

The BJP is also worried that with the Assembly elections due next year in December in Himachal, it is essential to check Sushant or else the BJP can suffer. The Congress on the other hand will try to encash on the situation and make corruption an issue against the BJP in the polls.

The manner in which two CPS have demanded action against Sushant, it appears that in the coming days the infighting might intensify. 

Shimla, May 11
Having agreed to provide a $350 million loan for building transmission infrastructure, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is insisting on “proper unbundling” of the state power board to ensure the complete segregation of the state transmission utility (STU) from the distribution company.

The restructuring of the board effected by the government last year has not been strictly in accordance with the Electricity Act 2003 as bulk of the transmission assets are retained with HPSEB Limited, the distribution company.

Further, it was allowed 40 per cent equity in the STU and even the cadre was not separated. The government had also signed an agreement with employees union as per which even recruitment of manpower for the STU was to be carried out by the distribution company for one year.

The government recently withdrew the equity of HPSEB Limited from the STU and its directors were also removed from the board, but the cadre has not been separated so far which is creating problems in its smooth functioning.

The agreement with the employees union will complete one year on June 10 after which the clause authorising HPSEB Limited to recruit staff on behalf of the STU will be reviewed. The ADB is keen that the STU functions smoothly and in accordance with the Act, which is possible only if it is made an independent entity with power to carry out recruitment and a separate cadre.

The high tension transmission lines of 66 kv need to be transferred to the STU as had been done in other states. A weak STU will not be able to implement the Rs 4,500 crore master transmission plan formulated for evacuation of power from the upcoming projects in the state.

A seven-member team of the bank is in the state capital to carry out the necessary documentation for the proposed loan and finalise the terms and conditions. The bank is likely to address the issue of STU in the covenants being drawn up for providing the loan. Even while sanctioning the Rs 3,600 crore loan to the State Power Corporation, the ADB had included a clause in the covenants, the condition that unbundling of the board will be carried out strictly in accordance with the Act.

Mandi/Kullu, May 11
Over 250 workers in the tunnel work on the 800 MW Parbati-II, being executed by the NHPC, have been left in the lurch as the NHPC and contractor firm Himachal Joint Venture (HJV) are engaged in a blame game that has delayed the execution of the project further by a couple of years.

The project has run already two years behind schedule. As a result, the state will lose Rs 120 crore as per its share of 12 per cent free power in the project and the NHPC will lose 4,000 million units of electricity worth Rs 1,000 crore every year due to this delay, say experts.

The work on the tunnel came to halt last year in November with the company citing snow and cold weather as the reasons. The work on head race tunnel remained suspended till Tuesday.

Ram Chander, Chaman Lal, Chuni Lal, Puran Chand, Ramlal, Khem Singh, Lobhia Ram and others, who hail from Mandi district, charged that neither the HJV nor the NHPC had paid them their wages for the past six months.

The Assistant Labour Commissioner, Chandigarh, had directed the HJC and the NHPC to disburse wages to workers, but nothing had been done so far, the workers said.

The NHPC blamed the HJV for delaying work on the tunnel as the labourers were employed by the company.

The work on the tunnel had been running couple of years behind schedule as the tunnel boring machine (TBM) got struck after the loose strata caved in two years ago, NHPC sources said.

Senior Manager, NHPC, Anuj Bhardwaj said the NHPC had directed the company to pay the wages to the workers and resume work.

The matter was being resolved amicably. The TBM and workers would resume work on the tunnel soon as efforts were on to expedite the matter, he added.

Kullu, May 11
Union Minister of State for Power KC Venugopal visited the 1320 MW hydroelectric project being constructed by the NHPC in this district today.

The minister inspected the project sites, including the underground powerhouse of the Stage-III at Bihali, about 80 km from here, in the Sainj Valley of this district.

Addressing senior officers and engineers of the NHPC, the minister stressed the needs of implementing the schemes that transformed the lives of the affected people. He expressed concern over the delay in the construction of the main tunnel (Adit-II) at Shilagarh which was stopped in 2008 due to the failure of the tunnel boring machine (TBM).

The work on the tunnel had not be restored since then. The minister advised the NHPC authorities to report the reasons for not restoring the work for the past three years and fix responsibility.

Later, the minister also visited the 126 MW Larji Hydroelectric Project constructed by the HPSEB at Thalot.

The minister reached here yesterday on a three-day visit. He was accorded a warm welcome at the Kullu-Manali airport.

Nurpur, May 11
A technical committee of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) visited the stadium site at Nurpur today, just two days after the announcement of a lease approval by the state Cabinet for the construction and running of this proposed cricket stadium.

A team of the HPCA inspects the site of a stadium in Nurpur on Wednesday. Photo: Rajiv Mahajan

The committee comprising BCCI member Raj Kumar and state executive member of the HPCA Vishal Sharma inspected the stadium ground and undertook its demarcation. Local officials of the Public Works Department and the electricity board also assisted them in this purpose.

Local MLA Rakesh Pathania, who was also accompanying the technical team, told mediapersons that in the first phase demolition of old structure in the stadium land, development-cum-levelling of ground and fencing would be done.

“The inspection has been undertaken before the kick-starting of the proposed cricket stadium and there will be no dearth of funds as it is being built jointly by the state government and the HPCA. The HPCA has aimed to organise the Ranji Trophy Tournaments in March next year,” he asserted. 

Shimla, May 11
Having spent over Rs 50 lakh on executing development and cultural works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA) scheme in villages covered under Har Gaon Ki Kahani, the Tourism Department will now link these places with established tourist circuits so as to bring dividends to people.

It is with the objective of promoting rural tourism and bringing into limelight certain villages having historical and cultural relevance that the department had linked the MNREGA scheme with its Har Gaon Ki Kahani.

“About Rs 50 lakh has already been utilised on development works like pathways, rejuvenation of traditional water sources and other such works in these select villages, which will now be linked to popular and known tourist destinations,” said Arun Sharma, Director, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

He added that public involvement in development works linked to tourism was essential so that villagers realised its significance and benefit from tourism-related activities. “The Tourism Department will publicise these villages and link these with the known destinations so that those visitors keen to have a peep into the rural life can visit these places,” he remarked.

A sum of Rs 20 lakh has already been spent at Nerti village in Shahpur tehsil of Kangra district where a bloody battle was fought between rulers of Chamba and Kangra. Chamba ruler Raj Singh lost his life in the battle and it was his son who constructed a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the village in 1796.

The Tourism Department also proposes to build a rural theatre in the village to promote “jhamakra” the folk dance of the area at a cost of over Rs 5 lakh. Pathways have been constructed and the old irrigation channel (kuhl), which had gone defunct, has been revived.

Similarly, Rs 3.50 lakh has been spent in Sahu village, 18 km from Chamba, under MNREGA. An entrance to the village and a sitting area has been created. The village has a big “Shivalingam”, embedded firmly with liberal use of copper.

Other villages which have been benefited from MNREGA funds include Shamshar village in Kullu and Nari village in Una district where works worth Rs 10 lakh have already been executed.

Kullu, May 11
A two-day white water river rafting competition was inaugurated at Pirdi, near here, today by Director of the Atal Bihari Mountaineering Institute, Manali, Capt Randhir Salhuria. He said the institute was celebrating its golden jubilee year this year and various adventure activities were being organised in rural areas of the state.

He said river rafting had become an attraction for tourists, and the sports had become an important business activity in the district having two major rivers, the Beas and the Parbati, besides many tributaries.

The Director said as many as 11 teams, including two exclusive women teams, and comprising 102 sportspersons, were participating in the competitions. The competitions were for sprint, salalam and marathon, he added.

Salhuria further revealed that the institute had provided adventure sports training to more than 1.35 lakh youth ever since its inception in 1961.

Deputy Director, Regional Water Sports Institute, Pang Dam, RR Thakur, officers of the ITBP and resource person of the research and rescue team Prem Mahant, besides many adventure sportspersons were present at the function.

Solan, May 11
Ranvir Singh (60) allegedly shot his son Shamsher Singh (37) with a licensed single-barrel gun at Chuli village near Renuka Jee in Sirmaur district today morning after an altercation over some minor issue.

DSP (Headquarters) Babita Rana said after killing his son, Ranvir himself came to the police station to confess about the crime.

Police inquires revealed that the duo did not get along well as Ranvir had not distributed his land among his three sons, and this was a regular issue of dispute between them.

Trouble arose when Shamsher did not attend his nephew’s wedding yesterday and Ranvir took him to task for missing the crucial occasion. Ranvir in a fit of rage brandished his gun after Shamsher hit him with shoes and shot at his son after being provoked to do so.

A case under Section 302, IPC, was registered and further investigations were underway. The murder weapon had been taken into custody. — OC

Dharamsala, May 11
The Central Government is planning to take wheat and rice to the North-Eastern states of the country. This will mean a policy shift of encouraging farming of wheat and rice in the North-East (N-E).

Director General, India Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and Secretary, Agriculture Research and Education, S Ayyapan, gave this information in an exclusive interview with The Tribune.

He was here on a visit to the Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (IHBT) and Palampur Agriculture University today.

He said earlier the emphasis of the government was on encouraging farmers of Punjab and Haryana to grow wheat and rice. However, the production capacity in these states had reached almost saturation levels.

As a part of ushering in the second Green Revolution in the country, the government intended to support the farmers of the North-Eastern states to take up farming of wheat and rice in a big way.

For this, fertilisers and seeds are being made available to the farmers, Dr Ayyapan said.

He further said during the first Green Revolution, the emphasis was on increasing the production of wheat and rice. However, under the second Green Revolution, the government intended to promote foodgrains, pulses, oil seeds and fruit production to meet the demand of the fast-growing middleclass of the country.

When asked about the high prices of pulses, Dr Ayyapan said this year, there had been a record production of pulses in the country. In 2010-11, the country had produced 17.5 million tonnes of pulses. However, the higher prices of pulses depended on various other factors that were dealt with his department, he said.

Dr Ayyapan said a fund of about Rs 350 crore had been kept by the government for dedicating research for helping farmers cope with the problem. Agriculture scientists had been given the task of developing plant and crop varieties that were resistant to frequent climatic changes.

He also said the government was bringing a National Agriculture Education Support Programme to help state agriculture universities that were reeling under financial crisis.