Mandi, June 28
In their bid to woo newcomers into their cadres, ABVP and NSUI activists today clashed on the Postgraduate Valabh College campus in which three activists, two from the NSUI and one from the ABVP, sustained injuries.

Later, the police arrived at the scene and dispersed the crowd and restored normalcy on the campus.

The injured were rushed to Zonal Hospital, Mandi, where doctors said they were out of danger. Though the ABVP and the NSUI accused each other of starting the trouble, but students revealed that both wings were equally responsible for the incident in their bid to woo newcomers.

NSUI spokersperson Nishant Rana said when NSUI activists went to the Arts block, ABVP activists started misbehaving with them.

Later, they sent them down and started pelting stones and used rods and sticks to threaten them, he claimed.

However, ABVP leader Abhinav Guleria dismissed the NSUI charge as baseless saying that the NSUI had pumped outsiders on the campus to woo students.

They removed badges of some activists which provoked students, he added.

SFI leaders on the other hand accused the NSUI and the ABVP of vitiating the atmosphere on the campus just for political interest. “We have condemned the incident and hold them responsible,” stated Shayam Singh, SFI leader.

Though the ABVP has been dominating the campus politics in the council elections over the years, the NSUI has been catching up fast trying to woo students to its fold to win the council elections due in July-August.

Meanwhile, the college Principal said the situation was normalised on the campus after arrival of the police. The police was investigating the matter.

Keylong, June 28
Local residents and hoteliers here have rubbished the claims of the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation (DTCA) that over 19,586 tourists visited Lahaul-Spiti in March and 60,892 tourists came here in April 2010 as a “blatant lies and figment of imagination” just aimed at presenting a rosy picture of tourist arrival in the tribal district as the Rohtang Pass opened on April 15, 2010.

The official figure given by the DTCA on tourist arrivals in Lahaul-Spiti is not only imaginary, but raised serious questions on the authenticity of over estimated 1.32 crore tourists, including foreigners, who visited the state in 2010, said travel agents and hoteliers.

According to DTCA’s official data for tourist arrival in the state in 2010, the copy of which is available with The Tribune, Lahaul-Spiti received no tourist in January and February in 2010 and so was the case with Kinnaur district.

But then suddenly, as per the DTCA data, the tourist arrival shot up from zero to 19,556 domestic tourists and 18 foreigners in March and 60,892 domestic tourists and 746 foreigners in April. As per the DTCA estimates, May was a peak summer season in Lahaul in 2010 with 68,948 Indians and 2,839 foreigners arriving here. But the fact is that June to August is a peak tourist season in Lahaul as Leh-bound tourists proceed through Keylong, said hoteliers.

“There was not even a single tourist here in March as the Valley was covered under a blanket of snow,” asserted Tashi Deleg, a local hotelier.

“The Rohtang Pass opened on April 15, but was closed and re-opened on April 21. Even the locals did not turn up in March. If were tourist arrivals as rosy as the DTCA says, we would have nothing to wish for,” added Deleg, who is amused at the DTCA figure. The DTCA figure needs a serious reality check.

“We have received not more than 15 persons in April 2010 and even the Kumzum Pass opened in mid-May and Spiti received most tourists in July and August,” said Dawa Karpa, another major hotelier in Keylong.

Hoteliers and residents dismissed DTCA’s tourist arrival of 3,62,660 Indians and 59,125 foreigners in 2010 as over-exaggerated. Lahaul-Spiti overall has a bed capacity of 1,000 beds and cannot accommodate this much of tourists even if they overstretched four guests per bed in its six-month-long season, they pointed out.

In March, even local residents, many of whom generally migrated to Kullu and other parts of the state during the harsh winter, had not come back here.

“There is no question that tourists come here in March,” said Ajey Kumar of Keylong.

On the other hand, Dr Arun Sharma, Director, Tourism, claimed that the figure on tourist arrival in the state are based on different sources, including hoteliers, home stay units, travel agents, pilgrim sarais and blogs and Internet as well, and are true.

Tourists must have gone via Tabo and Kaza, but we have to verify it from the district administration as well, he added.

Rajiv Shankar, DC, Lahaul Spiti, said Rohtang was opened on April 15 last year, but he would have to check the tourist arrival in March and April.

Shimla, June 28
The ban on new constructions in 17 green belts of the town may finally go as the government is considering giving relaxation not just to plot owners who bought land prior to the imposition of the ban in 2000, but to everyone provided it does not involve the felling of trees and is within the permissible limit.

The relaxation might not come through immediately as the entire exercise has been clubbed with the approval of the Shimla Development Plan (SDP), which has been awaiting government nod for the past at least eight years. Needless to say several changes need to be made in the SDP.

Sources said a proposal had been mooted where the blanket ban on the new construction in the 17 designated green belts would be relaxed. Even though the move had been initiated following the plea by about 75 plot owners in green areas to allow them need-based construction on the pretext that they bought the land before the ban was imposed in 2000, surprisingly the move was aimed at allowing construction for all.

The sources said the ban on the construction in the green areas was being lifted to benefit some influential persons who had commercial interest. The government had already allowed mixed land use in the core area where earlier only residential use was allowed.

“While on the one hand, planners talk of decongesting the core area, in a sharp contrast to that they are allowing the commercial use which had been restricted due to congestion,” admitted an official.

Interestingly, the SDP which had been prepared after holding exhaustive deliberations with architects, town planners, environmentalists and other prominent organisations had proposed that the number of green belts in the town must be enhanced from the present 17 to over 100. This had been done because imposing of the ban had put complete curb on construction in these 17 belts.

The officials say the construction in these green belts will be monitored very strictly and not even a single tree will be allowed to fell. “The government must give relief to plot owners who bought land prior to 2000 when the ban was imposed as their case is very genuine, but there is no sense in allowing others who have bought land knowing very well that it is a no-construction zone,” said an environmentalist.

While everyone is in favour of giving relaxation to plot owners who bought land prior to 2000, lifting the ban completely can play havoc with the forest cover, already facing depletion.

Kangra, June 28
Spiritual atmosphere in educational institutions and universities is the only way to improve the deteriorating cultural values in the younger generation.

Prof ADN Bajpai, Vice-Chancellor, Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), said this while addressing mediapersons at Shahpur yesterday after he inaugurated a week-long Orientation Programme for College Principals on the Planning and Management of Higher Educational Institutions. Bajpai said stress must be laid on students for imbibing divinity, as spiritual atmosphere in colleges and universities would help in the eradication of social menaces.

He said, “Evil has no place in our culture. Drug menace, sex, dress and language issues are coming up as major challenges before educationists”.

Prof Furqan Qamar, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, told mediapersons in this joint press conference that the Central University of HP had completed all the formalities and submitted the master plan for being set up at Dehra to the Ministry of Environment and Forest for clearance.

Professor Furqan said it would be an environment friendly and green campus university both at Dharamsala and Dehra. He said during a span of 20 years only 3,500 trees would be axed. He said earlier speculations of 90,000 trees would be axed were far from the truth.

He said admissions for nine disciplines would start from July 4, and the faculty for these disciplines was appointed. He said the number of students studying here had now reached 800.

Shimla, June 28
Former Congress legislator from Jubbal-Kotkhai Rohit Thakur today demanded that in view of the ensuing apple season, the government must handover the maintenance of the Theog-Hatkoti-Kharapatthar road to the PWD from the Chinese company for there months.

In a statement issued here today, Thakur demanded that the PWD must maintain the road from July 15 to October 15 so as to avoid any inconvenience to apple growers in transporting the fruit to the market.

“It was due to the mismanagement and failure of the government in making arrangements that apple growers suffered losses to the tune of Rs 700 crore last year,” he claimed.

The Congress leader also criticised the BJP regime for not making any enhancement in the support price for apple. “The BJP regime since it came to power has increased the support price under the Market Intervention Scheme by only 25 paisa,” he said.

Accusing the BJP regime of discriminating with Shimla, he said maximum number of schools that the BJP regime had decided to close down were in the district.

“There are 5,000 vacancies of teachers and 1,200 posts of paramedical staff lying vacant in various health institutions,” he added.

Shimla, June 28
Notwithstanding the six-decade-long hiatus after which he returned to his alma mater from where he matriculated way back in 1951, for retired Supreme Court Judge DP Wadhwa, who is heading the Central Vigilance Committee on the Public Distribution System, it was a nostalgic walk down the memory lane as he visited Government Senior Secondary School, Lalpani, here today.

Justice Wadhwa, who studied here from 1948 to 1951, made no mistake in identifying his classroom where he studied 60 years ago as he paced up the stairs to remember those “good old days”. “I decided against wearing a tie unlike others as I am here not in the capacity of a dignitary, but as a former student,” he said while being dressed in gray trousers, white shirt and blue blazer, the uniform he wore as a student.

Accompanied by Chief Justice of the Himachal High Court Justice Kurain Joseph, he visited the entire school and noticed the changes that have transformed the school since 1951. “Words cannot express the pleasure and delight that I have experienced on this homecoming to my school,” he said. He took photographs and video recording of the school register with his name at the time of admission.

“In today’s fiercely competitive world, academics are no doubt important, but it is essential to participate in sports,” he exhorted students. He enjoyed the cultural performances put up by students and sat on wet cushions and refused an umbrella as students too sat under dripping tents as there was a heavy downpour.

Justice Wadhwa said he studied here as his maternal uncle was posted here in the Sales Department in 1948. “I definitely miss the wooded and beautiful Shimla where I lived as a young boy. Unfortunately it has got lost in the urbanisation and construction that is witnessed all over,” he said.

He had visited Shimla in 1986, but this was his first visit to the school since he left the town after his uncle was transferred out.

Hamirpur, June 28
Leader of Opposition in the HP State Assembly and senior Congress leader Vidya Stokes has termed the present Dhumal government in the state “as the most inefficient and weak government”.

Talking to mediapersons here today and accompanied by all Congress MLAs from the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency and former Speaker of the HP Assembly GR Musafir, Stokes charged that “the situation is unfortunate since the administration has failed to control the law and order situation and supply basic amenities like drinking water in the state”.

Targeting the BJP for its campaign against corruption, Stokes said: “While they talk about corruption at the national level, they forget their own deeds. Corruption in the state has crossed all limits. BJP’s own members of Parliament are raising the issue in the state and demanding NARCO tests of top leaders of the party”.

She alleged, “Law and order has failed and thefts and other crimes are increasing every day and the administration is finding itself helpless in tackling the menace”.

The Congress leader also criticised the BJP government for blaming the Centre for discriminating against the state and said, “To cover up its own failures, the state government is raising the bogey of discrimination by the Centre. On the contrary the Central Government is financing 90 per cent schemes of the state and it is getting huge money under the NHRM, ICDS, MNREGA and Health Insurance schemes etc”.

Stokes said, “Several land deals and construction of housing projects like Bemloe in Shimla confirm Virbhadra Singh’s accusation of Himachal being on sale. A minister from Solan district has become the most innovative in the sale and purchase of land through the violation of Section 118 of the Land Tenancy Act”.

Former Assembly Speaker GR Musafir said, “Dhumal’s leadership in the BJP is under question by his own party leaders and he has proved so weak as Chief Minister that he has failed to fill a vacancy in the state Cabinet for over a year due to internal strife in the BJP”.

He alleged, “Forest, land and liquor mafias are dominating the state and a BJP leader from Hamirpur district is allegedly helping a liquor factory of the district in evading excise duty while government officials have become mute spectators”.