Shimla, October 31
The absence of Shanta loyalists, including two ministers and four MLAs, from the significant BJP State Executive meeting here today has rung alarm bells for the ruling party as the tactical move by the rival faction is a clear indication of the rebellious mood in the dissident camp, which seems to be in no mood to relent.

Even though the meeting had been convened to discuss the strategy for the coming byelections to the Renuka and Sirmour seats and for Advani’s Jan Chetna Yatra, the absence of all leaders owing allegiance to national BJP vice-president Shanta Kumar has made it amply clear that trouble is brewing between the warring factions.

Though both Chief Minister PK Dhumal and state party chief Khimi Ram tried to play down the absence of Shanta loyalists as a mere coincidence owning to their pre-occupation elsewhere, but the message was too loud and clear. The meeting was attended by national general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal, national general secretray JP Nadda, Dhumal, ministers, MLAs and other senior leaders, mainly from the Chief Minister’s faction.

Prominent among those who stayed away from the meeting as part of their pre-planned strategy included ministers Ramesh Dhwala and Kishan Kapoor, MLAs Praveen Sharma, Vipin Parmar, Des Raj and Khushi Ram Balnahata, former Speaker Radha Raman Shastri, former MP and party ex-chief Maheshwar Singh and state coordinator of the election committee NH Kashyap.

“The situation has now become intolerable as nepotism, corruption and sycophancy are ruling the roost with ministers and MLAs being ignored openly while non-entities and political lightweights close to the Chief Minister are calling the shots,” said a senior leader. Many of the Shanta loyalists admitted that they deliberately stayed away from the meeting as they had no say in party or government matters.

Shanta Kumar, who has not been attending any of the party meetings for the past year and a half has been miffed over certain issues, including nepotism and corruption. Those close to him say he was unhappy over the fact that despite his objection to the reinstatement of certain tainted officers, the Dhumal regime had ignored his opinion.

The chasm between the rival factions has been widening lately but the decision of the Shanta loyalists to virtually boycott the meeting made it clear that all is not well and in the coming days the bickering is likely to intensify. Shanta loyalists, especially in Kangra, are gunning for IPH Minister Ravinder Ravi, accusing him of interfering in others’ constituencies.

The tactical move by the Shanta camp today, shortly before the two byelections, clearly indicates that they would intensify their activities and knock at the door of the high command with some of their major demands, including having a greater say in the government.

Shimla, October 31
As the apple harvesting season officially came to a close today, it became abundantly clear that the state has recorded the lowest production in 12 years.

In all 1.22 crore standard boxes have been sent out of the state to various markets and the total output is not likely to touch 1.40 crore boxes, produced in 2009, and it will be the lowest since 1999 when the production came down to 98 lakh boxes. Although about 20,000 boxes are still being sent to the market daily, the total number will not cross 1.25 crore boxes. Thus, taking into account the local consumption, which is estimated at 10 per cent, the total production will be around 1.37 crore boxes.

However, the procurement of 5,639 tonnes of apple under the market intervention scheme (MIS) has been much better than 2009, when only 941 tonnes were procured. The extensive damage caused by hailstorm to fruit rendered the produce unmarketable and the growers had no option but to give it to government agencies.

The lean season saw a new trend with both growers and buyers preferring to trade in the markets located within the state instead of the Delhi market. Normally 70 to 75 of the produce is disposed of in Delhi but this year it has come down to less the 50 per cent. Over 40 lakh boxes were sold in either the markets located within the state or the arhtiyas had direct deals with growers and took the produce from grading houses itself. The markets in Shimla and Kinnaur alone accounted for the sale of over 22 lakh boxes, while over nine lakh boxes were sold in Solan and seven lakh in Kullu.

In all this season almost 30 per cent of the fruit was sold through markets within the state as against 18 to 20 per cent in previous years. The growers also sent fruit directly to far-off markets like Ahmedabad and Bangalore. By avoiding the Delhi market, both the buyers and the sellers were saving the commission paid to agents. Moreover, if the fruit was sent to another market from Delhi, the commission had to be paid twice and in some cases even thrice which helped neither the growers nor the buyers. At times the total commission exceeded 15 per cent.

Dharamsala, October 31
It is the BJP versus the government in Kangra district. While the independent MLA from Nurpur, Rakesh Pathania, is representing the Dhumal faction, the party organisation is being represented by the district president of the BJP, Ranjit Singh Pathania, who represents the Shanta Kumar faction.

Both factions are washing their dirty linen in public by levelling serious charges of corruption against each other.

Yesterday Ranjit Singh Pathania levelled serious charges of corruption against Rakesh Pathania. He alleged that Rakesh Pathania had taken a hefty amount as loan for running a dairy project during the stint of the previous BJP government in the state. “Rakesh Pathania needs to explain how he cleared the loan in a short duration, he asked.

He alleged that Rakesh Pathania, after he was denied the BJP ticket during the last Assembly elections, gave a statement in the media that both Shanta Kumar and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had taken money in the allotment of the ticket. Earlier also he was involved in anti-party activities. He said Rakesh Pathania was speaking at the behest of certain ruling party leaders.

Today afternoon, Rakesh Pathania also levelled charges of corruption against Ranjit Singh Pathania. He alleged that the district president of the BJP had violated provisions of Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Land Tenancy Act. He purchased three pieces of land, measuring 50 kanals each, in the name of a trust. For purchasing land in the name of a trust, it is mandatory to take permission under Section 118. However, Ranjit Singh Pathania has not taken any such permission for which the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, had issued him a notice.

Rakesh Pathania also alleged that the daughter-in-law of Ranjit Singh Pathania had got a case under the Domestic Violence Act registered against him.

The Independent MLA from Nurpur alleged that certain leaders were trying to bring down the government led by Prem Kumar Dhumal. It was a deep-rooted conspiracy, he alleged.

He also challenged Ranjit Singh Pathania to prove the charges of corruption levelled against him pending which he would move court against him.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Shanta faction have alleged that their government was egging on Rakesh Pathania to level charges against the party. They alleged that the press conference of the Independent MLA from Nurpur today was organised by the district public relations office which proved that the government was acting against its own party.

With the war of words between both Dhumal and Shanta faction leaders getting murkier, it is threatening to create a vertical split in the state BJP, especially in Kangra district.

Hamirpur, October 31
A Rs 6-crore project has been sanctioned to improve the power supply in Hamirpur town by laying a strong network, which will be implemented by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board.

Through this project, new LT lines will be laid in Hamirpur town at a cost of Rs 1.66 crore. Besides, 3.7-km cables will be replaced and all old meters will also be replaced at a cost of Rs 23 lakh.

Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner Rajinder Singh Thakur said here today that to get rid of the low voltage problem in rural areas, a plan was being implemented under the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Vidyut Yojna at a cost of Rs 5.97 crore, which would be completed soon.

Under this scheme, 59 electricity distribution centres had been established and a 36.66-km 11 kV HT line and about 60-km LT lines were being laid.

The Deputy Commissioner said, “While 501 new electricity connections have been given free of cost to poor persons by the board, the free distribution of CFL bulbs in Hamirpur district has saved 211.8 million electricity units, costing about Rs 9 crore.”

He said, “The capacity of Dhaneta, Galod and Naltu substations is being increased and the 11 kV control panel of 33 kV substations are also being replaced.”

The Deputy Commissioner directed board officials to immediately attend to the complaints of consumers and also maintain a complaint register.

The SE, Hamirpur, AC Sandal, said work was on to replace wooden polls in Hamirpur district and 1,406 polls had been replaced till now. 

Shimla, October 31
Maintaining that organisational experience is essential to head an important outfit like the state Youth Congress, Raghubir Singh Bali, son of former minister GS Bali, has expressed the confidence that he will emerge victorious in the coming poll for the coveted post despite the presence of Vikramaditya, son of Union Minister Virbhadra Singh in the electoral arena.

“I have risen from the ranks and served the NSUI and the Youth Congress for more than a decade and gained valuable experience of organisational working. I believe that the NSUI is the nursery of the Youth Congress and one must spend time in the grassroots organisation to gain experience,” he said while avoiding direct reference to Vikramaditya during his press conference here today.

Asked whether he disapproved of Vikramaditya planning to directly enter the Youth Congress, he said it was his personal decision and as far as he himself was concerned, working in the NSUI was essential. The advantage was evident as he was having a huge team of young leaders, with whom he had worked in the NSUI, to support him across the state and they were putting their heart and soul in his campaign. He specifically mentioned Rohru, the home constituency of Virbhadra Singh, in this regard and said a large number of youth waited from him till late evening to receive him.

He said Rahul Gandhi wanted true workers from the ranks to rise and come up to the top through the democratic route and his career had followed the same pattern. More importantly, he was not going to stick to the post of the Youth Congress president for long as he was already 32 years old and, if elected, would have a maximum tenure of just 30 months. He felt all these factors would enable him to win the support of the youth and reach the winning post.

Bali maintained that it was a friendly match between the 14 candidates in the race, of which one would become the president and nine others would form the new team of office-bearers. However, after the poll all 14 would work together and there would be no ill-will among them due to the contest.

Dharamsala, October 31
Vikramaditya Singh, son of Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Virbhadra Singh, who is contesting the election for the post of state president of the Youth Congress, today canvassed in Kangra district.

Addressing a press conference here, Vikramaditya Singh said he was contesting the election as he wanted to join the Congress from the grassroots level.

“I could have easily come directly as an MLA, but I want to join politics from the grassroots level,” he said.

He appealed to Youth Congress delegates from Kangra to vote for him. Vikramaditya Singh was accompanied by loyalists of Virbhadra Singh during his visit to Kangra.

The loyalists of Virbhadra Singh were busy making permutations and combinations throughout the day today to ensure the victory their mentor’s son. In another press conference here today, sitting state president of the Youth Congress Manmohan Katoch alleged that money and power were playing a big role in the current elections.

He said sons of senior Congress leaders (indicating towards Virbhadra Singh’s son) had taken advantage over common Youth Congress workers who did not have any political background. Senior Congress leaders were using both money and power to ensure the victory of their wards, he alleged.

He said it was defeating the objectives of Congress general secretary and national in charge of the Youth Congress Rahul Gandhi. It was a pity that senior Congress leaders were taking so much interest in Youth Congress politics. They should instead abstain from such elections and let the young leadership of the party mushroom the state.

He said, “I have worked for the party during the past more than three years and am seeking votes from the youth for my performance.” There are 14 contestants for the post of Youth Congress president who include a few wards of influential political leaders of the Congress.

Kangra, October 31
The Dr RP Government Medical College (DRPGMC), Tanda, will take a lead in initiating a nationwide drive in creating awareness against ragging in all professional colleges of the country by circulating a movie to be made on the ragging incident which claimed the life of Aman Kachroo, a first-year MBBS student of the same college, and shattering the dreams of the four other students and their families.

This decision was taken at a Anti-Ragging Committee (ARC) meeting of the DRPGMC at Tanda today. It was discussed in the meeting that most parts of the country were still unaware about the incident. It was decided to hire some professionals and make a movie based on the Aman Kachroo incident depicting the trauma that Aman’s and other four students’ families involved in the incident and the students themselves had suffered following this ragging incident.

The movie would be circulated in all the professional colleges as a step to create awareness among the student community, teaching faculties and parents.

The ARC asked SDM Vinay Singh, DSP Manmohan Singh and members who were present in the meeting to take effective steps against the illegal liquor distribution centres near the college gate and in the vicinity of the campus. Concern was shown that even drugs were also being supplied through some of these outlets. Both officers assured that raids would be conducted in the area tonight itself.

The ARC was informed by Principal Anil Chauhan, who was chairing the meeting, that no ragging incident was reported from the college following new admissions this year because of the effective steps taken by the college management.

The ARC decided to make the presence of students’ parents or their representatives in the general body meeting (GBM) mandatory. The committee was told by Dr Parveen Sharma, member secretary of ARC, that on August 22, 2011, out of 300 parents only 14 attended the meeting. At their instance, another GBM was fixed for September 10, 2011, and not even a single parent turned up. He said 100 faculty members too were supposed to attend the GBM.

Dr Chauhan said the GBM would decide the penalty for those parents who did not attend the GBM in person or through their representative.

The ARC meeting was attended among others by Padam Shri Khema Matri, Heads of different departments, media representatives, panchayat pradhan, civil and police officers. 

Bilaspur, October 31
Deputy Commissioner Ritesh Chauhan and SP Santosh Patial today blasted the news reports appeared in a section of the press, probably emanating from the Opposition, which said there was slackness or delay in starting the rescue work to retrieve the injured and the dead from the site of the Bandla road accident on October 24.

Addressing mediapersons at the Bachat Bhawan here in the presence of chief medical officer Sudeshan Sharma and senior medical officer AK Sharma, they said officials of the administration and the police had reached the spot within minutes after the accident and immediately started the rescue work.

All the injured and the dead were cleared from the site of the gorge “within one and-a-half hours, despite it being the most difficult terrain of the accident site.”

Chauhan said with the death of injured Gopalu Ram (60) of Bandla village at the PGI, now the death toll had risen to 29, while only six patients remain admitted to Regional Hospital here.

He said eight injured were rushed to the IGMC, Shimla, and the PGI, Chandigarh, but four of them had died till now and four were under treatment and their expenditure was being borne by the government.

The DC said within minutes of his arrival at the scene, total 13 ambulances were deployed in the rescue operation, six from Regional Hospital, four of the Emergency 108 services and two from the nearby ACC cement factory. It being pitch dark at the site, a high-powered generator from the HPPSEB was pressed into service and the accident area was thoroughly searched three times.

He was all praise for the gigantic efforts also put in by the locals in the relief operation and said the administration would try to identify them and honour them in a befitting manner.

CMO Sudershan Sharma said immediately after the accident 18 doctors were on duty within minutes, including himself, and all of them were available there the whole night.

The DC added that the administration was also taking suitable steps to provide proper space for starting a casualty ward at Regional Hospital. 

Bilaspur, October 31
Ram Lal Thakur, former Forest Minister and state general secretary of the Congress, has said the government had failed to provide timely financial relief to families of the dead and injured victims of the Bandla road accident of October 24.

Talking to mediapersons after having visited the homes of bereaved families in Bandla, Seedha and adjoining villages, Thakur said the district administration had provided lesser amount to the victim families.

He said the “immediate grant”, which should have been Rs 10,000 and Rs 7,500, was actually given only Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000.

Ram Lal Thakur pointed towards the fate of one patient named Suresh, who had been rushed to the PGI, but he and his family did not know what to do as this poor family of a labourer could hardly bear the expenditure of Rs 60,000, which PGI doctors had asked them to arrange for the operation of the patient’s backbone.

He urged the government to immediately send some officer to the PGI with the required amount.

The former minister also took objection to the fact that SDM Sandip Kadam and some other officers, who had gone today to these villages to provide the remaining amount of the total government relief of Rs 1 lakh to the bereaved, had gone there with cheques of the amount for the HP State Co-operative Bank.

He said these families and those injured required hard cash to meet the immediate expenditure and not cheques.

He also said these officers did not bother to visit the bereaved families’ villages, but asked them to come to the road-head and several of them, including the elderly, travelled several kilometres to reach there. Those who could not travel to the roadside had now been asked to come to the office at Bilaspur to get the amount. He said all this approach lacked human element.

The Congress leader talked to the Deputy Commissioner at instance of these families and urged him to give cash of the remaining amount. He said the DC told him that these were government orders to disburse the amount through cheques only.

Meanwhile, Thakur urged the Chief Minister to intervene and order the disbursal of this amount in cash at the homes of the bereaved families.

Solan, October 31
With the arrest of a Paonta Sahib-based drug manufacturer by a team of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the drug control administration is now tightening its noose around the erring Accurate Pharmaceutical.

It was known that the DRI, which had arrested about 10 persons in connection with this drug racket last week, had learnt from one of those arrested that a large number of un-billed party drugs had been purchased from Accurate Pharmaceutical in Paonta Sahib. This had led to the arrest of its owner and raid of this unit by the DRI team.

The drug racket had been exposed during a DRI raid at a rave party held in some metro city and as drugs manufactured at Baddi-based Ten Star had been confiscated from there, DRI officials had raided the Baddi-based unit last week.

With nearly 600 pharmaceutical units having set up their operations in the state ever since the Central industrial package was announced in 2003, drugs worth Rs 3,000 crore were traded annually and the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh area was known as the pharmaceutical hub of Asia.

Navneet Marwaha, drug controller, said it was worrisome to note that sedative drugs, which were manufactured for authentic medical use, had been misused as party drugs. Though permissions had been accorded to manufacture these for medical reasons, the manner in which they were being nefariously used for other purposes was an issue of concern.

He added that they were prompt to check such erring units and no such nefarious activity would be allowed in the state.

Solan, October 31
Pankaj Goyal (56), owner of Maruti’s Shimla-based dealership Goyal Motors, was killed and three members of his family were injured when the car, Maruti SX4 (HP-63-4565), by which they were travelling rolled down into a gorge near Dharampur on the NH-22 last evening around 11:45 pm.

Police officials said preliminary investigations had revealed that Neeraj Goyal, brother of the deceased, lost control while driving the vehicle and it fell into a deep gorge near a railway track.

The other occupants of the car were grievously injured and admitted to the local Regional Hospital. They included Nisha, the wife of the deceased, their son Sehaj and Neeraj Goyal.

Pankaj died on the spot and was pronounced brought dead by the doctors when brought to the hospital. The family was returning home in Shimla after visiting Beas.