The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Himachal Pradesh Edition

Policewomen display their skills on a motorcycle at the Ridge in Shimla on Wednesday. International Women’s Day
Policewomen perform daredevil acts
Shimla, March 7
The first Women Police Battalion of North India, established in Himachal Pradesh, presented a spectacular show of skills acquired by the recruits during the course of their training to mark the International Women's Day at historic Ridge Maidan, here today. Addressing the large gathering, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said the hill state had the privilege to raise the first Women Battalion of North India, providing an opportunity to young educated women to join security forces.

WOMEN POWER: Policewomen display their skills on a motorcycle at the Ridge in Shimla on Wednesday. Photo: Amit Kanwar

Taxing times: Activists of the Shimla Commercial Vehicles Union hold a “vehicle rally” against the hike in the token tax in Shimla on Wednesday. Photo: Amit Kanwar

Weaker Sections in General Category
Govt set to form welfare commission
Shimla, March 7
With election fervour catching up in the hill state, the BJP regime is all set to formally constitute the Economically Backward Welfare Commission to dole out sops like jobs, scholarships, soft loans, housing and other concessions to the weaker sections in the general category.

Effluent Treatment Plant
NGO raises objections during public hearing
Baddi, March 7
Concerned over the issue of toxicity and varying nature of the effluents let-off by various industrial units in the Baddi-Barotiwala industrial area by the 990 industries, a local NGO Himparivesh today expressed concern whether the Rs 56.80-crore Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) being set up under the Public-Private-Partnership mode would address this critical issue effectively.

Excise barriers auctioned
Solan, March 7
Even as the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial area houses 70 per cent of the state’s industries, accounting for about Rs 700-crore revenue, the Excise and Taxation Department has managed to gain a hike of barely 18.6 per cent in its annual barrier auctions held yesterday.

Female foeticide: Need to spread awareness, says CM
Tauni Devi (Hamirpur), March 7
Chief Minister PK Dhumal has appealed to women to come forward in checking the female foeticide. Addressing a conference organised by the Bamsan Mahila Vikas Samiti to celebrate International Women’s Day here, the Chief Minister said, “Though there are strict laws to check female foeticide, awareness is very important in stopping this social evil and women can play an important role in creating awareness and saving the girl child.”

Computer teachers stage protest
Members of the Computer Teachers Association raise slogans against the government in Shimla on Wednesday. Shimla, March 7
Computer teachers engaged through a private company for teaching information technology in government schools took out a procession and staged a rally in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in protest against the failure of the government to take over their services as promised.

Members of the Computer Teachers Association raise slogans against the government in Shimla on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Mystery shrouds shooting incident
Shimla, March 7
The incident of shooting by the wife of the Director of a hydro-power project is still shrouded in mystery as the police is still not ruling out the possibility of the woman being shot at and not trying to commit suicide as reported.

Leopard, 2 cubs spotted in villages
Bilaspur, March 7
Though attacks of leopards on pets, stray dogs and cattle every now and then have become a cause of worry in areas like Bharadi, Bhapral, Ladraur, Gaahar, Bamm, Sunhani, Shah Talai, Suharghat, Jejwin, Kutheda, Kot Hatwaad and Marottan in this district, now a female leopard roaming about even during the daytime with its two healthy cubs in the Nichli Dadhole area, near Ghumarwin, has been a serious concern.

Holi celebrated with fervour
Mandi, March 7
Residents mainly youth danced, sang and swayed to the colours of Holi almost “painting this temple town red with colours. They went around the town in procession with the chariot of Raj Madhav, which rolled out from its temple to celebrate the festival of colours with his devotees.

Boy, girl commit suicide
Nurpur, March 7
A 20-year-old girl and her boyfriend, identified as Amit Verma (25) of Pathankot, took poison in a hotel on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway this evening.

Screening test for teachers on March 11
Hamirpur, March 7
The Himachal Pradesh State Services Selection Board (HPSSSB), Hamirpur, has decided to conduct a screening test for posts of allied services and physical education teachers on March 11.

Residents seek amendment to monuments Act
Chamba, March 7
Residents of Chamba town led by the Chamba Welfare Association, a local NGO, today took out a silent procession to impress upon the Government of India in bringing about certain necessary amendments in the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 2010, thereby giving a relief to the people living in towns of monuments.

Poll for RS seat on March 30
Shimla, March 7
The Election Commission has announced the election for the Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal that will fall vacant on April 2 on the completion of the term of Congress MP Viplove Thakur.

Govt taking steps to ensure quality education in pvt varsities: Bindal
Solan, March 7
The Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act will play a crucial role in ensuring quality education in the private universities of the state.

	Budget session begins tomorrow Oppn Cong to be on the offensive Rakesh Lohumi Tribune News Service Shimla, March 7 The disheartening results of the Assembly elections in five states notwithstanding, the opposition Congress is expected to be on the offensive during the 29-day Budget session of the Himachal Vidhan Sabha, commencing on March 9. With the Assembly poll to be held later this year, it will be the last Budget session of the BJP government for the current term and also the last opportunity for the Congress to pin down the ruling party and set the tempo for the coming electoral battle. With the government at the fag end of its term, there is no dearth of issues for the Congress. But having defied the anti-incumbency factor in Punjab and Uttarakhand, the ruling party will be in a much better position to face the Opposition onslaught. The Congress has been raising the issue of corruption with focus on shady land deals, private universities and misuse of the Apartments Regulation Act and Section 118 of the State Land Reforms and Tenancy Act. But the newly floated HLP, a breakaway group of the BJP has, by releasing specific details about the assets of the Health Minister, provided more firepower to the Opposition. The Congress has already demanded sack of the minister and is likely to pursue the demand inside the House. Political pundits are already talking about a snap poll and it may well turn out to be the last session. Leader of the Opposition Vidya Stokes and PCC chief Kaul Singh asserted that the development in other states would not cast a shadow on the session. The Congress would not allow the BJP to go scot-free and hold it accountable for all its acts of commission and omission within the House and in the court of the people subsequently. Compared to the past four years, it will the shortest Budget session as there will be no recess for the scrutiny of the demands by the standing committees of the House. As the state is heavily dependent on central assistance, the Budget proposals are finalised only after the Union Budget is presented. This year the exercise has been delayed due to the Assembly poll. Consequently, the state Budget will be presented as late as March 19 and passed on March 30 after seven days of debate. Speaker Tulsi Ram said so far 570 starred questions and 147 un-starred questions had been received from members, mostly regarding the status of vacant posts, social security pension, appointments, regularisation of workers and the poly-house scheme.
	International Women’s Day Policewomen perform daredevil acts Tribune News Service Shimla, March 7 The first Women Police Battalion of North India, established in Himachal Pradesh, presented a spectacular show of skills acquired by the recruits during the course of their training to mark the International Women's Day at historic Ridge Maidan, here today. Addressing the large gathering, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said the hill state had the privilege to raise the first Women Battalion of North India, providing an opportunity to young educated women to join security forces. He said the state had got sanctioned three India Reserve Battalions from the Centre in the year 2000, which included a Women Battalion, when the other states were reluctant to do so. The young women recruits had successfully completed training and were well-equipped to handle any emergency. He said it was during his earlier term (1998-2003) that three women constables were deployed in each of the police stations for the convenience of women complainants. The objective was to encourage women to register cases so that atrocities against them could be checked more effectively. The government had implemented a number of schemes for the empowerment of women to help build a strong social system and eliminate gender bias. He also released a poster brought out by the state police to commemorate the International Women's Day. DGP DS Manhas said the state police had 10 per cent women, including 11 gazetted police officers, 50 non-gazetted officers and 1,400 women constables. He said with equitable deployment of women police force, their participation in maintenance of law and order had been ensured.
	Weaker Sections in General Category Govt set to form welfare commission Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, March 7 With election fervour catching up in the hill state, the BJP regime is all set to formally constitute the Economically Backward Welfare Commission to dole out sops like jobs, scholarships, soft loans, housing and other concessions to the weaker sections in the general category. The modalities of the commission are being worked out and it is likely that the Cabinet will approve it at its meeting on March 9. Being the election year, Chief Minister PK Dhumal is keen that the commission comes into being at the earliest and he is able to reap the dividends in the elections by coming to power again. With the possibility of early elections in Himachal being high, the constitution of the commission and the sops for the target group are likely to be reflected even in the Budget for 2012-13, which the Chief Minister will present in the state Assembly on March 19. The main objective is to target this chunk of the electorate, which is sore over all other categories being pampered by political parties and it being left high and dry. Sources said the Cabinet was likely to recommend to the Centre to make provision for reservation in jobs to people from non-reserved categories. The recommendation is likely to be sent to the Labour Employment Ministry and the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry because the state on its own cannot make reservation in government jobs. Madhya Pradesh is the only state in the country where a commission has been constituted for the uplift of the weaker sections among the general category. Himachal has studied the pattern adopted in that state. “With Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan being able to win the elections for a second term, Dhumal, too, is keen that the commission starts functioning at the earliest,” said an official. With Himachal already having separate commissions for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, Gaddis and Gujjars, it was felt that a similar body was required to take care of the large section of economically weaker groups among the higher castes who, in the absence of any reservation, were lagging behind. In the absence of any statistics about such people among the non-reserved category, the government will shortly appoint two research officers who will compile a data base so that an exact picture can be obtained. The facilities to be extended to the weaker sections will include scholarships right up to the university level, soft loans and housing.
	Effluent Treatment Plant NGO raises objections during public hearing Ambika Sharma Baddi, March 7 Concerned over the issue of toxicity and varying nature of the effluents let-off by various industrial units in the Baddi-Barotiwala industrial area by the 990 industries, a local NGO Himparivesh today expressed concern whether the Rs 56.80-crore Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) being set up under the Public-Private-Partnership mode would address this critical issue effectively. While raising objections during the plant’s public hearing at Kainduwala village, near Baddi, members of the NGO, including president Jagjit Singh Dhukhiya, general secretary Balkrishen and others said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) itself had raised concerns on this issue in its reports on the CETP and the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report provides no measures to address it. Since the CETP was unable to treat effluents of varying nature and violations at the inlet stage were rampant as units let-out untreated effluents, the NGO was concerned how this crucial issue would be addressed. Balkrishen also raised concerns about the mode of transporting the waste water through tankers as the CPCB itself had recommended not to use this mode in the new CETP after its earlier experience was not found foolproof. Locals also expressed concern at the non-availability of the EIA report in time, adding that they had little time to study it in detail. The NGO has advocated the need for community monitoring of the proposed CETP and industrial units as the poorly regulated units had made a mess of the environment with the Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index being rated at almost 70 and the abysmally low level of dissolved oxygen and high toxic e-coli levels failing to support the aquatic life. The NGO said since the CETP would be constructed within 18 months, no new industrial unit should come up in the area till then as it would further add to the pollution woes. This was more so as the board had failed to effectively monitor the pollution in the area. Concern has also been expressed about the lack of the CETP sludge disposal mechanism as NGO members feared this would create a mess elsewhere thus further polluting the Sirsa river. Though the EIA report mentions that sludge would be applied as fertiliser to the land or sent to the Shivalik Solid Waste Management Plant, no information on its facility and capacity to accept such waste had been mentioned in the EIA. Chairman of the CETP committee Deputy Commissioner C Palrasu, Nalagarh SDM Shubhkaran Singh, SE of the State Pollution Control Board Chetan Joshi, the range forest officer and CEO of the Baddi Infrastructure, the executing agency, Keshav Chandel, were among those present.
	Excise barriers auctioned Our Correspondent Solan, March 7 Even as the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial area houses 70 per cent of the state’s industries, accounting for about Rs 700-crore revenue, the Excise and Taxation Department has managed to gain a hike of barely 18.6 per cent in its annual barrier auctions held yesterday. While the state’s main barriers at Parwanoo and Kangra have failed to be auctioned in the first attempt, the neighbouring Sirmaur district managed to get an exceptionally high hike of about 38 per cent in the barrier auctions. This despite the fact that its revenue collection is nearly one-third as compared to the BBN area. With a few bidders having come forward to stake claim for the Parwanoo barrier, sources said it could also be a ploy to force the department to scale down the reserve money so as to ensure its successful auction. The other barriers located in Una and Swarghat, which account for small industrial clusters, managed a hike of 16 and 7 per cent, respectively, in the auctions. The reserve price is generally worked out by effecting about 5 per cent hike in the auctioned amount of the preceding year. Officials of the Excise and Taxation Department yesterday auctioned 12 barriers of the BBN comprising Dherowal and Baddi units for Rs 23.13 crore and managed to effect a hike of 18.6 per cent. The Dherowal unit comprising Dhabota, Deerowal, Gullerwala, Tikri, Navagrao and Ratiyor was auctioned for Rs 9.25 crore while effecting a hike of 15.62 per cent over the last year’s amount. The Baddi units comprising Baddi, Barotiwala, Gorakhnath Mandir, Nanakpura-Kalujhinda and Rampur Jaggi was auctioned for Rs 13.88 crore and a hike of 20.7 per cent was effected. M/s KD Sharma and M/s KL Associates earned the auction rights, respectively, for the Dherowal and Baddi units. The auctions took place in the presence of Deputy commissioner C Palrasu and Excise and Taxation Department officials, including RD Janartha and NC Begta.
	Female foeticide: Need to spread awareness, says CM Dharam Prakash Gupta/TNS Tauni Devi (Hamirpur), March 7 Chief Minister PK Dhumal has appealed to women to come forward in checking the female foeticide. Addressing a conference organised by the Bamsan Mahila Vikas Samiti to celebrate International Women’s Day here, the Chief Minister said, “Though there are strict laws to check female foeticide, awareness is very important in stopping this social evil and women can play an important role in creating awareness and saving the girl child.” Talking about the state government’s pledge to empower the women, Dhumal said, “The state government has provided a subsidy of about Rs 450 crore to women through different schemes in order to provide relief to them.” He said, “In a quest to empower the women, the government has provided 50 per cent reservation to them in the Panchyati Raj Institutions (PRI) elections and with their own efforts, 53 per cent of them have been elected on various posts in the last PRI elections.” He also appealed to all the women organisations to identify the women belonging to weaker sections and those living in distress so that they could also get benefits of various schemes meant for them. The Chief Minister also announced to open an all-women branch of Kangra Central Cooperative Bank in the state to provide cheap loans to them. He also assured to provide funds for the construction of Mahila Mandal Bhawans.
	Computer teachers stage protest Tribune News Service Shimla, March 7 Computer teachers engaged through a private company for teaching information technology in government schools took out a procession and staged a rally in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in protest against the failure of the government to take over their services as promised. The Himachal Pradesh Computer Teachers Association lamented that Chief Minister PK Dhumal had not fulfilled the assurance he gave to it at Hamirpur in April last year that the government would make a policy for the “takeover of their services”. The 1,200-odd computer teachers were being paid a pittance in the name of salary for the past 10 years. Even unskilled workers were getting higher emoluments than them. They were performing the duties of a school lecturer and teaching computer and IT courses to students of classes IX and XII. In Punjab the government had already formed a society and placed all computer teachers under it. The society urged the Chief Minister to fulfil his promise by framing a similar policy for the computer teachers of the state.
	Mystery shrouds shooting incident Tribune News Service Shimla, March 7 The incident of shooting by the wife of the Director of a hydro-power project is still shrouded in mystery as the police is still not ruling out the possibility of the woman being shot at and not trying to commit suicide as reported. Even as the condition of 30-year-old Uma Devi, who is under treatment at the Fortis Hospital in Mohali, is reported to be stable, the police is probing the possibility of her being shot at by someone else and not by herself. Police sources said the forensic experts had got some clues which indicated towards the possible involvement of a third person who shot at her. The incident took place on Tuesday at the residence of the Director of a hydropower project, Suresh Verma, in the Himalayan Forest Research Institute colony. His wife had arrived here from Hyderabad on February 28. She was rushed to the IGMC from where she was referred to Chandigarh. However, police sources said though a case of attempt to suicide had been registered, the possibility of her being attacked by someone was being investigated.
	Leopard, 2 cubs spotted in villages Our Correspondent Bilaspur, March 7 Though attacks of leopards on pets, stray dogs and cattle every now and then have become a cause of worry in areas like Bharadi, Bhapral, Ladraur, Gaahar, Bamm, Sunhani, Shah Talai, Suharghat, Jejwin, Kutheda, Kot Hatwaad and Marottan in this district, now a female leopard roaming about even during the daytime with its two healthy cubs in the Nichli Dadhole area, near Ghumarwin, has been a serious concern. Reports said a female leopard had been seen by a number of villagers roaming with her two cubs in the area near village houses since over two weeks and this has been causing a threat to villagers. Village elders who claimed to have seen the animal roaming around in village areas have urged the district administration to take immediate steps to catch these animals. Meanwhile, local acting forest range officer Garja Ram said the department would try to arrange for a cage to catch these animals, but villagers should ensure that they do not allow their children to go near these cubs.
	Holi celebrated with fervour Tribune Reporters Mandi, March 7 Residents mainly youth danced, sang and swayed to the colours of Holi almost “painting this temple town red with colours. They went around the town in procession with the chariot of Raj Madhav, which rolled out from its temple to celebrate the festival of colours with his devotees. Kangra: Holi without colours was celebrated today at old Kangra by members of the Jain community during a three-day Holi Festival, which started here yesterday in famous Septamber Jain Mandir at old Kangra and Rajnesh Kumar Jain of Jandiala Guru, near Amritsar, declared the festival open last evening. Hundreds of members of the community arrived here yesterday from the entire North India to attend the festival.
	Boy, girl commit suicide Our Correspondent Nurpur, March 7 A 20-year-old girl and her boyfriend, identified as Amit Verma (25) of Pathankot, took poison in a hotel on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway this evening. The duo reportedly came in a car to the hotel this morning and gave a fake address of Hoshiarpur to the hotel authorities. They told the hotel staff that they would stay in the hotel for a few hours. The police received information from the hotel staff at 4.40 pm that the duo had taken some poisonous substance. The girl died in the hotel whereas the boy was rushed to the local civil hospital from where he was referred to Tanda Medical College. However, the boy was instead taken to a private hospital at Pathankot, but died on the way.
	Screening test for teachers on March 11 Tribune News Service Hamirpur, March 7 The Himachal Pradesh State Services Selection Board (HPSSSB), Hamirpur, has decided to conduct a screening test for posts of allied services and physical education teachers on March 11. Hamirpur SDM Pankaj Rai said the test would be held in two sessions from 10 to 12 am and 2 to 4 pm, at examination centres set up at the HPSSSB examination hall, government college and the Him Academy public schools, Hira Nagar and Salasi, Hamirpur. He said candidates appearing in the screening test would not be allowed to carry mobile phones inside the examination hall.