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Shimla Municipal Corporation Elections
A lesson for Congress
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Poll verdict rejection of Cong: CM
People in favour of third front: Sushant
Electoral roll revision
47 cases of misuse of industrial plots detected
Students excel in CBSE Class XII exams
Primary asst teachers, chowkidars to get more
Man dies trying to douse forest fire
Lab told to pay Rs 1 lakh as relief
Police wages campaign against cyber crime
One killed in road mishap
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Shimla Municipal Corporation Elections
Shimla, May 28 The CPM had every reason to celebrate and one could see red flags fluttering everywhere as its activists took out victory processions. The elections also marked the end of the 26-year rule of the Congress over the local MC since 1986. The BJP won the maximum number of 12 wards while the main opposition party had to contend with just 10 seats. The CPM did not do too well in the ward poll as its tally went up from two in the previous body to three.
However, winning only three wards did not matter much to the CPM as its candidates Sanjay Chauhan and Tikender Panwar won the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively, by impressive margins of 7,868 and 4,778 votes against all odds. The two main political players, the BJP and the Congress, had everything going in their favour, including a high-pitched campaign by union ministers, the Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs and easy flow of resources. What goes in favour of the CPM is that it will have the number game in its favour with the help of 10 Congress councillors, who are likely to support them on most issues. Barring a day’s visit by CPM national Politburo member Sitaram Yechury, the CPM solely relied on its dedicated cadres, local leaders and a well-organised campaign despite meagre resources. Having raised public issues like water supply, transport and its fight against the mighty land mafia and corruption for the past some time seems to have turned the tide in favour of the CPM. The BJP’s tally in the MC has no doubt gone up from eight to 12, but the pain of losing the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor is far too much as the ruling party had put in its might to ensure a historic victory with ministers and legislators holding the fort in every ward. The BJP’s trick of fielding a non-politician like Dr SS Manhas, a popular surgeon, did not work as the party cadres did not support him wholeheartedly. The Congress received a major drubbing with its tally going down from 15 to 10 in the 25-ward House with both its candidates for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Madhu Sood and Devender Chauhan, respectively, being pushed to the third position. The Congress, despite its brazen display of money in the MC poll, could neither win the top two posts nor emerge as the biggest political party in the MC over which it virtually had a monopoly for close to
three decades.
How the Parties fared
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A lesson for Congress
Shimla, May 28 The party not only failed to secure a clear majority in the corporation it has been ruling for the past 26 years, but also suffered humiliating defeats in the contest for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor, who were elected directly for the first time. Worse, it lost the top two posts to the CPM and not to its main rival, the BJP. Even more embarrassing is the fact that it ended up at the third position after the CPM and the BJP. Apparently, the allegations of the CPM and the Himachal Lokhit Party, a breakaway group of the BJP, that the two main parties were engaged in political match-fixing in the state seem to have influenced the shrewd electorate of the state capital who voted tactically to teach them a lesson. Obviously, the Congress did not to take on the Dhumal government effectively on the issue of corruption, rise of the land mafia, irregularities in private universities and affairs of the state cricket association, which were raised vociferously by the CPM. It is the last warning for the party to put its house in order before the Assembly poll. Organisational weakness and lack of coordination at the grassroots coupled with personal egos of senior leaders seem to have hurt the party the most. With the Assembly poll likely in October, there is no time for party leaders to conduct a post-mortem or indulge in a blame game. The increase in the petrol prices may have also affected the party’s prospects. The high command needs to step in effectively and revamp the party to induct leaders with good public support at all levels, irrespective of the factional loyalties. The Congress and the BJP have been taking turns to rule the state, taking advantage of the anti-incumbency factor over the past two decades. The message that comes loud and clear is that the Congress can no longer hope to get power on a platter. It will have to adopt a more aggressive posture to dispel the perception that it is soft on the Dhumal regime. PCC chief Kaul Singh has much to ponder over in view of the poor performance of the party which seems to have made the task of bringing the Congress back to power all the more difficult. General secretary of the party Kuldeep Rathore said the results were unexpected and the party would analyse the reasons for the defeat. |
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CPM shatters BJP’s dream
Shimla, May 28 The CPM shattered the BJP’s dream of creating history by capturing the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the first-ever direct elections for the top two posts as Sanjay Chauhan and Tikender Panwar emerged as the people’s choice as they registered a resounding victory. The results also marked the end of Congress’ sole domination over the prestigious body since 1986. While the BJP won the highest number of 12 wards, the Congress had to contend with 10. The CPM’s councillor candidates, however, could not match the individual performance of their candidates for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor as the party managed to win only three of the 25 wards in the Shimla MC. Sanjay Chauhan defeated his nearest BJP candidate Dr SS Minhas by a margin of 7,868 votes as he polled a total of 21,903 votes. Congress candidate and sitting Mayor Madhu Sood suffered a major jolt as she was pushed to the third position with 13,278 votes. For the post of Deputy Mayor, Panwar defeated his nearest BJP rival Digvijay Chauhan by a margin of 4,778 votes. Panwar polled 21,196 votes while the BJP got 16,418 votes. The Congress was once again relegated to the third position with its candidate Devender Chauhan polling 13,205 votes. The CPM managed to improve its tally from the previous two to three as its candidates Diksha Thakur (Summer Hill), Kanta Suyal (Kaithu) and Narender (Chamyana) were elected as councillors. The BJP won 12 wards: Kala Sharma (Bharari), Saroj Thakur (Ruldubhatta), Lakshmi (Annandale), Nirmala Chauhan (Totu), Kalyan Chand (Phagli), Rajni Singh (Krishnanagar), Bharti Sood (Lower Bazar), Manoj Kuthiala (Jakhu), Anup Vaid (Benmore), Satya Koundal (Sanjauli Chowk), Shailender Chauhan (Dhalli) and Kusum Thakur (Kasumpti). It had eight councillors earlier. The tally of the Congress went down from 15 to 10 with its candidates Usha Lakhanpal (Boileauganj), Uma Kaushal (Tutikandi), Shashi Shekhar (Nabha), Sushma Kuthiala (Ram Bazar), Sushant Kapret (Engine Ghar), Kuldeep Thakur (Malyana), Surender Chauhan (Chotta Shimla), Deepak Rohal (Patyog), Praveen Kumar (Khalini) and Alok Pathania (Kanlog) being elected as councillors. The highest winning margin of 1,087 was in Chotta Shimla which was won by Congress candidate Surender Chauhan. The other high-wining margins were in Patyog (832), won by Deepak Rohal, Tutikandi (657), won by Uma Kaushal of the Congress and Ruldubhatta, won by the BJP’s Saroj Thakur. In some wards the victory margin was slender with Congress nominee in Nabha Shashi Shekhar wining by a mere two votes and BJP nominee from Jakhu Manoj Kuthiala barely making it with seven votes. Ram Bazar Congress nominee Sushma won by 49 votes. |
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Poll verdict rejection of Cong: CM
Shimla, May 28 He said the Shimla MC had never been a trendsetter for the Assembly elections in the state as was being claimed by some quarters as it did not represent the entire state. “In 1997, the BJP had got two seats in the MC and it formed the government in the state in 1998,” he said. He said even in 2007, when the Congress won the MC poll, the BJP won the Assembly elections. |
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People in favour of third front: Sushant
Nurpur, May 28 “The electorate of Shimla has rejected BJP candidates because of the “corrupt and arrogant image” of the Dhumal government. It has rejected Congress candidates due to rising prices and corruption in the country,” he said. Sushant claimed that the Shimla MC elections had paved the way for a third front in the state. |
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Electoral roll revision
Shimla, May 28 He said the draft publication of photo electoral rolls would be made available from June 1 to 18 at each polling station of the Assembly constituency concerned in the offices of electoral registration officers. Claims and objections would be disposed of by July 3, 2012. The photo electoral rolls would be read out in special meetings of gram sabhas, ward sabhas of urban local bodies on June 3 and June 10 in the state to enable the citizens to verify their particulars and file claims and objections, if any. Besides, for the convenience of electors, a special campaign will be conducted at each polling station on June 4 and June 9 to enable them to confirm their names. He said the electors could confirm their names in the photo electoral rolls through the Internet on the website http://ceohimachal.nic.in and the final electoral rolls would be published on July 31, 2012. |
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47 cases of misuse of industrial plots detected
Solan, May 28 The department has been allotting plots of various sizes in its industrial areas after developing civic amenities like roads, sewerage and electricity for the investors. It was, however, found that in 47 such cases these plots had either been used for commercial activities like trading or housing. After constructing an industrial set-up on the ground floor, the remaining floors were used for housing. Rajinder Chauhan, Adviser, Industries, said the department had stepped up its campaign to recover such plots and it was found that 47 such plots had been misused in various industrial areas of the state. Of these, 42 were industrial plots and the remaining five were sheds. The department was pursuing 16 cases in court while 13 plots had already been recovered from the lessees. Besides, notices had been given in 18 cases and further action would be taken after the lapse of the notice period, added Chauhan. Cases of misuse of industrial plots for commercial activity had been noticed in Parwanoo where instead of operating industrial activity, lessees were undertaking commercial activities like trading. Being the state’s commercial hub where several industries had their warehouses or carrying and forwarding agencies, there was a huge demand for commercial space in the town. The plots thus allotted for industrial activity had been conveniently converted into commercial centres. The department was now tightening its noose to check such misuse and notices had been served on the wrongdoers. Even such cases had come to light where industrial units set up initially had stopped working, but the lessees were conveniently using these for housing after having constructed residences on the remaining floors. Chauhan said such blatant misuse of industrial plots was now being dealt with strictly and such plots would be got vacated. He added that lessees who had not paid their infrastructure development charges and lease money were being viewed seriously and notices had been served on such defaulters. Suitable action, including cancellation of the lease, would be taken if the pending dues were not paid. |
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Students excel in CBSE Class XII exams
Solan, May 28 The school topper in the commerce stream was Jagjit Singh Shangari with 95.4 per cent marks while Kanishka Meel and Shubhankar Chaudhary were the joint toppers in the science stream with 94.8 per cent each. All students scored the first division. The results of Army Public School, Dagshai, were also outstanding with all students passing in the first division, thus making a marked improvement in their academic index from last year’s 164 points to 191 this year. In the science stream, Rahul Thakur bagged the top score of 96 per cent while Tsering Yangzin bagged the highest score of 90 per cent in the arts stream and Bani Sara Thapa remained at the top with 90.2 per cent in the commerce stream. In Lawrence School, Sanawar, of the total 84 students who appeared in the examinations, 82 scored the first division while two secured 59 per cent. As many as 14 students have scored above 90 per cent with Priyal Mewara of the commerce stream attaining the highest percentage of 96.8. In the medical, non-medical and humanities streams, the toppers have scored 90.2 per cent, 95 per cent and 92.4 per cent marks, respectively. In BL Central Public Senior Secondary School, 226 students had appeared for the plus two examinations. Prakhar Vashisht topped with 95 per cent marks in the non-medical stream while Gargi Rattan stood first in the medical stream by scoring 85 per cent and Mini Bansal in the commerce stream with 78.8 per cent. |
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Primary asst teachers, chowkidars to get more
Shimla, May 28 The decision was taken at a meeting of the state Cabinet held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister PK Dhumal here today. The incentive under the Beti Hai Anmol Scheme to two girls of BPL families has been raised from Rs 5,100 to Rs 10,000. Such girls will also be eligible for scholarships ranging from Rs 300 to Rs 1,500 for studying in school from Class I to Class XII. The monthly honorarium of 3,539 primary assistant teachers has been raised to Rs 6,500 in case of trained teachers to Rs 5,000 for untrained teachers. The monthly honorarium of 3,243 panchayat chowkidars has been revised from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200, of 2,058 tailoring and embroidery teachers from Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,600 and of 9,824 part-time water carriers from Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,300 with effect from April 1, 2012. The social security pension to 2,77,817 beneficiaries has been increased from Rs 330 to Rs 400 per month and for the veterans of above 80 years of age from Rs 500 to Rs 600. It decided to amend Rule 47-A of the Himachal Pradesh Motor Vehicles Rule to reduce the late fee charges for a delay in the renewal of registration certificates substantially. The late fee for a delay of up to 30 days has been reduced from Rs 500 to Rs 100 for four-wheelers and Rs 20 for two-wheelers, for 30 to 90 days Rs 200 and Rs 50 and for 90 to 180 days Rs 500 and Rs 100, respectively. Beyond 180 days, the late fee will be Rs 2,000 plus Rs 100 per day. The Cabinet decided to increase the authorised share capital limit of the Himachal Pradesh OBC Finance and Development Corporation from Rs 10 crore to Rs 11 crore. The Cabinet approved to implement and execute detailed project reports under the JNNURM to build, refurbish, rehabilitate, operate and maintain the water supply and sewerage system of Shimla town on the build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis under the public private partnership (PPP) mode. It was decided to bring the Kalyanpur Sai Chakka Road, Billawalan Gujaran, Chak and Billanwali Labana areas under the jurisdiction of the Baddi Municipal Council.
Key Cabinet Decisions
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Pine forests in lower hills on fire
Palampur, May 28 The raging fires are extinguished only when monsoon breaks over the region. This year it can take longer because the monsoon is expected after June 15. The Forest Department this year has not been able to take even minimum required preventive measures like controlled burning of forests and maintenance of fire lines. This year it has carried out controlled burning only over a small forest area in the state. As per norms, controlled burning has to be carried out at least over one-third of the total forest area susceptible to forest fires. The total area under pine forests, where controlled burning is required, is 1,50,000 hectare and, as such, preventive measures are to be carried out over 50,000 hectare. Officials sources said over 20 per cent of the total forest area of the state was prone to fires. The high fire-risk pine forests are considered to be biotic climax forests and controlled fires are beneficial for their growth, even though uncontrolled blazes cause severe damage to soil, water, wildlife and the overall environment. Controlled burning destroys inflammable material which gets accumulated on the forest ground. An estimated 2 tonnes of pine needles are shed over one hectare of pine forest annually. As the mercury rises in summer, the highly inflammable needles virtually transform the pine forests into tinder boxes. A senior officer of the state Forest Department said the department required about Rs 20 crore for carrying out various control measures to keep the fire risk at the minimum level of 0.2. However, it is receiving only around Rs 1 crore annually for the purpose. |
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Man dies trying to douse forest fire
Hamirpur, May 28 Divisional Forest Officer, Hamirpur, PK Thakur said, “The pine forest in the area has been on fire due to rise in temperature for the past few days. Kishan Dutt who went to extinguish the fire slipped and fell into a trench where pine needles were burning and died.” He said, “It’s very tragic that Kishan Dutt got trapped in the fire. Forest officials are collecting money from their pockets to help the family of the deceased.” SDM, Badsar, OP Thakur said, “The administration will provide a relief of Rs 1 lakh, as prescribed under the relief manual, to the family of the deceased after getting the postmortem report.”
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Lab told to pay Rs 1 lakh as relief
Shimla, May 28 The forum, headed by DS Khenal, passed this order on a complaint filed by Nirmala alleging that she went to the opposite party to undergo a thyroid profile test. She gave her blood sample to Hardik Laboratories and paid Rs 600 for it. She collected the report of the test from the laboratory and showed it to a Medical Officer of ESI Hospital, Parwanoo, and as per the report the test was negative. He advised her other tests to identify the disease. Medicines were prescribed. Despite taking treatment from ESI Hospital, she went on losing weight and became weak. She took regular treatment for one year from ESI Hospital, Parwanoo, but her health did not improve. On April 27, 2010, she narrated her condition to the Medical Officer there. She was subjected to a medical examination again and advised to get a thyroid test conducted. Again, she went to Hardik Laboratories and gave her blood sample. She showed the report to the Medical Officer on May 1, 2010. The report was again negative. But her condition became serious. She was taken to ESI Hospital, Parwanoo, by her son where a doctor suspected that she was suffering from thyroid disease and asked her to undergo test at M/s Dr Lal Path Labs, Chandigarh. She gave a blood sample there and it was detected that she was suffering from thyroid problem and that the report of tests conducted by Hardik Laboratories were wrong. The forum observed that Hardik Laboratories had rendered deficiency in service by not conducting her test properly and submitting wrong reports. The forum also imposed Rs 5,000 as cost on it. |
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Police wages campaign against cyber crime
Chamba, May 28 To begin with, students of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Chamba, were made aware about the measures to tackle cyber crime activities at a workshop held here on Wednesday. They were asked to inform the nearest police control room or police station if they received obscene SMSes, SP Kuldeep Sharma said here. Likewise, students of Government Senior Secondary School, Kihar, were also imparted information on the threat of obscene and offensive SMSes and similar calls over their mobiles which needed to be reported to the adjoining police officials, the SP emphasised. The SP said through such workshops, police officials also apprised the students of the malady of drug addiction which was a serious hazard to health and sometimes one lost one’s life due to drugs.
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One killed in road mishap
Bilaspur, May 28 Reports said the bike was coming from the Mandi side towards Bilaspur while the car was going towards Mandi town. The injured was rushed to the Regional Hospital here and was said to be stable. The police has registered a case against car driver Kartar Singh of Jogindernagar (Mandi district).
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