Shimla, June 19
As of now there seems to be no chance of a ceasefire between the warring Shanta and Dhumal factions with the efforts of the high command to resolve differences failing to yield concrete results and party chief Nitin Gadkari once again sermonising them to work unitedly without making any commitment to either.

Gadkari held talks last night and this morning with Chief Minister PK Dhumal, Rajya Sabha MP and national BJP chief Shanta Kumar and state BJP chief Satpal Satti to put to rest the bickering, which has been plaguing the party for the past some time.

He met each one of them separately and later held talks jointly with all of them while urging them to work unitedly for the party’s success in the Assembly poll.

Even though it was not expected that the differences would be removed in one meeting, the entire exercise turned out to be a repeat of the past with the two camps reiterating their sore issues and Gadkari urging them to join hands to fight the Congress.

Gadkari gave a patient hearing to both while assuring them that steps would be taken at an appropriate time on various issues.

On the contentious issue of the creation of districts in Kangra he is learnt to have said everyone would be consulted before the final decision.

Sources said Shanta Kumar had still not given his mind to the party in response to Gadkari’s request that he should extensively campaign for the party in the Assembly elections, sinking all differences.

“Shanta Kumar has come back dissatisfied as nothing concrete has come out of the meeting. He is unlikely to campaign for the party in Himachal as no effective steps have been taken to check corruption, nepotism and sidelining of senior leaders and rewarding Bindal by giving him a plum party post,” said his close aide.

The Chief Minister’s camp has already conveyed to Gadkari their displeasure over repeated efforts by Shanta loyalists, including ministers, to destabilise
his government.

“What is shocking is the fact that Shanta has not criticised the Congress or the Himachal Lokhit Party even once, but has obliquely hit out not only at Dhumal, but also his government while talking about corruption and nepotism,” said an MLA.

The stand that the Central leadership adopts on the show-cause notice issued to Rohru legislator Khushi Ram Balnatah and Kangra MP Rajan Sushant in the coming days will indicate the mood of the party on these issues.

Shimla, June 19
Himachal presents a curious scenario with the state electricity board in desperate financial straits with the outstanding loans crossing Rs 4,200-crore mark, even though the state itself is surplus in power.

This summer the situation has turned all the more paradoxical with the board being forced to impose power cuts due to the freak weather conditions, which affected generation from hydroelectric projects, and the government struggling to dispose of its surplus power due to downswing in the power market. Unlike other states, which are reeling under increasing power deficit, the hill state is facing issues due to mismatch in demand and supply.

Normally, the board has surplus power in summers, which is supplied to Punjab, Haryana and Delhi under banking arrangements and partly disposed of in the open market. However, it is forced to procure costly thermal power during winter when the generation dips to around 25 per cent due to low discharge in rivers.

The decision of the government to allow power guzzling arc furnace-based steel plants after the grant of the central industrial package added to the woes of the board as demand shot up abruptly from 5,500 million units (MU) in 2007-08 to 8,200 MU in the current year.

Consequently, its power purchase cost (PPC) shot up from Rs 1,310 crore to Rs 2,500 crore over the period. The board became increasingly dependent on the government power, which was even costlier than the thermal power. While the average procurement rate for hydropower was Rs 2.02 per unit, the government power was available to it at rates ranging from Rs 2.90 to Rs 3.44 per unit.

The peak demand is 1,300 MW and it comes to 250 lakh units (LU) per day during winter and availability from all sources is around 220 LU.

The board banks about 700 to 800 MU and sells another 400 MU during summer. During winter (November to March) it takes back all the banked power, utilises all the government power (free power available as royalty and equity power) and even purchases power from the market to meet the gap.

Apart from increasing the PPC, the high employee cost (EC) is also responsible for debilitating the financial health of the board.

With over 22,000 employees on rolls and high salaries, the employee cost of Rs 1.35 per unit is the highest in the country and the annual burden comes to Rs 1,050 crore. Thus, the PPC and the EC together outstrip the total revenue of Rs 3,500 crore from the sale of power. Other expenses, particularly repayment of loans and interest, leads to a deficit of Rs 700 crore annually. To meet the deficit, the board has been raising short-term loans on which interest is not allowed by the electricity regulatory commission.

Thus, an amount of Rs 240 crore is not taken into account while determining the tariff, which further increases the revenue gap.

In this situation the financial position is worsening even though the board has better performance parameters than most other power utilities in the country.

The transmission and distribution losses have come down to 12.9 per cent and the state has been totally electrified.

The board generates only 473.5 MW but it gets shares from the BBMB and various other projects of the region and the central pool, which are more than enough during summer.

However, during winter when the demand increases and generation declines, it has to take the government power.

Dharamsala, June 19
Supporters of Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Virbhadra Singh are planning to make another display of solidarity with their veteran leader on his birthday on June 23.

Vice-president of the HPCC and former MP Chander Kumar gave an indication to this effect while addressing a press conference here today.

He said supporters of Virbhadra would also mark his 50 years in politics on his birthday.

He said a huge rally would be organised on June 23 at Shimla in which admirers of Virbhadra from across the state would participate.

It would be a huge rally that would shake the foundation of the present BJP government in the state, Kumar said.

He alleged that during the rally the Congress would expose corruption in the present government. The freebies extended by the present government for IPL matches would be specifically targeted.

The IPL was a purely commercial form of cricket. Still the present government waived off entertainment tax and did not charge anything from IPL organisers for holding cricket matches at Dharamsala.

In case the Congress government was voted to power, it would hold the taxation officials who were posted during the organisation of IPL matches at Dharamsala personally responsible for causing loss to the state exchequer, he said.

Virbhadra’s supporters, who had been organising their own rallies across the state, were directed by the party high command to put up a united face. Leaders were asked to address rallies from a united platform.

However, the birthday event of Virbhadra has given his supporters another chance to display their strength and solidarity for the veteran leader.

The Virbhadra faction has been able to maintain its identity as they are projecting him as their sole leader.

While other senior leaders of the Congress that are opposed to Virbhadra are also rivals to each other for the top post in case the party was voted to power.

Shimla, June 19
With a major portion of the retaining wall of the Oberoi Clarke’s Hotel on the Mall caving in last night, the local Municipal Corporation (MC) has pressed the panic button, urging the government to reconsider the approval given for construction of the seven-storeyed Lawyers’ Chamber and handing over the site to the PWD for initiating the major restoration work.

In view of the latest development, MP Sood, Commissioner, MC, today wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary, urging him to take a holistic view about the situation and involve experts in the restoration work.

A high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary will be held here tomorrow to take stock of the situation and heads of the Urban Development, Town and Country Planning, Public Works, Geology departments and the MC, the DC and the SP will attend it.

A decision on the future course of action with respect to the building could be taken at this crucial meeting.

Even though the road connecting the Cart Road to the high court had completely given way over a fortnight ago after the digging work on the Lawyers’ Chamber began, it was yesterday’s heavy downpour, which further compounded the problem with the retaining wall above the road too caving in.

Though there does not seem to be any immediate threat to the hotel located above the road, in view of monsoon the situation could aggravate.

“I have urged the Chief Secretary to involve experts and reconsider the permission granted for construction of the Lawyers’ Chambers as even the lifeline of Shimla, Cart Road, could get blocked if the entire area collapses as work advances,” said Sood.

He said he had also urged the government to handover the restoration work of the area from the contractor working on behalf of the MC to the PWD as it would require much more technical expertise.

Jogindernagar, June 19
Rinpoche Gangkar and the caretaker of the palatial house at Chauntra, Tschatin, got bail today as the police could not procure enough documentary evidence to support their claims that Rinpoche Gangkar was forging documents and evading investigation and owns a benami house at Chauntra.

The Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Jogindernagar, JL Azad, granted bail to the accused signing a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh each and ordered that they have to participate in the police investigation and are not supposed to leave Himachal till further order.

Pleading the case for Rinpoche Gangkar, G Subhramanyan, a senior Supreme Court lawyer, who landed at Gaggal airport and reached in a swanky vehicle here, cited Rinpoche Gangkar’s “Indian passport” to counter police suspicion that “he is a Tibetan”.

The police has failed to recover his passport and Rinpoche’s lawyer’s claim has baffled investigating agencies.

The police has seized a voter identity card made in Sikkim from Rinpoche Gangkar after his arrest but it has yet to verify its authenticity.

Rinpoche Gangkar’s lawyer pleaded that there was no reasons why he should not be bailed out as it was premature on the part of the police as it has not verified documents and other things and he should be bailed out.

Gangkar’s voter identity card mentioned his name as Karma Lobsang Bhutia, son of Tashi Norbu Bhutia, from Sikkim.

But the police suspects that he has forged his voter card as well as his passport to be an Indian citizen.

The available Tibetan accounts claims Rinpoche Gangkar is a Tibetan, though there is no official statement from the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala on this episode, clearing the present row over Gangkar’s whereabouts and his place of birth and citizenship.

But investigating agencies claim that he was misleading the police by procuring the forged passport and the voter identity card.

The police has yet to send a team to verify the credentials of his voter identity card. SP Mandi Abhishek Dular said the investigation would carry on.

Besides, the judge sentenced the eight Taiwanese to seven days in jail, which they have already served, and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each under Section 14, Foreigners Act, and they were also bailed out.

Meanwhile, another FIR has been registered against them at the Baijnath police station for procuring SIM cards on fake identities.

Shimla, June 19
The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), here, is organising a three-day international conference on “Law and Democracy in India” in collaboration with the University of London and South Asian Studies Council and Yale University from June 20.

Spread over eight technical sessions, the conference will have 20 thematic presentations on institutions and processes of law making in India, right to private property in constitutional democracy, constitutionalism and constitutional identity, Land Acquisition Act and democratic deficit, global law and low intensity democracy, politics of reservation, human rights and social justice. This is the second in the series of collaborative conferences under the Shimla Retreat initiative.

The inaugural session of the conference will be chaired by the Director, IIAS, Prof Peter Ronald DeSouza, and Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Chairman, governing body of the IIAS and former Governor of West Bengal, will grace the occasion.

Sanawar, June 19
Asserting the need to inculcate a sense of awareness among children about the environment, Raj Chengappa, Editor-in-Chief, The Tribune, said they should develop a sense of curiosity to explore and feel the environment as this alone could help save the earth which was facing dramatic changes.

He was addressing students of Lawrence School, Sanawar, on the occasion of their annual prize distribution function here today.

Reminiscing his schooldays, he said curiosity was the key factor in assimilating and disseminating knowledge and one must have a lot of fun while doing one’s job. He added, “It is not the length of time, but brief flashes where things happen for you to assimilate.”

He urged the students to treat nature with utmost care since it revealed itself in brilliant bursts. “Go out, explore and be curious about yourself and your surroundings,” he mused.

Headmaster Praveen Vasisht, while lauding the excellent CBSE Board results of the school for the sixth time in a row, said, “Sanawarians have made their alma mater proud in academics without diluting their core values.”

He said self-discipline, character development and leadership qualities were the key to success and parents played a key role in teaching the first lessons to a child.

Among those who won the top honours were Manvijay Negi, The Henry Lawrence Prize for Head Boy, Disha Dhobta Chauhan, The Honoria Lawrence Prize for Head Girl, Abhishek Jain, Special Prize for Best Prefect (Boy), Grazeldiz E Lynghdoh and Gayatri Kashyap Special Prize for Best Prefect (Girl). Those who bagged various trophies included Yog Raj Palta Memorial Trophy (Art) Shrinjen Hooda, Study Cup, PD Vindhya, Study Cup, GD Himalaya, Study Cup, BD Nilagiri, Cock House, PD Nilagiri, Cock House, GD Himalaya, Cock House, BD Siwalik and Carriapa Shield (Cock House scoring maximum points) Nilagiri.

Shimla, June 19
The Congress has taken exception to the efforts of the BJP to undermine the success of its “Parivartan Rally” at Nahan and asserted that the ruling party had been unnerved by the massive response of people.

In charge of the media centre of the party here Sandeep Kumar said the huge turnout at the rally clearly indicated the mood of the people who were anxious to throw the corrupt BJP regime out of power.

The knee-jerk reaction of the party was understandable as it was embroiled in internecine factional war and under attack from its own leaders.

Having a dig at the BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt, he said the leaders who spent most of their time in restaurants in Shimla and gave statements on the basis of information of party workers on mobile phone were not aware of the ground realties.

The record-breaking crowd at Nahan should be an eye-opener and a warning for the BJP.

A large section of BJP workers and leaders were themselves fed up by the corruption of their own party government and terming it “a sinking ship”.

The remaining two more rallies to be held at Mandi on June 30 and at Hamirpur on July 5 would be even bigger, he claimed. The final rally to be addressed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi would prove to be the last nail in the coffin of the BJP government. 

Solan, June 19
The Solan unit of the India Medical Association (IMA) will observe a one-day token strike on June 25 in support of the IMA’s call in protest against the “anti-doctor and anti-patient” government policies.

The IMA has given a call for a nationwide medical bandh on June 25 in protest against the Centre's “unilateral” decisions on the introduction of the National Commission for Human Resources for Health (NCHRH) Bill and Bachelor’s Degree in Rural Health Care Bill.

Opposing this Bill, IMA president Dr HS Ahuja said the NCHRH Bill would provide powers to the Centre to appoint non-medical persons as members in the commission, and there was no provision for representation of professional associations or medical universities.

The commission's decision on disciplinary action against doctors cannot be questioned in any court of law, which goes against the principles of natural justice.

Further, non-medical nominated members will make decisions with regard to medical, dental, and paramedical education, which belied logic.

Doctors said though health was a state subject, there was no role in this Bill for state governments on issues relating to health, manpower planning, curriculum, and course design as well as approval of new institutions offering courses in medicine and allied disciplines.

Dr Sanjay Grover, president, Solan Doctors’ Association (SDA), while terming it as discriminatory, said the Bill was aimed at usurping powers of state governments and also infringing upon the rights of medical practitioners. Instead of decentralising to improve the organisation and achievements, the UPA government was trying to centralise power-making decisions by dissolving the autonomous body of the Medical Council of India and nominating board of governors.

The IMA is also protesting the introduction of the BRHC Bill. Through the Bachelor's Degree in Rural Health Care (BRHC), the Centre wants to introduce three-and-a-half-year course to produce half-baked healthcare practitioners endangering lives of the poor in rural areas.

The IMA, however, welcomes the rule of five years’ service in rural areas by doctors after their internship, but wants that it should apply to only those studying in government colleges.

The association, in return, expects that all doctors in rural hospitals should be paid good salary and provided with basic amenities.

Nurpur, June 19
The ongoing agitation of residents of 10 gram panchayats of Fatehpur development block in Jawali subdivision against the alleged inaction of the local police in nabbing the culprits who were responsible for the mysterious death of Rajat (15) of Bhati village in Nangaal gram panchayat took an ugly turn today when hundreds of agitators assembled at Fatehpur and damaged three government vehicles while holding a protest demonstration. They blocked traffic at the Hara Chowk at Fatehpur and staged a dharna by keeping the the deceased boy’s skeleton till late this evening.

The SDM, the DSP and the SHO, Jawali, arrived on the spot to defuse the situation, but could not pacify the agitators. Vehicles of the trio government officials were damaged by the protestors.

Heavy police force has been deployed at Fatehpur. ASP, Kangra, G Shiva Kumar and ADC Ashish Singhmar also rushed to the spot this evening. They tried to sort out the issue, but could not succeed till the filing this report. The agitators returned the skeleton to the police after the failure of the talks.

The deceased boy had been missing since June 3 when he had gone to see wrestling at Jagnolli village. The Jawali police had lodged an abduction case following the complaint of his parents and arrested two local youths Ashwani and Ravinder. They were remanded in police custody for five days on Monday.

The police had recovered the skeleton of the missing boy in nearby Pong Dam Lake’ bank on Sunday.