Shimla, September 15
With an assured monthly income of Rs 50 lakh from green tax, imposed from today, the Shimla Municipal Corporation (MC) is now diverting attention towards generating resources to improve its poor financial health.

Addressing a press conference here today, Mayor Sanjay Chauhan said the MC would utilise the Rs 50 lakh generated from green tax every month on improving civic amenities and creating more parking space.

He said local residents who owned vehicles bearing registration numbers from outside the state had been granted a three-month exemption to get Himachal numbers so that they were not charged green tax.

He said the MC had received 50 applications for exemption. On the first day today, there were long queues at Tara Devi, where a manual barrier has been put up.

It would take another 45 days before the Patiala-based BK Group would start a computerised system as most of the equipment for installation was buried in a house collapse at Totu.

The MC would earn Rs 2.01 crore from green tax annually and it would be reviewed after two years. Chauhan and Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar said the MC would seek its share in income-generation projects which should be under its control.

“We have demanded that the MC gets a share from the money being generated from road permits being issued by the Home Department for plying vehicles on sealed and restricted roads, which are under the MC,” they asserted.

They said the MC was yet to get back the remaining forestland which had been transferred to the Forest Department. “We have got control over only 880 hectare of the 2,010 hectare and have approached the state government to return the rest,” Chauhan said.

They rued that the income from dry and falling trees was going to the Forest Department though forests were under the control of the MC. “We will take up the issues with the state government so that we can overcome financial constraints,” Chauhan said.

Dharamsala, September 15
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will contest all 68 seats in the upcoming state Assembly elections, said party national general secretary Narinder Kumar Kashyap here today.

Talking to mediapersons, he said the BSP had decided to go it alone. It would provide another alternative to people, he added. Asked if there was any chance of the BSP joining the third front being forged by the HLP and the Left, he ruled it out.

He said the BSP had finalised about 30 candidates and the process of identifying the rest was on. The party would release the first list of candidates in the first week of October, he said. The BSP was selecting candidates from all castes, he added.

The BSP had secured about 4 per cent of the votes in the last Assembly elections, he said. BSP candidate Sanjay Chaudhary had won from Kangra, but later joined the BJP, he said. Vijay Singh Mankotia headed the state unit at the time of the last elections, he added.

Kashyap said BSP national president Mayawati had opposed foreign direct investment in retail as it would affect the livelihood of millions of small traders. He said the diesel price hike would lead to an increase in prices of almost all essential commodities. The poor were already reeling under inflation, he added.

Kashyap was accompanied by Rajya Sabha MP and Punjab unit president Avtar Singh Karimpuri. They said the party would protest against these decisions. BSP workers organised a protest against the diesel price hike and submitted a memorandum to the district administration.

Shimla, September 15
In a major setback to the state Vigilance Department, the special court today rejected its application for the cancellation of bail to former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in the CD case.

Rejecting the plea, special judge BL Soni observed that the prosecution had failed to show on record the manner in which, according to it, Virbhadra Singh influenced witnesses.

The court observed that prosecution’s witness Amar Singh had failed to disclose the name of the person who contacted him, reportedly on Virbhadra Singh’s behalf.

The court further held that there was no material to show that Virbhadra Singh had tampered with evidence and interfered in the administration of justice.

The prosecution had contended that Virbhadra Singh’s representative made an attempt to win over Amar Singh and a complaint in this regard was lodged with the police on September 7 last year.

Virbhadra Singh’s counsel Sharwan Dogra refuted the allegations and contended that the prosecution had filed the frivolous application to delay proceedings.

The court scheduled the next hearing for September 21, when the statements of the witnesses of the prosecution would be recorded.

Shimla, September 15
Seeking an immediate roll back, the CPM will hold massive protests on September 17 across the state against the steep hike in the price of diesel and capping of supply of subsidised LPG cylinders.

The party will hold public meetings and will court arrest to demand a rollback in the steep hike in the prices of the two essential commodities.

“The government has allowed 51 per cent FDI in retail which will severely affect retail traders in the country,” said Tikender Panwar, member, state secretariat, CPM.

Panwar said the agricultural sector and farmers would also suffer due to the move.

“The logic being given by the UPA regime that such hikes are inevitable because of the burgeoning losses of oil companies is a patent falsehood as the Oil and Natural gas Commission (ONGC) declared a net profit of Rs 25,123 crore for 2011-12,” he said.

He said even Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited have registered huge profits which were likely to go up further.

Shimla, September 15
With Rajya Sabha MP Shanta Kumar refusing to soften his stand, the core group of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which met in Delhi last night failed to resolve the contentious issues of accommodating Ravinder Ravi and Rajeev Bindal in other constituencies and taking back Independent MLA Rakesh Pathania.

Shanta Kumar, Chief Minister PK Dhumal, national vice-president and state affairs in charge Kalraj Mishra, national general secretary JP Nadda, national secretary Shyam Jaju, state party chief Satpal Satti and other leaders discussed the crucial issue of ticket allotment at length.

Sources said there was consensus on ticket allotment in 34 constituencies. Shanta Kumar remained adamant on not taking back Pathania and not fielding MLAs whose constituencies were reserved or scrapped from other constituencies. The fight for ticket was now likely to be fought before the party high command in Delhi.

With a decision on 34 constituencies pending, the BJP’s state election committee headed by Satti is likely to meet next week. “The committee will forward names or panels of prospective candidates from all 68 constituencies and the central election committee will take the final decision,” a senior leader said.

The Dhumal faction is keen to get IPH Minister Ravi and former Health Minister Bindal accommodated. Shanta Kumar had conveyed his displeasure about efforts to accommodate Ravi from Palampur or Jwalamukhi, represented by his loyalists Praveen Sharma and Ramesh Dhwala.

Bindal has also been facing opposition from the Nahan BJP mandal and other leaders from the district. Notwithstanding the uncertainty over the Nahan ticket, Bindal has been campaigning in the constituency for the last many days.

“Shanta Kumar is of the firm opinion that those whose constituencies have been reserved or scrapped should not contest and instead, should campaign for the party,” a senior leader said.

Though there is no hitch in allowing MLAs Rakesh Verma from Theog and Hira Lal from Karsog to enter the BJP, Shanta Kumar is not willing to allow Pathania’s return. If he is taken back, he will be the automatic choice for the Nurpur ticket. He had won from there as rebel in 2007.

Palampur, September 15
Member of Parliament Shanta Kumar has sanctioned Rs 25 lakh from his MP Area Development Fund for the construction of a boundary wall of a girls’ hostel at CSK HP Agriculture University here today.

Earlier, he inaugurated Parvati Girls’ Hostel constructed at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore and addressed students and staff of the university.

He asked youth to help the farming community by imbibing ideals and philosophy of makers of modern India like late Verghese Kurien, father of the White Revolution who transformed the socio-economic status of farmers. He said it was imperative to give adequate attention towards agriculture for propelling the overall development of the country.

He also commended the efforts of the university for doing good work since its inception in 1978. “As I have been associated with this institution from the beginning, I am emotionally attached to it,” he added.

He said it was heartening that a large number of girls were coming forward to study agriculture as women were known for honesty, devotion to duty and grace whatever profession they adopted.

Dr SK Sharma, Vice-Chancellor of the university, said Parvati Hostel had the capacity to adjust 68 students and had been funded by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

Dr Kamlesh Singh, Students Welfare official, Dr Jagmohan Badyal, dean, College of Agriculture, and Dr Jai Dev, president, HPAUTA, also spoke on the occasion.

Palampur, September 15
This small village with only 30 houses has lost 23 persons in the worst-ever road accident in the history of the Kangra valley.

Out of the 34 persons killed in the bus accident that occurred on Monday, 23 belonged to Ashapuri village.

A Tribune team reached Ashapuri, a remote village situated on a hilltop.

The village is still in a state of shock. Every family on an average has lost one member in the mishap.

Parveen Patial, who had been working in Baddi, his wife Janta Devi and son Aksham were killed in the mishap. Only one son of Parveen has been left in the family. In another family, a father and his daughter were among the killed.

Two real brothers of the village also lost their lives in the mishap. Shiv Charan, along with his son Ratten Chand and two granddaughters Nabbu and Rimmu, were also travelling in that bus on Monday. Of the four, three were killed in the accident while Rimmu is struggling for life in a hospital.

Romesh Chand and Ratten Chand, childhood friends, were also killed. Seven families of the village have also lost their only sons in the mishap.

SDM, Palampur, Bhupinder Attari with other officials reached the accident scene to undertake the rescue work. Villagers are all praise for these officers who have provided them all possible assistance.

Palampur Tehsidar Rajiv Thakur and HRTC Regional Manager Pankaj Chadda remained with the affected families till the last rites of their loved ones.

Villagers are hurt over the indifferent attitude of local leaders as none out of the four Cabinet ministers of the district reached the village to console the bereaved families.

Nurpur, September 15
The state government has taken no financial nod and created no posts to run the new sub-tehsil of Nagrota Surian in Jawali subdivision declared by the government on March 3.

Minister for Irrigation-cum-Public Health Ravinder Ravi had inaugurated the sub-tehsil on August 22.

No fresh staff was posted at the office of this sub-tehsil and the naib tehsildar, along with the office staff of Jawali tehsil, were hurriedly deputed here. In the absence of a treasury office at Nagrota Surian, no stamp papers are available for sale or other registered deeds.

The new sub-tehsil has been without a naib tehsildar for the past one week as the officer from Jawali tehsil left after he was promoted as the District Revenue Officer and joined his new station a few days back.

The Department of Revenue posted a new tehsildar on September 1 who was on the verge of retirement and did not join at Jawali.

At present naib tehsildar is holding the offices at Jawali and Nagrota Surian. This has affected work at both the stations leading to a lot of inconvenience.

Neeraj Bharti, Congress MLA from Jawali, has criticised the government for its failure to create the requisite infrastructure and new posts before establishing the new sub-tehsil at Nagrota Surian. He alleged that it was a mere political gimmick. The Deputy Commissioner of Kangra was not available for comments.

Sanawar, September 15
Lawrence School, Sanawar, bagged the overall trophy for an inter-school English declamation competition held at Sanawar where teams, including Army Public School, Dagshai, Daly College, Indore, MGD Girls School, Jaipur, Rashtriya Military School, Chail, St George’s College, Mussoorie, St Mary’s Convent, Kasauli, and YPS, Patiala, participated, besides the host.

The first, second and third consolation prizes were bagged by Insiya Raja (Daly College), Yuhina Sangha (MGD Girls School) and Jigisha Gajanan (St. Mary’s Convent), respectively. Vagmita Singh (MGD Girls School ), Mannat Tipnis and Anjali Sharma (Lawrence School), won the first, second, and third individual positions, respectively.

The topics included “There are no parking places on the road to success” , “Human dignity is independent of national borders” and“Imagination is more important than Knowledge”.

Meera Mohanti, Deputy Commissioner, Solan, was the chief guest who also gave away the prizes. While addressing the gathering she urged students to broaden their horizon. Headmaster Praveen Vasisht also spoke.

Bilaspur, September 15
The BJP government has done a lot for empowerment of women. It has given them 50 per cent reservation in local bodies and panchayats and other facilities.

This was stated by district BJP Mahila Morcha president Usha Thakur, district Mahila Morcha in charge Neena Kaushal, district morcha general secretary Santosh Bhardwaj, press secretary Anju Sharma, vice-president Vyasa Devi and executive members Asha Thakur and Phulan Devi. — OC

Kangra, September 15
In remembrance of Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, the engineering fraternity of the Government Polytechnic here today celebrated Engineer's Day on his 147th birthday.

Dr RK Datta, HoD, Civil Engineering, NIT, Hamirpur, was the chief guest.

Executive Engineer, PWD, Kangra, Vijay Choudary, was the guest of honour.

A declamation contest was organised on the occasion. Priyanka, Prince Rana and Akshita were adjudged first, second and third, respectively.

A portrait by Saryu Mahajan during the portrait competition was adjudged the best.