Shimla, September 25
Despite marathon meetings throughout the day, the ruling BJP today failed to forge consensus on the issue of ticket allotment that has now been postponed to September 28, when the State Election Committee (SEC) will meet again to finalise the names of candidates.

All senior party leaders, including Chief Minister PK Dhumal, Shanta Kumar, Kalraj Mishra, JP Nadda. Shyam Jaju and Satpal Satti, attended the meeting held in New Delhi today.

The core group of the BJP met earlier in the morning and later Shanta and Dhumal too discussed the issue before the SEC met late in the evening.

The SEC discussed names of prospective candidates from all 68 segments with inputs from the survey conducted by the party.

The committee has finalised names of two candidates each in 33 segments, three names in 20 constituencies and over four in the remaining 15 seats.

Dhumal’s name figures in the panel both from Hamirpur and Sujanpur.

His younger son Arun Dhumal’s name figures in the panel from Sujanpur, where the names of Urmil Thakur and Rajinder Rana have also been shortlisted.

A decision on the contentious issue of admitting three associate MLAs Rakesh Pathania, Rakesh Verma and Hira Lal and Sanjay Chaudhary, who won as an Independent from Kangra, and fielding them on the BJP ticket this time has been left to national party chief Nitin Gadkari.

Besides, a decision on accommodating IPH Minister Ravinder Ravi and Rajeev Bindal from other segments too remained undecided. However, Ravi’s name figures in the panel from four places, including Dehra, Jwalamukhi, Palampur and Sulah. Bindal’s name figures in the panel from the Nahan seat only along with other aspirants.

It is reliably learnt that the process of screening was undertaken and panels formed. Rural Development Minister Jai Ram Thakur is the only one in the entire state whose single name has been recommended. He is the only one who could not attend the SEC meeting as all other 18 members were present.

The BJP is likely to finalise most of the names in its meeting on September 28 but a decision in some segments like Bharmour, Kinnaur, Chopal, Kasumpti, Bilaspur, Mandi, Karsog, Nurpur, Jwalamukhi, Dehra, Nahan and Shillai could be delayed.

Shimla, September 25
The recent hike in the prices of diesel has added to the woes of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), which is already reeling under mounting losses.

The increase of Rs 5 per litre will put an additional burden of Rs 27 crore on the HRTC annually. With Assembly elections round the corner, there is not much possibility of a hike in bus fares and losses are bound to rise more steeply during the current financial year.

The accumulated loss has shot up to Rs 653 crore even though the government has provided a grant of Rs 90 crore. In the last financial year alone, the public sector undertaking suffered a loss of 80.65 crore compared to a loss of Rs 23 crore in 2010-11, when the government provided a grant of Rs 98 crore.

With the latest diesel price hike, expenditure will go up to Rs 26.50 per km per bus whereas income, including grants from the government, will remain static around Rs 30 per kilometre per bus. As a result, the number of uneconomical routes will increase further.

With an annual mileage of over 17 crore, the total loss in the current financial year will touch the Rs 110 crore mark. If one takes into account various benefits announced for employees, the figure is likely to cross the Rs 160 crore mark despite the grant provided by the government for clearing pay revision arrears.

The impact of the diesel price hike will be more as the HRTC has not auctioned buses which have completed their life in the last two years. These worn-out buses have low mileage, as a result of which the average mileage of HRTC’s extended fleet of 2,014 buses has come down from 3.72 km per litre to 3.59 km per litre.

The expenditure on diesel will increase from Rs 75 crore last year to Rs 112 crore this year and that on stores from Rs 45 crore to Rs 57 crore. The diesel price hike has come at the wrong time for the HRTC.

It may have to bear heavy losses till the next government assumes office, which may may take at least four months. Even otherwise, the bus fare of Re 1.11 per km per seat for hilly areas is one of the highest in the country.

Shimla, September 25
Lambasting his own government for becoming a ‘tool’ in the hands of corporate houses and the land mafia, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Khushi Ram Balnatah today alleged that every decision taken by the ‘corrupt’ PK Dhumal regime had been prompted by the money factor.

Rohru legislator Balnatah, a staunch Shanta Kumar loyalist, had been very vocal in the last two years, airing resentment against the sidelining of sincere, dedicated and well-entrenched leaders.

He today said had the high command brought in a change of leadership by replacing Dhumal as Chief Minister, the BJP could have formed the government again. He denied that he was considering leaving the party.

He said the permission granted to the JP Company for expansion of its cement plant in yesterday’s Cabinet meeting was a perfect example of how the government was trying to give undue benefits to the corporate house.

“Instead of blacklisting the company for irregularities committed in the past, the BJP is going all out to accommodate it, which is nothing short of a criminal conspiracy to hand over the state’s resources to outsiders,” he alleged.

“It is not the common man, but big industrial houses and owners of power projects, cement plants and private universities who have been the biggest beneficiaries during the four years-and-a-half of BJP rule,” he further alleged.

Demanding a special audit by the CAG into the alleged irregularities and acquiring of hundreds of acres by private universities, he claimed that the BJP regime had not created an education hub, but an education mafia.

“It is the moral responsibility of the state government to not only tender and apology, but also to provide compensation to students who have taken admission in these private universities as their future has been put at risk,” he demanded.

Balnatah also reacted sharply to claims that he owed his election victory from Rohru to Dhumal. “As Chief Minister, he did not do anything exceptional. Any BJP Chief Minister would have done the same,” he retorted.

He also termed as a cruel joke the Dhumal regime’s reduction in VAT from 9.7 per cent to 9.6 per cent, which would reduce the price of diesel by 4.5 paise per litre.

He also demanded that the government come out with a one-time settlement policy for regularising the 12,000 illegal constructions in the state.

“When the government can go all out to accommodate corporate houses, it should also spare a thought for these people,” he asserted.

Shimla, September 25
Having made its presence felt in 12 states, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will make an all-out bid to open its account in Himachal Pradesh during the upcoming Assembly elections.

Party general secretary Gobind Rao Adik, who was here to review the political situation in the state, said the party had decided to contest the elections after assessing the ground realities.

He said the time was ripe for third parties as people were thoroughly disillusioned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and were also not keen to vote for the Congress.

He said the two parties had been ruling the state ever since Himachal Pradesh became a full-fledged state and their non-performance had been the main reason for the lack of confidence.

He said the party was no longer confined to Maharashtra and had legislators in 12 states. He said there was a good possibility of an entry in the hill state.

He was deputed by party president Sharad Pawar to assess the situation and the process of identifying candidates would be started, for which he and other leaders would visit different parts of the state.

Adik said the party had identified issues for elections and it would address these in its manifesto. Unemployment was a major issue and there was resentment among the people, particularly the youth, who had to go out for jobs, he said.

The failure of the government to create jobs was a major concern, he said. There were great possibilities for the development of tourism, but roads, the only means of transport, were in a bad shape, he said.

The state had a huge power potential, but it had not been harnessed and the state could not benefit from it, he said. Farmers and fruit growers were an unhappy lot as they were not getting remunerative returns for their produce, he said.

It seemed that the state government had not taken full advantage of Central schemes, he said. He saw no contradiction or confrontation in contesting elections against the Congress in the state.

He maintained that issues and the political situation were entirely different at the Centre. He said the party would consider on merit if any other party approached it for an alliance.

Shimla, September 25
Even though the final post-mortem report is yet to be received, the death of two schoolgirls in Sanjauli has been attributed to an accidental fall from the hillside above the St Bede’s-Sanjauli road.

Ruling out foul play, the police said the final report was expected after two or three days after the report of the viscera sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Junga was received.

“Investigations and the preliminary post-mortem report indicate that injuries on the bodies of the girls are consistent with a fall,” said Superintendent of Police Chandershekhar Sharma.

He said the patch where books and other belongings of the girls were found was on a steep incline. It was possible that there was an accidental fall and the other girl tumbled while trying to save her friend, he said.

Sharma ruled out a hit-and-run case. He said there was no chance of foul play. “Some policemen who were on patrol duty reported the presence of monkeys and baboons at the spot. The girls could have fallen while trying to save themselves,” he said.

The police was likely to question teachers and students where the girls studied. A holiday was declared in the school today.

The families of the girls took the bodies to their native places in Theog and Rampur for performing last rites.

Shimla, September 25
Alleging that the PK Dhumal government committed a mega-scam by allowing rations to be drawn against 3.2 lakh bogus ration cards, state Congress president Virbhadra Singh today demanded a CBI probe into the scandal in the ‘sasta’ ration scheme.

He said the mega-scam involved nearly Rs 1,100 crore as rations were allowed to be drawn against bogus cards for the last four years and the government failed to take corrective action even after the CAG pointed out the need to weed out bogus ration cards.

The scheme was introduced by the Congress government in April, 2007, but it had been turned into a goldmine by the BJP regime for personal benefits, he said.

Taking a dig at the BJP for the advertisement campaign launched by it to take the credit for the scheme, Virbhadra Singh said it also mentioned that it provided ‘sasta’ rations to 3.2 lakh bogus ration card holders, both for BPL families and under the Antodaya Anna Yojna, benefiting BJP leaders by Rs 1,089 crore.

He said ‘sasta’ rations were being given to 16.5 lakh ration card holders, including 2.32 lakh BPL and 89,000 Antodaya Anna Yojna bogus ration cards.

Against the 1.07 lakh Antodaya families, 1.96 lakh families were covered, resulting in 89,000 bogus Antodaya Anna Yojna cards, he said. The CAG pointed it out, but no step was taken to weed out bogus cards, he added.

The burden on account of 3.2 lakh bogus ration cards came to Rs 147 crore for APL cards per year (Rs 6,324 for each card, as claimed by the government in its advertisements) and Rs 95 crore for Antodaya Anna Yojna cards per year (Rs 10,680 for each card), making a total of Rs 242 crore per year, he said.

Rations worth crores were being misappropriated and sold in the open market and a CBI probe was warranted as it involved Rs 1,089 crore, a huge amount, he added.

He alleged that the BJP brass made money by supplying 2,066.47 tonne of substandard pulses and 1,368.26 tonne of substandard foodgrain to ration card holders.

In connivance with the Food and Civil Supplies Corporation, suppliers formed a cartel, causing a loss of Rs 1 crore per month, he claimed. Despite assurances in the Assembly to hold a probe, no progress was made in the matter, he said.

Dharamsala, September 25
The special general meeting of Tibetans to adopt a new action plan to lobby for Tibet in view of the critical situation arising from 51 incidents of self-immolation there began at the Upper Tibetan Children Village at McLeodganj today.

A total of 432 Tibetans delegates from across the world came to participate in the four-day meeting. They would devise a new policy to lobby for the cause for Tibet.

Addressing the meeting this morning, the Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, said some people were spreading apprehensions that the meeting was sponsored by some vested interests.

He said this was not the case and was organised by the Tibetan government-in-exile in view of the critical situation arising from the self-immolation by 51 Tibetans.

The Leader of Tibetan People, changed designation of Prime Minister of Tibetan government-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, said they were committed to the middle approach advocated by the Dalai Lama to solve problem of Tibet.

He said nothing much could be expected after the proposed change in the leadership of the Communist Party of China on account of the last 50 years of experience in dealing with that country.

He said the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) had lobbied with many countries to exert pressure on China due to the incidents of self-immolation in Tibet, but none could do so.

He said the meeting of Tibetan leaders from the across the world was called to suggest the approach to be adopted to tackle the situation arising in Tibet.

Sangay reiterated that the meeting had nothing to do with the change in the middle approach. He added that they would concentrate on a new lobbying approach of Tibetan exiles in view of the incidents of self-immolation.

Responding to question from mediapersons, Sangay said the CTA had advised Tibetans against taking extreme steps like self-immolation.

Most Tibetans leaders participating in the meeting were of the view the incidents of self-immolation were the result of continued repression.

They said monks and nuns who had committed self-immolation died raising slogans for the return of the Dalai Lama and were depressed over being denied the freedom to practise their religion.

They said incidents of self-immolation in Tibet had increased after the Dalai Lama devolved political and administrative powers to the elected leadership.

They said the people in Tibet were getting desperate and the Chinese leadership should show concern towards resolving the issue.

Bilaspur, September 25
“We have to cautiously preserve and protect our heritage if we have to survive as a nation and also if we have to make a mark in history.” This was stated by Education Minister ID Dhiman while releasing a book, “Himachal Pradesh ki Prachlit Lokoktiyan”, written by late Krishna Nadda, mother of BJP national general secretary JP Nadda, on her 13th death anniversary here today.

The function was organised in the presence of a select gathering of intellectuals, including professors, teachers, journalists and doctors. All the members of Nadda’s family were present.

Dhiman congratulated Dr NL Nadda, former Vice-Chancellor of Ranchi University and husband of late Krishna, for turning this manuscript, written and collected by his wife, into a beautiful 126-page book.

He said all the sayings collected in this book along with a brief social and cultural history of Bilaspur would be of immense use to our new generation.

Dr KR Dhiman, Vice-Chancellor, YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, also addressed the function. Other scholars, including Dr Sutanshu Vasu, Dr Rajesh Upadhyaya, Dr Shreshtha Nadda, Dr Pankaj Lalit, Dr Veena Upadhyaya, Dr Jyotika Sharma, Dr Rajender Gupta (Patna University) and Dr Brahmanand Pandey (Patna University), Dr Malika Nadda and Col AP Gautam (retd) were among those present.

Kangra, September 25
A family of three from Chandigarh was rescued when they were drowning in the Banner khad on the outskirts of this temple town at the “Killer Spot” where more than 18 pilgrims and tourists have already drowned, the police said here today.

SDPO Dinesh Kumar said Atul Vishest (40), his wife Shiva (35) and their daughter Navanyia (3), residents of Sector 35, Chandigarh, were sitting on a rock near the “Killer Point” when Navanyia slipped into the river.

The couple jumped into the river and all the three started drowning. Luckily, some residents Prem Chand and Kikar, both of Nandrul, and Surender and Parshootam, both of Sammela village, jumped into the Banner Khad to save them. First Navanyia was rescued. Then Atul and Shiva were saved.

They were rushed to the DRPGMC at Tanda where Shiva was in a state of shock. However, all were discharged later in the day. 

Hamirpur, September 25
The Jaypee Polytechnic and Training College at Sameerpur in Hamirpur district has come under the scanner of the state government for not getting affiliated to the Himachal Pradesh Board of Technical Education and Vocational and Industrial Training in Sundernagar.

Though the state government has made is mandatory for all polytechnics established in the state to get affiliated to the board, the Jaypee polytechnic has not sought affiliation from the board even after 10 years of its inception in 2002.

The polytechnic is running diploma courses in electronics and communication, mechanical engineering and computer science and issuing diplomas certificated from the Jaypee University of Information Technology in Waknaghat.

As per state government norms, polytechnics admitting students after matriculation have to seek affiliation from the board and all institutes offering graduate and postgraduate engineering courses and admitting students after class XII have to get affiliated to the Himachal Pradesh Technical University in Hamirpur.

The Jaypee polytechnic has avoided getting affiliation, saying it is affiliated to the Jaypee University in Waknaghat, which is a deemed university.

Experts in the state government argue that a university can only affiliate colleges running graduate courses and polytechnics running diploma courses have to be affiliated to the technical board.

Though the process for affiliation of any polytechnic is to be initiated by the institute, the Jaypee polytechnic has not applied for affiliation and has also not reportedly replied to letters sent by the technical board.

Technical Education Director Vijay Chandan said, “We had asked the polytechnic to seek affiliation from the board thrice, but it did not apply for affiliation.”

Solan, September 25
Baghat Urban Co-operative Bank Limited has become the first urban-sector co-operative bank in the north to enter into a tie-up with the National Payment Corporation of India’s National Financial Switch, enabling its customers to have access over 1.4 lakh ATMs of almost all banks in the country.

The bank’s exemplary performance, including grant of 62 per cent credit in the priority sector as against the RBI mandate of 40 per cent and decrease in the non-performing assets from the earlier 9 per cent to 1.90 per cent, have helped it achieve this landmark.

Bank Chairman Pawan Gupta said the bank had generated its own Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) No. IBKL0773BCB and money transfer would be made easy through these procedures in the near future.

He said four ATMs had already been installed and the number of branches had also increased to four now.

The bank’s deposits on August 31 were Rs 240.32 crore and loans comprise Rs 146.01 crore. The bank has recovered a handsome amount of overdues, and the net Non-Performing Assets (NPA) has decreased from 9 per cent to 1.90 per cent and the net NPA will be 0 per cent in the coming days. The bank’s profit as on March 2012 is Rs 2.68 crore.

The bank is paying 15 per cent dividend to shareholders. It is also undertaking charitable works that include maintenance of the Shaheed Smarak Park/Rani Jhansi Park at Chambaghat and Rs 10,000 was paid as charity to the successor of deceased shareholders.

Nurpur, September 25
The Kisan Sudhar Sabha, Nurpur, has pleaded to the Forest Department to follow the directive of the high court. The high court has directed the Principal Secretary, Forests, to process the case of farmers-cum-right holders from Kangra and Hamirpur districts and Bangana tehsil of Una district and recommend the same for granting permission for felling trees grown on their private land since 1919 to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) constituted by the apex court.

Sukhdev Jamwal, president of the sabha, said here yesterday that right holders and farmers had been approaching the CEC since 2004 and the CEC had sought comments from the Forest Department.

He lamented that department officials had not replied to the CEC till 2010. “A writ petition was filed in the HC in December last and the court has directed the Principal Secretary to recommend this case to the CEC within three months,” he added.

Shimla, September 25
The total number of deaths that have taken place due to scrub typhus has risen to 15 with two more patients succumbing to the infection at the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) here today.

Twenty new patients tested positive for scrub typhus at the IGMC today. The total number of patients who have tested positive since the outbreak of the disease has gone up to 204. Tests of 747 persons were undertaken for scrub typhus at the IGMC.

Every year many people are afflicted with scrub typhus during the monsoon. The symptoms of the disease include high-grade fever, severe headache, cough and body rashes. With the symptoms common to fever and viral, at times patients tend to ignore, thereby delaying treatment.

Sundernagar, September 25
A two-day seminar on career and counselling concluded at Mahraja Lakshman Sen Memorial College, Sundernagar, yesterday.

The seminar was organised by the Career and Counseling Cell of the college, in collaboration with the University Grant Commission, New Delhi.

Dinkar Burathoki, Director, Higher Education, Himachal Pradesh, in his presidential address, stressed the need of such seminars for preparing students to explore their interests, values and better career options in government and private sectors.

Prominent speakers included Prof PK Alhuwalia, Dean, Planning, HPU, Shimla, Col Ashwani Mohan, retired Deputy President, Service Selection Board, Chandigarh, Dr SP Puri retd Associate Professor, Prof Manoj Sharma, Department of Business Administration, LSIBET, Sundernagar, Amit Singh Verma, Director, Career Launcher, Educate India Ltd, New Delhi.