Shimla, March 31
Congress rebels, including five former MLAs who had contested the last Assembly election against party nominees, might have to wait longer before being re-inducted, as the party thinks it is better to put off the decision post-election lest the rival factions get offended.

Despite Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh writing to the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu last week, a decision might not be taken immediately. Twenty-five leaders were expelled from the party for six years for contesting against official candidates.

Virbhadra had asked Sukhu to take back these leaders at the earliest in the view of the Lok Sabha polls.

“Some of the leaders, whose names have been mentioned in the list, have already been taken back, while a decision on others will be taken soon,” a senior leader said.

He said expulsion of these leaders would be revoked only after taking into confidence the block and district party units, as the return of the rebels could create sharp divisions on the eve of the elections.

However, it is expected that the HPCC could withdraw notices issued to about 40 leaders within this week. It was immediately after the Assembly polls in 2012 that show-cause notices were issued to 86 leaders. Notices of 13 have already been withdrawn so there were 73 leaders who are awaiting the party verdict.

“Since all expelled leaders, including former MLAs are already working for Congress candidates, it will be better to put their entry on hold as the rival faction within the party can take offence,” admitted a senior leader.

Some of the former legislators awaiting their re-entry into the party include Yog Raj (Pragpur), Mast Ram (Karsog) and Ishwar Dass (Ani).

Some of the other prominent leaders include Sneh Lata Thakur, wife of former minister from Kullu Satya Prakash Thakur and Dharamvir Dhami.

There is also a very strong feeling in the party that those leaders who are in the habit of leaving the party each time there are elections should not be taken back.

On the other hand, the BJP has been very liberal in taking back one and all by opening doors to all those who wish to return to the party fold.

In fact, a large number of Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) leaders used the occasion to return as they felt the HLP had a bleak future. Moreover, they felt that the purpose for which the HLP was floated, i.e. to fight corruption, was not accomplished.

Sarkaghat (Mandi), March 31
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying it was averse to giving statehood to Himachal Pradesh.

Addressing a public meeting in favour of Congress candidate Pratibha Singh here, the Chief Minister said: “The BJP opposed statehood to HP and had demanded Maha-Punjab to mislead people of the state.”

“When Congress leaders in the state were wholeheartedly pursuing the cause of statehood with the Central government, the BJP had given the slogan of ‘Statehood Maro Thood’,” he said.

He said: “The conduct, character, face and behaviour of the BJP is widely known to people and their false propaganda cannot mislead them now.”

Lashing out at the BJP, he said: “The BJP is devoid of any issue in the election and, hence, is trying to win voters by building an image of Narendra Modi. They are dreaming about making him the next PM of the country, but their dream will not be fulfilled.”

Criticising former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur for the alleged corruption in the HPCA, he said: “Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur bred corruption by involving outsiders in the HPCA under the garb of promoting cricket and allotted about 250 bigha land to the HPCA on a lease of Re 1. The state government will investigate this.”

He said: “Dhumal considered me an enemy and whenever he has been in power, he has tried to frame me in false cases. But I have always come out clean after facing investigations and trials in courts.”

Hamirpur, March 31
Former Chief Minister PK Dhumal said the Congress party was making false promises to garner votes. Addressing public meetings in the Hamirpur constituency in favour of Anurag Thakur today, Dhumal said: “With the passage of time, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is losing his memory and thinks people do not remember promises made by him. But today, voters very well know the truth of false promises being made by him and other Congress leaders.”

He said: “The people in the state very well know that the tradition of taking huge loans was started by Congress governments, especially the Virbhadra Singh-led government in the state and today, the state is under a heavy debt, which got reflected in the Budget passed in the state Assembly recently.”

Dhumal said: “The Virbhadra government had taken a loan of Rs 8,632 crore during 2003 and 2008 and in the past one year, the Congress government had sold state securities and taken loans to generate Rs 3,500 crore and put the state under a heavy debt.” “In comparison to the Congress government, the BJP government has always tried to minimise the loan and sought it in distress. It has spent every single rupee for the welfare of the public,” he added.

He said: “Despite facing financial crunch, the BJP government has always given priority to welfare measures and given financial benefit of about Rs 8,500 crore to state government employees.”

Solan, March 31
In a bid to keep a check on the expenditure incurred by the political parties on issuing advertisements in the print and electronic media, including social networking sites, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has, for the first time, issued pre-certification of advertisement material.

According to the directions, all advertisements will have to be first submitted to the Media Coordination and Monitoring Committees at least three days prior to publication and even the Internet and Internet-based media will have to abide by the rules.

No advertisement will be allowed a display without pre-certification. It will be only after the clearance of an advertisement and assessment of its value that the material will be cleared for publication. The measure will help keep a check on paid news.

The Internet sites have been directed to submit details of funds incurred by the parties on such advertisements and the Internet-based media has also been directed to do active scrutiny of the content to ensure that it was not unlawful, malicious or in violation of the model code of conduct. In case such content was detected by the ECI, it would be immediately removed from such sites.

The ECI has also included payments made to Internet companies and websites for carrying advertisements and also campaign-related

operational expenditure on the making of creative development of content, operational expenditure on salaries and wages paid to the team of workers employed by such candidates as poll expenditure. It has directed all parties to maintain their social media accounts.

Since the issue of content posted by persons other than candidates and political parties is also emerging as a key concern, the ECI is considering the matter in consultation with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. The fresh directions are been construed as an attempt to control paid news, which has been a point of concern to the ECI. 

Shimla, March 31
Flouting all norms with impunity, high-tech hoardings emblazoned with poll slogans featuring BJP's Narendra Modi and Congress's Rahul Gandhi dot key public locations.

Rules and regulations are thrown to the wind. Hoardings stand tall on national highways, in the capital and other towns in a bid to catch voters' attention ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP is out to create a "Modi mania", putting the party in the background. Some hoardings have come up on the highway despite a complete ban on these by the Supreme Court.

"Bahut Hui Mahengai Ki Maar, Ab Ki Bar Modi Sarkar," read huge hoardings featuring Modi.

Congress hoardings proclaim the party's "secular line", "Anekta Main Ekta" (unity in diversity), "Har Haath Shakti, Har Haath Tarakki", portraying Rahul Gandhi as a messiah of secularism and as its central figure, with youth leaders representing different communities. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi are largely missing from the hoardings.

Modi's representations can be found on hoardings at bus stands, chowks and public handouts in the capital. The BJP has marched ahead not only on the social media and FM radio, but also in erecting high-tech hoardings.

"The Congress is fighting this election as a party taking on Modi if you go by the hoardings and campaigns on the social media or in four Lok Sabha constituencies in the state," commented a university professor requesting anonymity.

"BJP star campaigners like PK Dhumal and Shanta Kumar are trying to project Modi factor. They are attacking the UPA on corruption and Virbhadra Singh, apparently the main crowd-puller for the Congress. Virbhadra is negating the Modi factor, attacking both "Modi brand as media creation" and the earlier BJP regime in the state on corruption," he added.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which has announced three candidates from Hamirpur, Kangra and Mandi and CPM, which is contesting on two seats - Shimla and Mandi - are yet to register their presence on this count, though some trademark AAP billboards have appeared in Kangra and Hamirpur.

Meanwhile, event managers, agents and the Shimla Municipal Corporation are apparently one when it comes to cashing in.

Party event managers are targeting private premises in quest for money and votes as they strike a deal with building owners. Some hoardings have been erected on liquor shops.

The agents don't even seek the MC's permission in many cases, admitted officials. "We also charge from agents even if they put hoardings on private houses but rates are very low," said the official.

The BJP is paying Rs 1.9 lakh for 14 sites, while the Congress is paying Rs 1.06 lakh and has applied for erecting hoardings on 10 more sites that will cost another Rs 68,000 a month, said MC officials. "We charge Rs 50 per square feet and have 150 earmarked sites available for rent. If permission is not sought, they will remove these," Naresh Thakur, an Assistant Commissioner in the SMC, said.

Officialspeak
Chief electoral officer Narender Chauhan said they would remove hoardings on the national highways if these are found to be within 100 m distance from the highway. The hoardings have been banned by the Supreme Court. Permission has to be sought from the returning officer to erect hoardings, he cautioned parties.

Una, March 31
Congress candidate from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, Anurag Thakur today promised to get the existing rail network in the segment extended if voted to power. He was addressing a public meeting at Malahat village in Una Sadar Asembly segment during his election campaign.

Anurag said he had raised almost 600 questions in Parliament during his tenure, which was an adequate proof of the efforts put in by him to get the problems of the segment solved. He said all new trains, except the Himachal Express, which terminate and start from Una or Amb stations, began during his tenure.

The sitting MP took a dig at the state Congress government, saying essential commodities at fair price shops were sub-standard and even the rates had been hiked as compared to those during the BJP tenure.

He said roads had deteriorated during the last 16 months and schoolchildren had not been issued free uniforms.

Local MLA and state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti termed Virbhadra Singh as an ineffective Chief Minister, saying his powers were being exercised by some of his ministerial colleagues. He said the decisions taken by these "inexperienced politicians" had been the reason why the government had to backtrack on many decisions during the last 16 months.

Satti appealed to people to seek answers from the leaders who indulged in corruption, be it from the Congress or the BJP. He said Virbhadra Singh was already being quizzed by the Central agencies, and he had not come out clean on the allegations of corruption against him and his family members.

Hamirpur, March 31
With the announcement of simultaneous poll for the Sujanpur Assembly constituency, aspirants in the BJP and the Congress have started lobbying for the party ticket.

The Sujanpur seat fell vacant a few weeks ago after Rajender Rana resigned the seat to contest the Hamirpur parliamentary seat, since he was elected an Independent candidate and it was necessary for him to resign and become a Congress member.

Several aspirants have emerged in the Congress. With the Congress ruling the state, they are rating the chances of victory from this seat quite high.

Two-time MLA Anita Verma, who had contested the seat on the Congress seat in the last election, is claiming to be a natural choice for the Congress ticket.

She has also constructed a house at Sujanpur and is well versed with the area, since she has contested the Hamirpur seat several times and Sujanpur was part of this constituency before becoming a new constituency.

Anita is the wife of former Congress MLA Ramesh Verma, who had dominated the Congress politics in the district for long and remained an all-India president of the Mahila Congress and has good clout in the All-India Congress Committee circle.

Former MLA Kuldeep Pathania has also become active after the announcement of the election. Similarly, son of former minister Ranjeet Singh Verma, Dr Pushpender Verma, is also looking forward to making a foray into politics.

Supporters of HPCC president Sukvinder Singh Sukhu, state HPCC general secretary Sunil Sharma, district Congress president Naresh Thakur and Arun Thakur have also started lobbying for the ticket. Names of few close associate of Rajender Rana are also being pushed for the Congress ticket.

In the BJP camp, many aspirants have become active. Two times Hamirpur MLA Urmil Thakur, who was the BJP candidate in the last election from Sujanpur, is being considered a front runner for the BJP ticket this time as well.

There are reports that she may seek ticket for her US-returned son Rubal Thakur this time to launch him in politics.

BJP Mandal president Rakesh Thakur, who had taken the party reins in Sujanpur after a huge win of Rajender Rana, when the BJP cadre was demoralised here, is also lobbying hard.

He is taking credit for organising several programmes in the constituency, including Modi’s rally in February.

Though Arun Dhumal’s name was also floated, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal has made a categorical statement about not fielding his second son from the Sujanpur Assembly constituency.

Dharamsala, March 31
The issue of the division of Kangra and creation of new districts out of it has taken a backseat this poll season with both the BJP and the Congress downplaying the issue.

Shanta Kumar of the BJP and Chander Kumar of the Congress, both from the Kangra parliamentary constituency, have not raked up the issue of the creation of new districts out of Kangra during the campaigning. The issue was raised only by AAP candidate Rajan Sushant.

The topic of the creation of new districts out of Kangra was a hot issue during the last Assembly elections in 2012. The then BJP government in the state had proposed to create three new districts out of Kangra, including Nurpur, Palampur and Dehra. Since Dehra was a part of the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal was particularly keen on giving district status to the area.

Rakesh Pathania, BJP rebel and former MLA who recently re-entered the party, had launched an agitation for the creation of Nurpur district out of Kangra.

However, BJP stalwart Shanta Kumar had maintained a stoic silence over the division. He was said to be against the division of Kangra district, which was considered to be his stronghold. Though Shanta had maintained silence over the issue, the ministers and MLAs of his faction, including former minister Kishan Kapoor, had raised their voice against the division of the district.

The BJP lost the last Assembly elections. The defeat of the BJP was particularly very heavy in Kangra district, where it lost 12 out of 15 Assembly segments. The state leadership of the BJP was of the view that if Kangra was divided into small administrative units, the party’s performance in the area would improve.

Believing this to be reason of its defeat, the BJP, within its organisation, created four districts out of Kangra. The party now has four organisation districts in Kangra-- Kangra, Palampur, Nurpur and Dehra.

With Shanta once again the party candidate from Kangra, the issue of the creation of new districts out of Kangra has taken a backseat.

The Congress was never keen on creating new districts out of Kangra. In the last Assembly elections, the party maintained an ambiguous stand over the issue. It maintained that new districts should be created only after proper deliberation over the issue.After the Congress won with a thumping majority in Kangra in the last Assembly elections, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh maintained that there was no need for creating districts in the state.

Present Congress candidate from Kangra Chander Kumar had also maintained that the BJP had been raising the issue of creation of new districts out Kangra just for political benefits. He said the BJP raked up the issue of new districts in 2003 and 2012 when its term was coming to end in the state. The Congress leadership from the districts, including Minister for Food and Civil Supplies GS Bali, was also believed to be against the creation.

AAP candidate and former BJP MP Rajan Sushant has, however, raised the issue of division of Kangra.

Once a hot topic... The issue of creation of new districts out of Kangra was a prominent issue in the last Assembly poll 2012 The then BJP government had proposed to create three new districts out of Kangra BJP rebel Rakesh Pathania had launched an agitation for the creation of Nurpur district out of Kangra. However, party stalwart Shanta Kumar had remained silent After its defeat in the 2012 Assembly poll, the BJP believed if Kangra was divided into small administrative units, its performance would improve The party then, within its organisation, created four districts out of Kangra. It now has four organisation districts in Kangra-- Kangra, Palampur, Nurpur and Dehra

Nurpur, March 31
After dilly-dallying for over a month, the local BJP unit today decided to hand over the Lok Sabha election campaign’s responsibility from the Nurpur Assembly segment to former MLA Rakesh Pathania.

The local BJP Mandal today convened a special meeting here and decided to hand over the reins of the party’s campaign to Pathania, who was re-inducted into the party over a month ago. Initially, the local BJP and district units reportedly had shown reluctance in rendering any responsibility to Pathania.

It is learnt that Pathania, a few days ago, had apprised the party’s state leadership about how he and his supporters were being neglected. After this, the party directed the local units to act and give the responsibility to Pathania.

An eight-member election campaign committee was constituted and Pathania was deputed as its convener.

Other members nominated by the committee are general secretary of Nurpur district unit Ranbir Nikka, mandal president Lekh Raj, general secretary of the mandal Ramesh Chand, member zila parishad Sat Pal Dhiman, chairperson of Nurpur Block Development Committee Abhilasha Chib, former mandal BJP president Vinod Sharma and Atul Sudan and Ravinder Chowdhary. 

Una, March 31
The Himachal Pradesh Home Guards Welfare Association has decided to approach the Election Commission of India against the non-payment of election duty allowances to their cadre for their duties rendered during the Karnataka Assembly elections held on May 5, 2013.

President of the association Bali Ram Thakur and spokesman Mukesh Jaswal, in a joint statement, today said their daily paid cadre had had to suffer financial losses.The association office-bearers said services of 400 Home Guard jawans from Himachal Pradesh were solicited for the Karnataka elections. While some jawans had received payment, many others were still waiting for it. They said the Election Commission should hold an inquiry to find out the reasons for such inordinate delay and to ensure that the payment, along with accrued interest, is made to their cadre within a week’s time.

Dharamsala, March 31
The Income Tax (IT) authorities have slapped a penal tax of Rs 7.36 crore on the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE). An order to this affect was passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Income Tax, Dharamsala.

Sources told The Tribune that the case pertained to the financial year 2010-11. The education board gets exemption under Sections (10) (23) of the Income Tax Act for the income generated by it. For 2010-11, the education board declared its income worth Rs 57.61 crore.

As per the rules of the Act, to get an exemption, the board should have spent 85 per cent of the declared income within the financial year under specified heads. However, the board did not spend as per the prescribed limit. The underspent amount of Rs 10.33 crore was added by the Income Tax Department in the account of the board.

Besides, the education board also received Rs 21.38 crore as specially earmarked fund for tribal and SC/ST students. The board, however, allegedly did not spend the funds for a specified purpose. The funds were diverted for other purposes by the authorities. Due to this, the income tax authorities included the said amount in the income of the education board.

The Income Tax authorities increased the income of the board by about Rs 31 crore for 2010-11.

The education board had moved the Himachal Pradesh High Court against the decision of the Income Tax authorities. The Himachal Pradesh High Court, however, dismissed the petition of the education board on March 17.

Following this, the case came up for hearing in the court of the Deputy Commissioner, Income Tax. The Deputy Commissioner, in the order passed today, directed the board authorities to pay up the additional income tax of Rs 7.36 crore for 2010-11.

The sources said the case had brought to the fore the issue of improper financial handling by the board officials. They also said the board authorities proposed to pay income tax of Rs 5 crore. However, the income tax authorities did not accept the plea.

Case profile The case pertains to the financial year 2010-11, when the education board declared its income worth Rs 57.61 crore The board did not spend as per the prescribed limit. The underspent amount of Rs 10.33 crore was added by the Income Tax Department in board's account.

Shimla/Solan, March 31
The Medical Council of India (MCI) is in the dock for giving "affiliation" to Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College at Kumarhatti in Solan and for allowing 150 students in the first batch of the MBBS.

The future of these students hangs in the balance as no action has been taken against the erring institution despite the state government pointing out the "illegality" to the MCI.

The government had written a letter to the MCI saying that it had given the "essentiality certificate" to Maharishi Markandeshwar University Trust, but instead, the MCI gave nod for Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College and Hospital to get affiliation under the Maharishi Markandeshwar University (MMU).

The college website shows that it is affiliated to MMU, but this private university is not authorised to give affiliation to any college and, hence, violates Section 7 of the MMU (Establishment and Regulation) Act, 2010.

The medical college had applied to the government to get approval for the fee structure, even though it was not affiliated to the Himachal Pradesh University and admissions were not made on the basis of merit in the Pre-Medical Test (PMT) held by HPU.

However, the state government which approved "exorbitant" fee structure for the college also allowed it to go ahead with the admissions. The college not only filled the seats, but also retained 50 per cent management quota.

The tuition fee for 50 per cent seats under the government quota and the remaining 50 per cent seats of the management was fixed at Rs 5 lakh and Rs 9.5 lakh per annum, respectively, whereas the fee at government medical colleges was almost 10 per cent at Rs 45,000 per annum.

Intriguingly, the government nominated the principal of MMM College, Kumarhatti, as the state's nominee to the MCI.

The college has already been served a notice for violating environmental norms and the state Environment Department has sought prosecution of the management, but no sanction has been received from the government so far.

The MCI appears to have taken the decision in haste and did not bother to verify whether MMU was authorised to "affiliate" the medical college and the building constructed by it had clearance of the Environment Department and Pollution Control Board, an official requesting anonymity said.

The government has clearly asked the college to get affiliated to HPU, but even after three months, nothing has been done, he added.

Sources in the government said the college could not hold examinations as its “affiliation” was not legal and HPU could hold exams along with other colleges only if the college was affiliated to it.

Solan, March 31
Packaging units in the state have been facing a severe crisis with the Kraft Paper Mills across the country threatening to hike the price of paper for the third time in two months.

An increase of Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per tonne has already been introduced in Himachal Pradesh and other northern states, while it was merely Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 per tonne in other states.

Mukesh Jain, president, Himachal Pradesh Corrugated Box Manufacturers (HPCBM), said the industry, which has about 250 units in the state, was reeling under a serious crisis.

He said they were unable to get the same hike from their clients and at times the price hike was delayed by as much as six months.

The situation that had remained unchanged for the last two months was now creating financial problems for them, as clients failed to get timely approvals for affecting such hikes.

He said given the grim scenario, they were requesting the users of corrugated boxes to implement a hike of 15 to 18 per cent with immediate effect, but no such demand had been fulfilled by the companies.

“Since it has become uneconomical for the corrugated box manufacturers to procure goods at higher price and sell these at lower prices, many such units have shut down their operations,” rued Jain.

Gagan Kapoor, senior vice-president of the association, said the government should intervene in the issue. He said it had become a national problem and corrugated box manufacturers were suffering due to the abrupt hike in prices by paper mills.

He said the government should take into account the Competition Act and ensure procurement of material in a time-bound manner.

Since the corrugated box manufacturing industry was a crucial part of the supply chain, any further halt on their operations due to abrupt hike in price of would not only disturb the supply chain but would also affect the supply of goods in market, opined Rajiv Gulati, Chairman, Public Relations Committee, Federation of Corrugate Box Manufacturers.

Various raw materials used by the corrugators, such as adhesive, stitching wire, ink etc, had registered an increase of 15 to 20 per cent, thereby increasing their cost, opined Nirmal Singh, president, Baddi chapter of the HPCBM Association.

Since it was a labour-intensive industry, the shortage of labour and increased wages had altogether reduced the conversion value of the manufacturers and the abrupt paper hike was another major blow to them.

The association was now demanding relief from the state government, as only their interference could solve the acute problem, added Jain.

Shimla, March 31
Residents in dozens of villages in the Sissu-Koksar tribal belt in the Lahaul valley remained cut off from the outside world as a couple of telephone exchanges, at Sissu and Koksar, have been out of order for the last one month.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has failed to restore the optical fibre-cable Manali-Sissu link disconnected following the avalanche this winter.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) restored road connectivity between Sissu and Keylong, district headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti, about a week ago, clearing mounds of snow. The BSNL, the only communication service provider in the Sissu-Koksar belt, continues to remain in deep slumber, residents said.

“We have brought it to the notice of the BSNL and the district administration that communication link to the Chandra valley is crying for restoration, but to no avail," rued Prem Lal, a resident of Sissu.

Lakhs of rupees are virtually going down the drain every year, with the BSNL spending it in the name of repairs and cases of cable theft being reported, residents said.

Telephone cables right from Manali through the 13,050-foot-high Rohtang Pass went along the Manali-Leh national highway and were not laid in accordance with norms, alleged residents.

According to BSNL engineers, the Nigam relaxed norms in the laying of cables in rocky and snowy areas. “The contractors should lay the OFC cables about half a metre underground and the cable should be protected in GI pipes when these are taken through the stream, bridges or rivers,” said a BSNL engineer.

The cable should be laid 1 metre underground in other parts of the state as per norms, said BSNL sources. Contractors flouted these norms and the CBI had already filed a chargesheet in this connection in the special court in Shimla, said sources.

BSNL ground staff blamed the road authorities for the damage to cables during snow clearing or widening of roads. Contractors rarely follow the norms in laying of cables in far-flung areas as BSNL supervision remains poor, said insiders.

As the reach of cables remained shallow and on the surface, these become easy targets for cable thieves. They steal cables as it has good-quality copper not only in remote areas but also in towns across the state, said BSNL engineers.

“We have lodged dozens of FIRs in connection with the cable thefts, but recovery remains poor,” it was stated.

BSNL Telecom Divisional Manager and in charge for Lahaul, LD Negi, said the staff was on the job to restore the cable link disconnected as a result of the avalanche or snow this winter.

“They follow norms while laying cables in the area. The area receives heavy snowfall in winter and cables are damaged by the flood or avalanche,” he added.

Sheer waste Lakhs of rupees are virtually going down the drain every year, with the BSNL spending it in the name of repairs and cases of cable theft being reported, residents said Telephone cables right from Manali through the 13,050-foot-high Rohtang Pass went along the Manali-Leh national highway and were not laid in accordance with norms, alleged residents

Palampur, March 31
While competing for Antrix Space Olympiad-2013 in two stages, Yashdeep, a student of Class IX in DAV Senior Secondary School, Palampur, has secured the fourth position in the state. He has also been selected to visit the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Vikaram Sarabhai Research Centre, Raman Research Institute and Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd for interaction with world-famed space scientists.

Yashdeep has got this prestigious position many times in the international olympiads for maths, science, English and general knowledge (IMO,ISO, IEO and IGO).

He initiated his schooling from Rushey Mead Public School, England, in 2003-04 and got an opportunity to visit the National Space Centre of Great Britain, Cambridge, Oxford, London and Leicester Universities in England. Besides, he has visited Scotland, Japan and China along with his parents during his father’s visits on fellowships and conference participation.

He had also been declared as overall topper of DAV School in Class IX. He was awarded with the prestigious Capt Saurabh Kalia Scholarship on Saturday by JL Butail, president, and VK Yadav, Principal of the school.

His mother Dr Parveen Lata, Principal, GSS School, Bhawarna, and father Dr HK Chaudhary, Prof & Head, Department of Crop Improvement, CSK HPKV, Palampur, when contacted, said Yashdeep’s interest revolved around space science and he was keen to visit space one day for research and development needed for the benefit of mankind.

Yashdeep gave the credit of this success to his spiritual guru, parents and teachers.

Una, March 31
The nine-day Chaitra Navratra fair began at the Chintpurni shrine here today. Thousands of devotees queued up early in the morning to seek the blessings of the deity. The temple was specially decorated with flowers and lights for the fair.

Amb Sub-Divisional Magistrate-cum-Mela Officer Ashok Chauhan said 50 closed-circuit television cameras had been installed at various places in and around the shrine to keep a tab on anti-social elements and crowds. Coconut had been banned from being offered as prasad at the shrine due to security reasons, he said, adding that the shrine area had been divided into two sectors, each under the command of a sector magistrate and a sector police officer.

Chauhan said 500 police and Home Guard personnel had been put on duty at the shrine during the fair.

Palampur, March 31
Tourism industry in the state has received a setback after opening of the Jammu and Kashmir circuit for domestic and foreign tourists. Till yesterday, because of terrorism and disturbed conditions, foreign and domestic tourists were avoiding visiting Kashmir and HP.

A spokesman of Kangra Travel Agents’ Association said for the coming tourist season, travel agencies in metros had made bulk bookings for Kashmir as compared to Himachal Pradesh. This would affect the state tourism industry. He said since J&K Government had given a number of incentives to boost the tourism industry in the state, such as reduction in taxes like VAT, luxury tax and road tax, travel agencies preferred Kashmir as a favourite destination.

Though the tourist season has almost begun in Himachal Pradesh, most of the tourist centres in the state are deserted. Thanks to the apathy of the government authorities that failed to develop tourist attractions in the state in a planned manner. At most of the tourists places such as Palampur and Kangra, the authorities have failed to extend the municipal limits, which has given rise to garbage disposal, pollution and unplanned constructions of hotels.

Corrupt traffic police officials, lengthy traffic jams, costly hotels and poor parking facilities are apparently bane of Kangra. Bumpy roads with a narrow width, poor transport service, expensive food and fleecing of tourists by taxi operators have made matters worse.

Traffic jams are a regular feature at Baijnath, Jwalamukhi, Chamunda, Dharamsala, Kangra, Palampur and McLeodganj.

Shimla, March 31
The Himachal IAS Officers Association will meet again tomorrow to express its outrage against the action proposed against eight serving and retired bureaucrats.

A decision on the grant of permission for prosecuting two IAS officers in the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) is, meanwhile, pending with the State Personnel Department.

Office-bearers of the association are planning to convey their sentiments to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who will be arriving here tonight. Since the nod from the Chief Minister in case of offences under Section 197 of the CrPC will have to be taken by the State Personnel Department, it remains to be seen how soon and what decision is taken.

The IAS lobby is also sore with Indian Police Service (IPS) officers for showing alacrity while dealing with cases pertaining to bureaucrats. They point out that when it comes to probing allegations against their own colleagues, they deliberately slow down the process.

They cite the example of the phone-tapping case and the fixing of a bugging device in the room of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh while he was in the Opposition.

Despite investigations being complete, action as per law has not been taken.

Last week, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had submitted a chargesheet to the Home Department.

It named five persons as accused and 13 others as suspects, who were not chargesheeted for want of evidence. The five accused against whom prosecution sanction has been sought include former Chief Minister PK Dhumal and his son, MP Anurag Thakur.

Kangra, March 31
The Dehra police, with the help of residents of nearly five villages, nabbed four persons for allegedly attacking a man and drove away in his car near Dhawala village today. In a bid to escape the police, one person fell from the hillock and died, said the police.

BD Bhatia, Sub Divisional Police Officer, Dehra, said five persons from Punjab, aged between 18-20 years, hired a car from Chintpurni for Kangra today. When they reached Ranital, they beat up the driver, Suresh Kumar, and drove away in the car.

Bhatia said one of the five occupants drove the car. When they reached near Dhawala, they ran the car into the bushes and fled away.

Meanwhile, the driver managed to come on the road and informed the owner and the local people, who in turn informed the police, said the DSP. The police sounded an alert and informed the Una police.

The DSP said the police, with the help of more than hundred villagers, started a search operation in a dense forest in the area and nabbed four out of five culprits.

ASP Mohit Chawla said the body of the youth was recovered and sent for postmortem. The police said the accused were yet to be identified. They were taken to the Haripur police station for investigation.

Shimla, March 31
As many as 120 residents were examined at a health-cum-voters’ awareness camp organised by the Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA), Sector V, in association with the Election Department and the Women Studies Development Centre, Himachal Pradesh University, here yesterday.

Delivering a talk after the free health checkup, Dr Jatinder Mokta, Associate Professor at the IGMC, Shimla, said: “Diabetes can best be managed by the family as a whole. It has emerged as a big health problem in all age groups today and the problem has assumed alarming proportions even among schoolchildren and women because of the wrong choice of food.”

He said these days, children and women spend more hours sitting and watching television. They eat high-calorie junk food, which led to obesity and otherwise preventable diabetes, which was a major cause of kidney failure, blindness, hypertension and amputation, he warned.

He said the family as a whole should come together to tackle diabetes. “We should eat fibre-rich food and do physical work and exercise,” he said.

Shimla, March 31
The two Chinese nationals detained by the police at Namgya in Kinnaur tribal district near the Indo-Tibetan border yesterday were booked for “intruding” into a sensitive border area without a valid “inner line” permit and arrested today.

The accused would be produced in the court for remand, police sources said. The two women from Ladakh accompanying the Chinese had not been arrested and no case registered against them.

The police had brought the Chinese nationals and the women accompanying them to Pooh police station last night. Five mobile phones, SIM cards and Chinese currency worth Rs 3,000 had been seized from them.

They were having valid travel documents, including passport and visa, but their entry into the border area without “inner line” permit raised suspicion about their motive.

The police were verifying the details of SIM cards and the calls made by them as also their antecedents, which would take some time, said ADGP (CID) SR Mardi.

The police are investigating the purpose of the visit of two Ladakhi women and their association with the Chinese nationals.