New Delhi, June 6
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has urged Home Minister Rajnath Singh to deploy the ITBP force in the areas bordering Jammu and Kashmir to check militants.

The Home Minister is reportedly assured Singh of the Centre's sympathetic consideration to problems of the state.

At his meeting with the Home Minister in the capital last evening, Singh also raised other issues, including Central assistance to modernise the state's police force.

The ITBP force was atop the order of the issues Singh raised at his meeting with the Home Minister. He urged the deployment of the ITBP in Chamba district. It had been stationed there earlier, but was withdrawn on December 21, 2012.

Chamba borders with Doda in Jammu and Kashmir. Doda and its adjoining Anantnag district are hilly terrains and have jungles which provided hideouts for militants.

Singh also urged that the case of a large number of volunteers, who were once engaged with the SSB (now rechristened as Seema Suraksha Bal), be sorted out soon.

The volunteers had moved the Himachal High Court which had directed that the Centre/state government may launch a scheme for their absorption in the armed forces/paramilitary forces, including the Special Security Bureau, taking into consideration the specialised training received by them.

He also urged the Home Ministry to enhance the salary of Special Police Officers (SPOs) deployed to support the counter-insurgency measures along the inter-state border from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 per month.

Singh lamented that even though Himachal is a "special category" state on account of which the sharing pattern for most Central schemes is 90:10, the ratio has been fixed 60:40 with regard to modernisation of the Police Force Scheme.

With regard to Shimla, the Chief Minister requested the Centre to include the city under the mega policing project for modernisation of its police force under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Shimla, June 6
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley and apprised them of various issues pertaining to the state.

His first meeting with Modi and Jaitley was being described as a courtesy call but important issues of the state cropped up.

Congratulating Modi for taking over the office of the Prime Minister, Virbhadra Singh said the people of the state had great expectations from the new government.

Raising the issue of uniform funding of Centrally-sponsored projects in the ratio of 90:10, as applicable to all hill states, Singh urged the PM for revival of special industrial package to the state and restoration of income tax exemption for five years. He also urged for central excise exemption for ten years on new industries till 2020.

He also raised the issue of construction of Shongtong-Karcham hydro-electric project (450 MW) in the tribal district of Kinnaur. The Army Authorities, under the Ministry of Defence, had stalled the construction work on the pretext that the Army Ammunition Depot at Poweri was located near the project site, he added.

Pending issues like subsidised helicopter services, construction of Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri railway line and the grim financial situation due to underestimation of state’s liabilities by the 13th finance commission were also raised.

During his meeting with Arun Jaitley, Virbhadra Singh raised the issue of uniform funding pattern for centrally-sponsored schemes, particularly the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), mid-day meals scheme, Indira Awaas Yojna, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Ambulance Service under NHM etc.

He said the state also had a very tough topographical condition and limited resources and so it required special attention of the Finance Ministry.

Shimla, June 6
Expressing displeasure over the working of the Police Department, especially non production of case diaries before the courts in criminal cases, the Himachal Pradesh High Court directed the Chief Secretary, Secretary Home and Director General of Police (DGP) to issue directions to all the officials concerned in this regard.

Acting Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir further directed the DGP to ensure production of complete case diary in the court for speedy disposal of the criminal cases.

The court observed that in criminal cases, diaries were not being presented by the counsel for the state, which caused delay in hearing and disposing of the cases. While passing these orders, the court made it clear that the non compliance of directions would be viewed seriously.

The lapse on the part of the department was observed while hearing a criminal revision petition arising out of the incident that took place in 2003. 

Shimla, June 6
The HP State Corporate Sector Workers Coordination Committee today termed the decision of the state government to extend a year after superannuation age of 58 years unjust and arbitrary.

In a statement issued by its secretary general Rameshwar Singh Gripta here, he claimed that the committee passed a resolution and termed the decision anti-youth and anti-employee.

They also opposed the notification issued by the principal secretary in which the government was discriminating against the corporate employees working in public sector undertakings and government employees. The service rules were applicable to both, he added.

He said the notification issued on May 28 had not cleared the cutoff date as the employees, who retired in April 2014, had been deprived of the benefit of the extension of the retirement age even as the government has not paid them their retirement dues.

The committee also opposed the government for filing a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the high court judgment that had ordered the payment of pension benefits for the state-run PSUs, Gripta said.

Solan, June 6
The industrial area of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) today recorded the hottest day of the season at 46 degrees Celsius.

Weather station installed by the State Pollution Control Board at Baddi recorded the maximum temperature at 46 degrees Celsius. Forced to leave for their work despite adverse weather conditions, migrant labourers, who reside in shabby hutments, were the most affected.

In the district, Solan recorded a maximum temperature of 36.5 degrees Celsius, while Nahan witnessed a high of 38 degrees Celsius, according to the Metrological Centre at Shimla. The dry and hot weather conditions are likely to continue for the next few days.

A rush of tourists from Chandigarh, Delhi and nearby areas was witnessed in Kasauli though hoteliers said the average hotel occupancy had declined by 30 per cent. The tourists prefer Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan where there were no taxes,” said Gurpreet Singh, general manager, Kasauli Resorts.

Local residents faced a severe water crisis as the supply had been reduced to twice a week in the Greater Kasauli Area due to drying up of water sources.

Shimla, June 6
The Pollution Control Board (PCB) has served notices on Ambuja Cements and JP Company for violation of the Environment Protection Act and asked these to show cause as to why the plants should not be closed.

President of the JP Cement plant, Bagha, JS Seru was issued notice for producing clinker and limestone more than the consented capacity of 2.05 million tonnes and 2.8 millon tonnes per annum and warned that it would be liable for action under the Prevention and Control of Pollution Act 1974.

The Executive Engineer of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB), Arki division, has been directed to ensure the release of restricted electricity for the consented capacity and the state geological wing of the Industries Department has been directed to ensure that no extra material is extracted above the permissible limits, said Chairman, State Pollution Board, Kuldeep Pathania. The orders had been enforced with immediate effect and the officials had been asked to submit the compliance report, he said.

Ambuja Cement, which has installed a race ball trill without the consent to operate, has been issued a notice and asked why the unit should not be closed. The company has reportedly confessed to installing the equipment without permission.

A sub-committee was constituted to look into the violations by the cement plant as the state government had directed the Mining, Excise, Forest and Environment Departments to initiate action against violators.

Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today chaired a meeting of the departments concerned to get feedback on violations by various cement companies.

A sub-committee had been constituted to ascertain the veracity of the allegations the companies were facing. The report submitted by the departments concerned had indicated violations and the action followed.

Vital targets JP Cement plant, Bagha, is issued notice for producing clinker and limestone more than the consented capacity of 2.05 million tonnes and 2.8 millon tonnes per annum Ambuja Cement has installed a race ball trill without consent These have been issued notice and asked why the units should not be closed.

Darang ( Palampur), June 6
Eruption of flames from rocks has scared residents of this small village situated 15 km from Palampur. Residents have been spending sleepless nights for the past 15 days when the flames were noticed for the first time.

Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that in May during the installation of electricity poles in the forest, a charcoal-like chemical came out of the earth in a large quantity which soon turned into solid crystal. The temperature on the spot also went up beyond tolerance.

The frightened labourers left the poles and moved out of the forest. Later, they informed the village panchyat pardhan who immediately contacted Palampur SDM Bhupinder Attari and informed him about the incident.

Later, high flames were also noticed from the site many times which continued for more than six hours. During a visit to the spot, it was seen that the flames had also caused damage to trees and electricity poles.

Attari said he had already informed officials of the state government in Dharamsala and Shimla.

Later, the state government deputed a state geologist to visit the site and submit a report to the government.

Official sources confirmed that now the state government had requested the zonal head of the Geological Survey of India, Chandigarh, to send a team of geological experts for investigation. This team is likely to reach Palampur soon. Officials of ONGC are also likely to visit the spot to explore the possibilities to take up drilling for oil exploration.

The SDM has deputed officials of the Forest Department and the police and directed the public to be away from the site to avoid any mishap.

Sundernagar, June 6
Students of Government Polytechnic, Sundernagar, today sent a memorandum to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh through the SDM and requested him to direct Government Polytechnic Colleges to allow them to appear in the examinations.

Earlier, the Himachal Pradesh Board of Technical Education had decided that the students who had not cleared their theory examination with at least 50 per cent marks would not be allowed to sit in the next semester examination.

After the intervention of the Chief Minister, this condition was relaxed.

Even after the directions from the Chief Minister, the students studying in various polytechnic colleges were allegedly not allowed to sit in the examination, on the plea that they were not eligible as they had not attended the classes. However, the students studying the private polytechnic colleges were allowed to appear in the examination.

Today, the students requested the CM intervene into the matter again.

They alleged in the memorandum that after the condition of clearing examination with 50 per cent marks was imposed, the college authorities allowed them to attend the classes but did not mark their presence whereas the attendance of students of private polytechnics was marked. The government polytechnics were defying the orders of the Chief Minister by not allowing the students to appear in the examinations.

The students also requested Chief Minister to initiate action against the guilty officials for trying to harm the future of hundreds of students.

Shimla, June 6
Shimla Mayor Sanjay Chauhan and Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar today listed the achievements of the Municipal Corporation (MC) on their completing two years in office. They said city residents got a well-distributed water supply, while works on five new parking lots for 2,000 vehicles and 224 houses for urban poor were underway in the city.

Addressing mediapersons, Chauhan and Panwar said several interventions had benefited common residents in the city for the last two years. Besides, they had identified 24 parks while 61 more parking places had been identified to accommodate over 5,000 vehicles, they said.

The MC was committed to making Shimla a solar city as streetlights worth Rs 3 crore had been installed. It needed Rs 5,000 crore to make it a solar city and tenders in this regard had been finalised.

Urban poor were provided homes under the Ashiana and Rajiv Awas Yojna schemes. Under its first phase, the Krishnanagar and Ruldu Bhatta wards would be covered, Chauhan said, adding that Rs 33 crore would be spent on Krishnanagar and 224 houses would be constructed.

They said Shimla would be made a slum-free city as they had covered Kot Hill, Idgah and other 87 slums in the city. Street vendors were being rehabilitated under the street vendor policy and Rs 3.85 crore would be spent on constructing a shopping complex for over 300 street vendors, they said.

The facility of online complaints of water billing, birth-death registration, etc, would be provided to residents, Chauhan said.

The MC passed a resolution against the Unit Area Method (UAM) of property tax. The Sunya project would make the city garbage free, they added.

Hamirpur, June 6
A woman died a few hours after surgery in the Hamirpur regional hospital this afternoon. Her son has accused the doctors of medical negligence for the death of his mother.

Indari Devi (70) of Panjair village, who was operated upon at the hospital by an orthopedician today morning, died in the afternoon.

Subhash Chand, the son of the deceased, said, “My mother was operated upon in the morning and later she collapsed.”

He has accused the hospital authorities for medical negligence and demanded an action.

Dr Ramesh Chauhan said, “The operation was done successfully and the patient was referred to the medicine department.”

The CMO, Hamirpur, said, “I am inquiring about the incident and will take appropriate action if any negligence is found.”

Hamirpur, June 6
A hermit, Jitendera Nand, living in a hut near Bada under the Nadaun police station was battered to death by a villager here yesterday. On a complaint of Vipin Kumar of Jagali village, the police had arrested Mast Ram, alias Bittoo, of Dabbar Patta village under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for murdering the hermit.

The complainant had told the police that he, along with Ashok Kumar, was tilling his land with a tractor when Ashok was informed by his younger brother that Mast Ram had killed the hermit in his hut with a hammer.

Una, June 6
The police yesterday honoured 10 citizens for their presence of mind and courage that helped them nab criminals in three separate incidents. They were given a citation and a cash award.

Those honoured by Superintendent of Police (SP) Anupam Sharma at a function here are Kashish Upmanyu, Jatinder Kumar and Ankit, all residents of Pandoga, and Rajiv Mohan, a resident of Ispur village, for helping nab a criminal who had taken away a motorcycle at gunpoint.

The youths did not retract even when the criminal fired in the air. The four also accompanied the police search team in the Bankhandi forests to nab the accused.

Mahinder Singh, pradhan of gram panchayat, Lathiani, and another resident Surinder Kumar of the village were honoured for helping nab two notorious criminals, one from Bhiwani in Haryana and another from Aligarh in UP, for attempting to rob a local bank.

Mahinder and Surinder had spotted suspicious persons hiding gas cutters and other tools in the bushes. They informed the police and after the arrest, it was revealed that the two criminals were wanted in bank robberies in Madhya Pradesh. They had planned to loot a local bank during the night.

Mahender Singh, a resident of Nangal, who was using an ATM in Santoshgarh, helped nab three suspects, two from Kaithal and one from Hisar in Haryana. The accused had duped him by changing his ATM card with a fake one before trying to escape in a car.

He, along with some locals and State Bank of India manager Gurmohinder Singh, bank security guard Lekhu Ram from Kangra and bank peon Prem Nath from Santoshgarh, was honoured for nabbing the culprits.

Earlier, the SP presided over a meeting of the Joint Consultative and Welfare meeting of the district police, wherein the crime reports of the past month were reviewed.

Additional SP Virender Singh, DSP, Headquarters, Surinder Sharma, DSP, Amb, Sagar Chand, Law Officer CS Bhatia and in charges of police stations and police posts in Una district were present.

Shimla, June 6
A tourist from Andhra Pradesh was killed while his wife injured in a freak mishap at Mahasu Peak in Kufri near here today.

Nagesh Kumar (50) died on the spot after his zip line failed to stop and hit a tree. His wife Rekha (45), who was accompanying him, sustained serious injuries in the mishap. She was rushed to Indira Gandhi Medical College.

The couple was a part of a 40-member group from Andhra Pradesh. Sources said the incident took place due to the negligence of the zip line operator who failed to stop the sling on time.

Superintendent of Police Abhishek Dhullar said the operator had been booked under various sections of the IPC for causing death due negligence and endangering life or personal safety of others. He said the locals engaged in adventure activities had been removed from the site.

However, the adventure activities were undertaken on an encroached forest land. The Forest Department had written to the Revenue Department to demarcate the land but the demarcation could not be completed due to allege political pressure. Moreover, fleecing of tourists by locals was nothing new in Mahasu Peak.

Shimla, June 6
Two persons died of asphyxiation while sleeping in an under-construction house at Ghora Chowki here this morning. The police said the incident took place around 2 am and the victims had been identified as Natar Singh (21) and Dinesh (32), both hailing from Shallai in Sirmaur district.

Natar Singh, who was working as a housekeeper in an adjoining hotel, was sleeping on a sofa of the hotel reception when his friend Dinesh came and both went to the under-construction house to sleep, said Brij Lal, manager of the hotel.

Residents of the area raised the alarm when they noticed flames and smoke emanating from the house and called the fire brigade.

Nurpur, June 6
The local police registered a case under Sections 354-A, 452 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Timmber Raj, pradhan of the Lodhwan gram panchayat, for allegedly outraging the modesty of a married woman of the same village on Wednesday evening.

The police said the victim had gone to Indora tehsil for preparing documents for getting her marriage registered in the panchayat record. When she was on her way back to her village, the accused gave her lift on his motorcycle.

She said on the way he stopped the motorcycle and started outraging her modesty. She told her husband about this. But the accused sought pardon from her the next day at her house.

However, after a few days the accused again started visiting her house and harassing her on the mobile phone which forced her to get a case registered against him.

DSP Manoj Joshi said after registering an FIR against the accused panchayat pradhan, a thorough investigation would be conducted in the case.