Shimla, September 19
The police today allegedly lathicharged and rounded up students of Himachal Pradesh University, who were protesting against the fee hike and delay in election to the Students Central Association (SCA).

The police allegedly lathicharged students and rounded up 220, including girls, when they offerred to arrest themselves.

The lathicharge on students and arrest of ABVP and SFI activists sitting on a hunger strike last night brought both students organisation on a common platform and a joint action committee (JAC) was formed to intensify the agitation.

Nine students were expelled by the university for gross indiscipline and vitiating the academic atmosphere on the campus. The expelled students include Puneet Dhanta, Rahul Chauhan, Rajan Harta, Hoshiar Singh, Vikram Kaith, Nandan Karol, Jeeta Singh, Piyush Sewal and Sanjeev Kumar. However, SFI leaders said the “irrational decision” of the Vice-Chancellor to expel the students would be challenged in the high court.

Members of the JAC, who will meet tonight to decide their future course of action, gave a call for a total education bandh from tomorrow. Meanwhile, students also released a video exposing the “high-handedness” of the police and the students being beaten up by police. SCA secretary Piyush Sewal alleged that 17 students, including six girls, were injured in the lathicharge and over 400 students were arrested and taken to some unknown destination.

However, DSP Shiv Chaudhry refuted that the police resorted to lathicharge and said students indulging in stones- throwing on the police and creating public nuisance were forcibly removed. He said as many as 220 students had been arrested in violation of Section 144 of CrPC.

Shimla, September 19
State BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti today condemned the roughing up of Himachal Pradesh University Vice-Chancellor ADN Bajpai and lathicharge on students.

He said whenever Virbhadra Singh took over as Chief Minister, the atmosphere in the university had been vitiated. During his terms, the university had witnessed four murders.

He said the CM had reduced the grant of university, already reeling under financial crunch, from Rs 90 crore to Rs 63 crore and as a result the university hiked the fees enormously and passed the burden on the students.

He also asked student unions to protest in a peaceful manner and do not involve new students in agitations. He asked the Chief Minister to resolve the issue and restore peace on the university campus.

Shimla, September 19
The Secretariat of the CPM condemned the state government for its midnight scoop in which it lifted eight protesting girls from the HPU campus and lathi charge on students by the police today and sought Vice-Chancellor AND Bajpai’s resignation.

Member, Secretariat, Tikender Singh Panwar said the move showed the desperation in which the government was working in connivance with the HPU authorities to suppress the voice of the students who were protesting against the fee hike.

The university campus had been converted into a police fortress and the students were being arrested. It seemed the government had declared an emergency in which no one was allowed to raise their voice, he added. He said there had been an increase from 50 to 200 per cent in various streams and subjects which was being opposed by students. 

Dalhousie, September 19
The Students Federation of India (SFI) unit of Government College at Chowari organised a resentment rally in protest against the steep hike in the fee structure by HP University here yesterday. Activists of the SFI also raised slogans against the university management.

College campus secretary Anil Kumar said the increase in the fee structure had put a huge burden on students of poor and middle-class families. Now it would be difficult for them to afford higher education, he said.

They said if the hike was not withdrawn forthwith, they would be constrained to intensify their agitation. Reports of agitations by students’ organisations over fee hike were also received from other colleges of the district. — OC

Una, September 19
Angered over the government decision to stop the scholarship scheme for OBC students receiving higher technical education in the colleges, students of the KC Group of Colleges at Pandoga village in Haroli took to the streets today.

Hundreds of students blocked traffic near the municipal park for about half an hour, shouting slogans against the government. Una-Dharamsala and Una-Hoshiarpur roads remained closed for vehicular traffic.

Agitating students Saurabh, Sunaina, Deepshikha, Pallavi, Rama, Ashish, Arjun, Rohit, Ankita and Manpreet said they had taken admissions under the OBC scholarship scheme in the first year engineering courses, but this year, the college administration had informed them that the government had stopped the scholarship scheme for their category. They said since their families were unable to pay the enire course fee, they had taken admissions here only due to the scholarship scheme. It was unjust for the government to leave them in the lurch. They demanded immediate restoration of the scheme. Traffic was restored after the intervention of the police. Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Jain said he had heard the grievances of students and inquired about the matter from the Deputy Director of Higher Education, who informed him that the scholarship scheme for the OBC students was continuing at the school level.

The DC said there were a few private engineering colleges in the district, whose students had not made such complaints. He said he would check up with the Education Department in Shimla. 

Shimla, September 19
The Himachal Tourism has identified some sites for a film centre with renowned Bollywood directors and stars visiting Himachal for film shooting. Their number is likely to go up with Kashmir being out of bound at least for the timebeing.

Vice-Chairman of the Himachal Tourism Development Board Vijai Singh Mankotia today held a meeting with officials of the Tourism Department to discuss the film centre project.

“The project has been in the pipeline for quite some time, but now we have identified a chunk of land at Chail, where the film centre is proposed,” revealed Mankotia.

Famous film director Ramesh Sippy arrived here and would begin shooting for his upcoming film “Mirchi” with Hema Malini from tomorrow. Bollywood stars Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan are also scheduled to shoot for their films in Manali.

Mankotia said there was about 150 bighas of land in the vicinity of Palace Hotel, Chail, which could be one of the possible sites. Besides this, there were some big chunks of land available at Jhatingri in Mandi, Shoja in Kullu, Bilaspur, Suketi in Sirmour and Baddi which could be put to use for the film centre.

“The moment we are able to finalise the most suitable land, we will prepare a detailed project report as this will not only bring huge revenue, but also help turn the spotlight on the state and give a major boost to tourism,” he said.

He added that he also proposed to hold a meeting with representatives of the Producers and Directors Guild in Mumbai so that the ball could be set rolling for pact with people who would be keen to shoot in Himachal.

Film producers had cited problems such as absence of facilities and equipment for film shooting in Himachal. “Black” by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, “Jab We Met” and “Paap” by Mahesh Bhatt have been shot in the state. “Though the flood fury that hit Kashmir is unfortunate, Himachal could be an obvious choice as many directors would like to shoot their films in Himachal,” said tourism officials.

Palampur, September 19
The state government is in no haste to take over the possession of the Kumud Bhushan Education Society land, headed by Prashant Bhushan, a Supreme Court lawyer.

Sources said there was no move from the government to take over the land of the society at Kandwari, 10 km from here, as happened in the cases of Swami Ramdev and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association last year.

The Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, had cancelled the sale deed of six acres purchased by the society in 2010 from resident Narinder Jamwal. As per the order of the DC, the society failed to follow the terms and condition laid down in Section 118 of the HP Land Revenue Act. It says the society could not utilise the land for the specific purposes for which the permission for the purchase of the land was granted. Now the land has been vested with the state government.

It was also learnt that neither the SDM nor tehsildar of Palampur had received any copy of the order passed by the DC.

Earlier, it was expected that the district administration would take over the premises of the society yesterday as it followed in the cases of properties pertaining to Swami Ramdev and the HPCA last year where the government at midnight took over the possession of the cricket stadium at Dharamsala and the Yoga Centre at Sadhupul in Solan district.

Later, a senior officer of the government told the reporter that a copy of the order of the DC was expected to reach the office of the tehsildar next week only then further action in this case was expected.

A spokesman of the society said as soon as the copy of the order was served on the society, it would file an appeal in the court of the Divisional Commissioner, Kangra, for granting status quo so that education activities were not affected and children interest was protected. 

Chamba, September 19
Deputy Commissioner M Sudha Devi inaugurated a special exhibition of paintings of the Bhagvata Purana series by celebrated artist Laharu, installed at the Bhuri Singh Museum, Chamba, today. The exhibition would end on October 19.

The DC appreciated the works of the artist and applauded the efforts of the museum. Mesmerised by the beauty of breathtaking miniatures, she announced to extend every possible help to uplift the local arts.

She also honoured the present descendants of the Laharu Manikanth family, Ami Chand, Hansraj and Prakash Chand, who are carrying out the family tradition of the art of miniature paintings in Chamba.

The paintings of the celebrated master artist of Chamba, housed in the Bhuri Singh Museum, are being displayed at the exhibition curated by Dr Vijay Sharma, a senior artist and scholar.

These pictures, representing the early life of Krishna, depict the heroic deeds of the Blue God. This is for the first time that the paintings by Laharu are being showcased.

Vijay Sharma said Laharu was the court painter during the reign of Raja Umed Singh (1748-1764 AD) of Chamba. The master artist was accomplished for the portraiture, yet he painted mythological subjects for his patron Miyan Shamsher Singh, Minister of the Chamba State. Laharu had authored an extensive series of Bhagavata Purana’s tenth canto, dedicated to Krishna legend.

According to the colophon, Laharu had executed the Bhagavata series in the year 1758 AD. The Bhagavata series begin with the birth of Krishna and conclude with the death of Kamsa. Most of the pictures are composed against monochromatic backgrounds in vertical formats. The works of Laharu represent the typical Chamba style of Manikanth gharana of painters.

Among others, Chamba Welfare Association president RK Mahajan, Chamba Progressive Council president HR Puri, Chamba Shilpa Parishad president Kamal Prashad Sharma and artist Asgar Beg Mirza were present.

Shimla, September 19
T0he state government has decided to get the channelisation of the Swan river inspected by some independent agency for assessing the quality of work either on the analogy of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) or from the Quality Council of India.

This was stated by Chief Minister Virbhadar Singh while presiding over the review meeting of the Governing Body of Swan River Channelisation project here today. “It is not acceptable to us that the work should be done in patches and maintenance of quality of work must be ensured,” he said.

He stressed upon raising embankments upwards along the stream or the tributaries which were being channelised and said the entire work must be completed in a planned and systematic manner.

He said the departments should ensure that the cost of the project, its sanctioning year and the year of completion and the masses to be benefited thereupon, should be clearly mentioned on the small hoardings and planks and the same be installed at the project execution site.

“It is quite commendable that the fourth phase amounting to ~922.49 crore has been sanctioned within nine months of the formation of this government,” the Chief Minister said, adding that it would reclaim 7,163.50 hectare of land for irrigational purposes.

He said under the fourth phase, it had been proposed to completely channelise the main Swan till March 2015. “It will be channelised from the Daulatpur bridge to the Gagret bridge, including all its 73 tributaries which join the main Swan river from the Daulatpur Bridge to the Santokhgarh bridge,” he said.

The work of construction of embankments in main river is from the Daulatpur bridge to the Santokhgarh bridge measuring 5 km on each bank and on Una khud, Jaswal khud and Garni khud.

The Chief Minister said so far a target of 7 km had been completed and 119 hectares of land reclaimed.

He also stressed the need for proper drainage system of Una town, which gets waterlogged due to poor drainage system. Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said the work on the fourth phase of the Swan channelisation was going on in full swing. He said the approval for funding of this project under the Flood Management Programme had been accorded by the Inter-Ministerial Committee of the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India.

He said the budget provision for the project had been enhanced from Rs 39.67 crore to ~308 crore. He said since embankments were to be constructed with local river bed material, the government was considering applying for sanction from the Mining Department.

Mandi, September 19
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has been urged to order a CBI inquiry into the Jyoti murder case.

In a letter to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, former HAS officer and free legal consultant BR Kaundal and social activist Desh Raj Sharma said the main accused, Doon MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary, and 11 others were acquitted in the murder case due to “shoddy” investigations done by the Haryana Police.

They said the Court of Additional District Judge, Panchkula, while pronouncing the verdict, found discrepancies in the evidence produced by the prosecution certainly due to poor investigations.

They said like the Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mattoo murder cases in Delhi in which the accused were high profile persons and were first acquitted due to sloppy investigations, but the accused in both the cases were convicted after the Delhi High Court took suo motu notice and ordered a CBI probe. They urged the High Court to order a CBI inquiry in the murder case.

Jyoti (24), a resident of Hoshiarpur in Punjab, was found murdered in Panchkula on November 21, 2011, and the Doon MLA was accused of killing her.

Shimla, September 19
A two-day conference on “Challenges and Barriers in Hydropower Development”, organised by Central Board of Irrigation and Power in collaboration with Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) and Forum of the Hydro Power Producers, concluded here today.

About 150 delegates from various hydropower development organisations and developers and promoters of hydropower sector participated in the conference. Delegates from Nepal and Bhutan also participated.

Participants expressed concern over issues such as land acquisition, relief and rehabilitation and environmental issues which were delaying the projects. On the basis of deliberation, it has been decided to place key recommendations before the state and Central governments to expedite the implementation of hydroelectric projects in the country.

As many as 36 research papers were presented by experts at the conference, covering subjects such as research and development, environmental and social issues, contract management and project financing, innovation and construction experiences, challenges in survey and investigations of hydroelectric projects and challenges and hindrances faced in hydropower development for obtaining clearances. 

Kangra, September 19
The state government started a two-year training course for primary assistant teachers (PAT) through the National Institute of Open School (NIOS) fulfilling the conditions laid down by the National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) from yesterday.

However, these PAT teachers have already been imparted a two-year training through the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) in 2012-13, which has now been declared invalid.

The PAT teachers were imparted training in 2012-13 and were paid TA-DA for this. Vipin Kaushal, president, PAT Union Block, Nurpur, said here today that firstly the syllabus and the method of training was the same in both present and previous training.

He said secondly the previous training was imparted for 98 days whereas the present training would be imparted for 54 days in two years.

Ashok Sharma, director, Elementary Education, said the two-year training that was already imparted was not accepted by the Government of India as it was not as per the guidelines of the NCTE. He said, “We tried to convince the Government of India that training imparted to PAT be accepted, but they did not accept our plea”.

When asked why that training programme was carried in the state earlier which was now declared invalid, Sharma said he did not know about that as it was done before he assumed the office of the director, Elementary Education.

The Education Department was charging Rs 12,000 per PAT teacher for the training which among other things included fee of the trainers, who are already serving the state government as teachers in elementary schools and in DIET.

The sources in the department said in elementary schools, lecturers with BEd were imparting training to PAT teachers whereas MEd and experienced teachers in DIET were not included in programmes.

The training to 2,391 PAT teachers in the state is likely to open doors for their service regularisation in the Elementary Education Department.

Shimla, September 19
The devastating floods in Jammu and Kashmir, which paralysed normal life and halted transportation of apple to terminal markets, have proved a boon for Himachal apple growers who are rushing their produce to major market for higher returns.

Kashmiri apple floods the markets from September and poses a challenge to Himachal apple, but this year the apple from Jammu and Kashmir is not reaching major markets, jacking up the prices of Himachal apple.

Despite 40 per cent less crop as compared to the last year, over 1.54 crore apple boxes have been exported so far, while good quality apple from tribal Kinnaur district and the higher hills of Shimla, including Matiana, Kotgarh, Sarahan and the Ani area of Kullu, has started arriving in terminal markets.

“About 4 lakh apple boxes are being exported from the state everyday and nearly 70 to 80 lakh boxes are expected to reach the markets till the end of the season with spotless juicy apple of Kinnaur accounting for about 25 lakh boxes,” sources in the Horticulture Department said.

The apple crop is expected to be between 2.10 crore to 2.30 crore boxes this year as the crop is normal in high altitude areas, while the crop from the lower areas has already been marketed. The prices of apple, which ranged between Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,300 per box in the first week of September, have shot up between Rs 1,600 and Rs 1,800 per box during the last three days.

Progressive growers in higher hills are hopeful that their entire produce will be marketed by the time situation returns to normal in Jammu and Kashmir. Apple crop was 3.69 crore in 2013 and 7.39 crore boxes in 2012 and the growers got remunerative returns, but the market situation is much better this year after the floods in Kashmir.

Meanwhile, with a large number of trucks and pick-up vans carrying apples to various markets plying on National Highway-22, traffic jams have become a common sight. Last night also NH-22 was blocked near the toll barrier between Jabli and Timber trail (Parwanoo) for more than an hour as a truck which was on its way back from Delhi developed technical snag and commuters had a hard time. 

Shimla, September 19
Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur has urged the Union Government for opening AIIMS in the state at the earliest so that people could get best medical treatment facilities.

He apprised the Union Ministry that presently there were two government medical colleges in the state and critical cases of both the institutions were being referred to PGI, Chandigarh, for treatment. He raised this demand with the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan at a meeting at New Delhi last evening.

The Centre had announced that every state, which had no AIIMS institution, would be provided one and as per the directions, the state had identified more than 200 acres of land which is about five km from Mandi, he said.

Singh said in case the land was found suitable and selected for AIIMS, necessary steps would be taken to get permission for the change of land use from Union Ministry of Environment and Forest.

Dr Harsh Vardhan said Additional Chief Secretary, Health, to the Government of Himachal Pradesh, had already been asked to obtain proposals from DCs of the state for selection of requisite land. He said arrangements, like providing water supply and other facilities for the establishment of AIIMS, would be done by the state government.

Kullu, September 19
The three-day Youth Parliament competition concluded on the premises of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Sultanpur, today.

Poonam Sharma, principal of the host school, said Kothi School of Ani block of the district was adjudged the winner. Schools from five blocks of the district, namely Ani, Banjar, Kullu-I, Kullu-II and Naggar had participated in the competition. Students of Sultanpur school were the runners-up, she added. Jagdish Sharma, Deputy Director (Higher Education), Kullu, was the chief guest of the concluding ceremony. He said the competition was aimed to apprise students about the Parliamentary affairs and procedures so that they were able to undertake the role of responsible citizens for developing a good society.

He added that detailed information on the style of working of Parliament was provided to the students through mock drills and contests. He also presented awards to the winners.

Shimla, September 19
The state BJP yesterday termed the new retention policy of the government for regularising illegal structures as anti-poor, alleging that the policy had been introduced “only to regularise the illegal building of Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) in which gross deviations have been made”.

Urging the government to review the policy, Ganesh Dutt, state BJP spokesman, said the high fee for regularising the illegal areas was unaffordable for poor people and would benefit only rich and big builders.

“Under the new policy, the rates for regularisation of illegal buildings and designs are very high and beyond the reach of the common man, who would not be able to get their building regularised and the benefit of the scheme would go to the rich and the affluent,” he added. — TNS

Shimla, September 19
The government today appointed PC Dhiman, Principal Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment, as Principal Secretary, Education, in place of Ali Raza Rizvi.

Rizvi has been moved as Principal Secretary, Town and Country Planning, Housing and Information Technology. Upma Chawdhry, Additional Chief Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and Languages Art and Culture, will now look after Social Justice and Empowerment. She will continue to hold the charge of Languages Art and Culture.

Manisha Nanda, Principal Secretary, Printing and Stationery, who is holding the additional charge of Principal Secretary, Town and Country Planning and Housing, has been given the charge of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, which was earlier held by Chawdhry.