Cong leader flays power cuts
HAMIRPUR, Nov 3 — Mr Kuldip Singh Pathania, a former Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress chief, has flayed the state government for imposing two hours' power cut in the state.

Environment engg institute mooted
SHIMLA, Nov 3 — The Himachal Pradesh Government is planning to set up a national-level environment engineering and pollution control institute in the state with a view to providing better facilities to engineers and researchers.

Lecture on ‘‘Gardens of the Raj’’
SHIMLA, Nov 3 — Professor Charles Carlton, Fulbright visiting scholar from North Carolina State University delivered a special lecture on ‘‘Gardens of the Raj’’ here today.

Red Cross fair
MANDI, Nov 3 — A Red Cross fair was organised at the historic Seri pavilion in the town today. Mr Sukh Ram, HVC supremo, inaugurated the fair.

Solan byelection may sour HVC-BJP ties
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, Nov 3 — Local BJP leaders belonging to the Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal faction of the party, have taken a strong exception not only to the "unilateral action of the HVC executive committee staking their party’s claim to the Solan Vidhan Sabha seat but also to the tactics adopted by them in announcing the name of their party candidate without even consulting BJP leaders".

The HVC executive committee met at Shimla yesterday and announced the name of Mr Haminder Thakur as their choice for the Solan seat which had fallen vacant following the unseating of Congress Ms Krishna Mohini by the Supreme Court recently.

Dr Rajiv Bindal, HP, BJP Treasurer and a Dhumal supporter while addressing a press conference here today, said that the Solan seat had traditionally been either a Congress or a BJP stronghold. Presently the BJP had the upper hand as was reflected in the results of the last parliamentary elections. He claimed that the success of the HVC candidate and MP Lt Col Dhani Ram Shandil in those elections was "hundred per cent due to the efforts and strength of the BJP cadres".

Dr Bindal regretted that the HVC leadership had chosen to flout the spirit in which the coalition partners had been functioning uptill now. "Instead of realising that the BJP with it’s proven track record, was better suited to win the seat, the HVC had decided to field their own candidate thus throwing the accepted norms of a coalition’s functioning to the winds".

He appealed to the HVC top leadership to refrain from taking any step that would vitiate the cordial relations between the two parties.

Replying to a question as to what the BJP would do in case the HVC refused to relent and decided to go it alone, Dr Bindal made a categorical statement-firmly saying that the seat would be allotted only to the BJP.

Dr Bindal said that in making that statement he had the backing of seven senior district BJP leaders including Chairman of the HP State Marketing Board Mr Virendra Kashyap, Mr Amar Singh Thakur vice-president, HP Yuva Morcha, Mr Kushal Jethi, vice-president, Beopar Cell of the HP BJP and Mrs Rakesh Sharma, President of the District Mahila Morcha.

Replying to another question, he said that the decision about the BJP candidate would be taken by the party high command in it’s own wisdom at the appropriate time. He, however, conceded that Mr Mohinder Nath Sofat had a strong claim to the party ticket but quickly added "so have some others". He admitted that he himself was contender for the party ticket.

Mr Sofar, a Shanta Kumar loyalist, had successfully filed a writ petition in the Himachal High Court challenging Ms Mohini’s election. It was due to his efforts that the Congress MLA was unseated and the way paved for a bye-election.

Sukh Ram camp upset
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 3 — The Sukh Ram camp in the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) is upset over the statement of the Food Minister, Mr Mansa Ram, that he and Mr Prakash Chaudhary, Minister for Animal Husbandry, are now part and parcel of the ruling BJP.

Mr Sukh Ram has so far been claiming that both Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary, who won the assembly election on the HVC ticket and were later persuaded to join the BJP, were, in fact, aligned with the HVC.

However, the reported statement of Mr Mansa Ram has come as a blow to Mr Sukh Ram. The minister has made it clear that the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, is his leader.

The other group in the HVC is now blaming Mr Sukh Ram for having "sent" Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Chaudhary to the BJP as part of his strategy. It points out that the strength of the HVC in the assembly has been reduced to three because of the "faulty decision" of Mr Sukh Ram. Five legislators had won the assembly election on the HVC symbol.

Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Chaudhary have gradually been distancing themselves from Mr Sukh Ram. They turned down his invitation for a joint public meeting near Rohroo sometime ago when Mr Sukh Ram was trying to give the impression that all was well with the HVC.

Mr Dhumal had reportedly told Mr Sukh Ram at a public meeting recently to keep his own house in order instead of blaming the BJP for what was happening in the HVC.

Mr Sukh Ram and his supporters are reportedly unhappy with the rising graph of Mr Mohinder Singh, PWD Minister, who is calling the shots in the Dhumal government while Mr Sukh Ram has virtually been sidelined.

Most of the HVC men have started rallying round Mr Mohinder Singh who holds the two important portfolios of PWD and Excise and Taxation. The BJP candidate for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, Mr Maheshwar Singh, got the highest lead of over 20,000 votes in the state in the Dharampur segment which is represented by Mr Mohinder Singh in the assembly.

20,000 green trees to be axed
From S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA,Nov 3 — About 20,000 green trees in the Darlaghat area of Solan district will be axed as forest land has been leased for limestone mining to a leading cement factory by the Himachal Pradesh government.

It is learnt that the union ministry of environment has also given the green signal to the project and the nearly 1285 bighas has already been leased to M/s Gujarat Ambuja Cements for the mining of raw material. Of this, about 6500 bighas belong to the government.

Sources said the Environment Ministry, which in normal circumstances did not entertain such proposals, had permitted diversion of the forest area for non-forest purpose.

The factory authorities said they had paid Rs 71 lakh for the lease and compensatory plantation elsewhere. Double the number of trees were being planted in certain adjoining areas.

The green cover consists of trees of various varieties spread over six villages. However, the authorities claimed that these were small plants and saplings.

The factory, which has remained in controversy eversince it was planned in 1991 during the BJP regime of Mr Shanta Kumar, has already acquired about 750 bighas for mining. The mining plan has been approved for about 60 years.

It was pointed out that the agreement for mining in the area was signed in 1992 and the compensation was deposited with the government in 1995.

Meanwhile, residents of the area are annoyed over the step as it will lead to the loss of the green cover.

In 1991, the government had denotified Darlaghat Wildlife Sanctuary for setting up the cement factory.

Green cover and wildlife sanctuaries have been victims of various projects in the state. About 1060 hectares in Great Himalayan National Park in Kulu district was recently denotified for setting up the Parbati hydroelectric project. Various environmentalists have lodged a protest with the Prime Minister in this regard.

Cong leader flays power cuts
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Nov 3 — Mr Kuldip Singh Pathania, a former Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress chief, has flayed the state government for imposing two hours' power cut in the state.

He said this showed that the government was incapable of handling the situation.

In a statement here today, he said it was not understood why power cuts had been imposed in a state which had been supplying power to other states. He demanded that the cuts should be immediately stopped.

Mr Pathania demanded that a regular chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Subordinate Services Board should be appointed as the work in the office was suffering badly after retirement of the previous chairman of the board.

He criticised the Baba Balak Nath Temple Trust, Deotsidd, for constructing a taxi stand on the forest land and by cutting number of trees. He said it was a matter of concern that a government-owned organisation was doing this at the behest of a party in power and senior officers of the district administration. He demanded strict action against those involved.

Mr Pathania sought the immediate opening of colleges at Sujanpurtira, Barsar, Kanjyan and in various other parts of the district as students of these areas came to Hamirpur to get higher education.

Environment engg institute mooted
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 3 — The Himachal Pradesh Government is planning to set up a national-level environment engineering and pollution control institute in the state with a view to providing better facilities to engineers and researchers.

This was disclosed by Mr Ravinder Singh Ravi, Minister of State for Technical Education, while reviewing the working of the department here today.

Mr Ravi said the institute would cater to the needs of researchers and environmental engineers. He said technical education was being made more relevant to the present era of science and technology with a view to providing self-employment avenues to the trained unemployed youth.

He said there were 34 ITIs in the state and nine more would be opened this year.

He said the state government had also decided to set up a driving school at Amb in Una district.

Lecture on ‘‘Gardens of the Raj’’
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 3 — Professor Charles Carlton, Fulbright visiting scholar from North Carolina State University delivered a special lecture on ‘‘Gardens of the Raj’’ here today.

Prof Carlton stated that the motives, intentions and interests of the British were partly imperial in nature and partly they wanted to have gardens to domesticate the foreign environment and to provide a private space. Because of this they laid special emphasis on enclosures and borders of hedges and flowering annuals around their houses, parks, lawns, etc. The display of power and culture is visible in their schemata of gardens.

In his presidential remarks Prof S.K. Gupta, Vice-Chancellor questioned the civilising and disciplining motives at work as also the re-writing of history in such vein. He pointed out that in Buddhist and Sanskrit literature there are numerous references to gardens and temple groves and gardening was an integral part of ashrams in ancient India.

Red Cross fair
From Our Correspondent

MANDI, Nov 3 — A Red Cross fair was organised at the historic Seri pavilion in the town today. Mr Sukh Ram, HVC supremo, inaugurated the fair.

He lauded the role of the Red Cross in the state and the district. He said the BJP-HVC government was making all efforts to make the state a viable and prosperous state.

Mr Prabodh Saxena, Deputy Commissioner and President of the district Red Cross Society gave an account of the activities of the Red Cross and added that a sum of Rs 4.5 lakh had been spent by the district unit on various welfare projects.

Blood donation camps were also organised by the district unit in which, 1015 blood donors were registered and 162 units of blood was given to the regional blood bank.

Mr Saxena said artificial limbs were also provided to the handicapped on which a sum of Rs 2.68 lakh was spent. He added that the Red Cross was also ensuring round-the-clock ambulance service at the regional hospital here. Besides, the homes for the old and the handicapped were also being provided assistance, he said.