Road blocked, 3 hurt in lathicharge
SHIMLA, Oct 8 — Three persons were injured when the police resorted to a lathicharge on a mob which blocked the road to the Sanjouli Bazar today in protest against the discrimination against the Chamayana area by the authorities.

CRPF martyr cremated
SUNDERNAGAR, Oct 8 — Residents of Kalohad village in Sundernagar have urged the Chief Minister to provide financial grants to the family of Constable Yadvinder (26) who was killed by militants in Manipur on October 3.

HC stays Revenue Dept notification
SHIMLA, Oct 8 — Mr Justice D. Raju, Chief Justice and Justice L.S. Panta of the Himachal High Court today stayed the notification dated September 27, 1999 by which the Revenue Department had cancelled the original consolidation proceedings completed and implemented ten years ago in the Damtal area of Kangra district.

• Word of advice for leaders
• Sat Mahajan accepts defeat
• ADGPs shifted

Dhumal challenged to hold snap poll
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 8 — The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today challenged the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, to hold snap poll for the Vidhan Sabha to clear himself of the illusion that the verdict in the Lok Sabha elections was endorsement of the performance of his BJP-HVC combine government in Himachal Pradesh.

Mr Virbhadra Singh, who was talking to newspersons here, said the ruling combine winning all four Lok Sabha seats in the state was not an endorsement of the performance of the Dhumal government. In case Mr Dhumal decides to hold a snap poll, the Congress party will face the election.

He said the people voted for Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and not on the performance of the ruling combine here. Mr Dhumal and Mr Sukh Ram sought votes in the name of Mr Vajpayee and not on their performance. They would have faced a humiliating defeat in case they fought the election on local issues.

He lambasted the HVC leader, Mr Sukh Ram, for having demanded that Mr Virbhadra Singh should retire from politics in view of the defeat of the Congress party from all four Lok Sabha seats.

He said Mr Sukh Ram had no moral right to make such a demand as he was facing serious charges of corruption and the CBI had also lodged him in Tihar Jail. "Instead of advising me to retire from politics, Mr Sukh Ram should himself do so, at least till the time he was exonerated by the court," he said.

Mr Virbhadra Singh alleged Mr Sukh Ram was unnecessarily obsessed with him and his statements smacked of personal vendetta.

The feudal structure in the country ended with Independence but unfortunately the place of the erstwhile rulers had been taken over by people like Mr Sukh Ram who turned millionaires overnight, he alleged.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said whatever office he occupied during the past about 40 years was through the democratic process.

He said the debacle of the Congress in the state was a temporary phase and the party would work with more determination and spring back. The first step of the Congress would be to regain the confidence of the people.

The CLP leader, who was accompanied by two senior Congress legislators, Mr J.B.L. Kachi and Mr Kaul Singh, said the party had taken a very serious view of its debacle and needed to introspect. Remedial measures would be taken at all levels in the party following widespread discussions.

He said the Congress might have suffered a temporary setback but it had not in any way weakened the resolve to serve people with dedication. The debacle would be taken as a challenge, he added.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said the country required a strong and stable government which the fragile coalition of 24 parties led by Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee would not be able to provide. The coalition partners had different ideologies and were suffering from clash of personalities.

He said the factors which favoured the BJP at the Centre included the silent wave in favour of Mr Vajpayee, the media hype in favour of Mr Vajpayee and the exit and opinion polls also influenced the electorate.

Referring to the defeat of the Congress in the Shimla (reserved) constituency, Mr Virbhadra Singh said the overconfidence and complacence among leaders and workers was one of the major reasons for it.

He accused the ruling alliance of having blatantly misused the official machinery during the elections. Work on at least 14 new roads in the Pachhd Assembly segment of the Shimla seat was started after the elections were announced. He regretted that neither the Election Commission nor the Chief Electoral Officer of the state took note of the complaints regarding misuse of official machinery by the BJP-HVC combine which the Congress party made during the elections.

Work on many roads was stopped as soon as the polling was over, he alleged.

Pulse polio drive from Oct 24
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 8 — Mr A.K. Goswami, Chief Secretary, has stressed the need for cooperation to achieve the eradication of poliomyelitis by 2000 for which revised strategy has been formulated under the intensified pulse polio immunisation campaign.

Presiding over the steering committee meeting here today, the Chief Secretary said the pulse polio immunisation drive would start from October and continue till January. A mobilisation campaign should be launched for getting the support of all government and non-governmental organisation, he said, adding that community participation should be ensured by the involvement of Panchayati Raj institutions, mahila mandals and social workers for the purpose.

Mr Goswami said about 6,000 polio booths would be set up in the state and each booth would be manned by four persons, including technical persons from the Health and Ayurveda Department. He said departments like Education, Ayurveda, Social and Women Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Transport, Revenue, Forest, Irrigation and Public Health and Public Works Department have been asked to extend support to make the campaign a success.

As many as 281, booths would be set up at Bilaspur district, 678 at Chamba, 300 at Hamirpur 1,100 at Kangra, 125 at Kinnaur, 400 at Kulu, 80 at Lahaul and Spiti 700, at Shimla, 523 at Sirmour, 389 at Solan, 354 at Una and 1,070 at Mandi.

The first round of the campaign would begin on October 24, the second round on November 21, the third on December 19 and the fourth on January 23. Each round would last 2 to 3 days.

All gram panchayats would ensure that children of the age group 0-5 were given polio drops.

'Paradise' for beggars
From Subhash Sharma

KULU: Several cases of unauthorised occupation of government land in and around Bhunter town have reportedly been overlooked by the authorities. The abandoned civil dispensary building of the Health Department is being occupied by beggars. The two-storey building is a "paradise" for them as it is located right in the heart of the town, 100 yards from the entry exit gate of the airport and the adjoining main bus stand towards the east and the National Highway on the west.

Because of the reported indifference of the authorities the beggars have been staying in the building for the past many years.

The land on which the building was built belonged to Mr Hukam Chand Katoch, son of Mr Mahesh Singh Katoch of Kahudar, who donated nine biswas of land to the Health Department to open a health centre. The prime land, worth about Rs 20 lakh, was a suitable place for the dispensary.

But the department has shifted the dispensary to a place which is flood prone and away from the main township. It may be recalled that five persons were rescued from the present dispensary in 1995 floods. The ground floor of the present building was under water.

The legal heirs of the Katoch family feel sour that the land has not been utilised as per the wishes of their elders.

Mr Gian Chand Katoch, one of the heirs, said if the Health Department was not in a position to run the dispensary in the said building, the purpose of the donation was defeated. He said if the department was unable to utilise the space for the specific purpose, then they would prefer to take back the land and use that for another social cause.

He said there were many NGOs like the Lions Club and the Rotary Club, which could run a free dispensary for the poor in this building.

Bhunter is a junction and a stop over for Manikaran and Gadsa valley, where Parvati, Malana and Larji hydel projects are underway. The place is also known as the gateway to the Kulu valley. An additional health dispensary will prove beneficial for the town residents. The Health Department should restart the dispensary at the building in question.

Jawan cremated with military honours
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Oct 8 — Des Raj of the 20 Rashtriya Rifles, who was killed while fighting militants in the Doda area of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, was cremated with full military honours at his native village, Badhrun, near Khundian, in the Dehra subdivision, today.

The 25-year-old jawan had joined the Army in 1995. His father, Prithi Chand, who was also in the Army, had died in 1991.

Des Raj was killed on Wednesday while participating in an operation to flush out militants in the Doda area.

The 2 km stretch between Nahlian village and Badhrun, was lined up with hundreds of villagers, including a large number of women, when the body arrived this morning. The martyr's younger brother, Harnam Singh, lit the pyre in the presence of senior civil and military officers.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr B.K. Aggarwal, placed a wreath on the body on behalf of the Governor while the Minister for Technical Education, Mr Ravinder Thakur, paid floral tributes on behalf of the Chief Minister.

Des Raj is survived by his mother, two sisters and a brother.

Road blocked, 3 hurt in lathicharge
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 8 — Three persons were injured when the police resorted to a lathicharge on a mob which blocked the road to the Sanjouli Bazar today in protest against the discrimination against the Chamayana area by the authorities.

A Congress councillor Mr Sanjay Sharma, sat on an indefinite fast against the discrimination.

He alleged that the police beat up demonstrators who blocked the road for about five hours.

He claimed that he had repeatedly brought the civic problems of the area to the notice of the Minister for Urban Development and Commissioner of the municipal corporation, but nothing had been done so far.

He said he would continue his fast until his demands, which include construction of a road, railing on public stairs and streetlights in the area were met.

CRPF martyr cremated
From Our Correspondent

SUNDERNAGAR, Oct 8 — Residents of Kalohad village in Sundernagar have urged the Chief Minister to provide financial grants to the family of Constable Yadvinder (26) who was killed by militants in Manipur on October 3.

Yadvinder joined the Central Reserve Police Force in 1992. On the fateful day he was killed along with seven personnel.

The mortal remains of Yadvinder were consigned to the flames here on Wednesday with full military and civil honours.

The SDM, Sundernagar, when asked regarding financial grants, said there was no such scheme. But the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, said the case had been sent to the government.

HC stays Revenue Dept notification
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 8 — Mr Justice D. Raju, Chief Justice and Justice L.S. Panta of the Himachal High Court today stayed the notification dated September 27, 1999 by which the Revenue Department had cancelled the original consolidation proceedings completed and implemented ten years ago in the Damtal area of Kangra district.

The order was passed on the writ petition of Mr Harbhajan Singh, a resident of Damtal, challenging notification on the ground that the state government had no power to cancel the original notification after confirmation of the consolidation scheme.

The petitioner pointed out that the original notification was issued on October 10, 1986 and implemented in March 1989.

Some right holders filed petitions in high court against the consolidation proceedings which were dismissed and the proceedings were upheld. The apex court also rejected the appeal against the high court order and upheld the consolidation proceedings.

However, despite this, the Revenue Secretary had issued a notification cancelling the earlier notification which had already been implemented.

Show-cause notices were issued to the Revenue Secretary, the Temple Officer, Damtal temple and Director, Land Records.

Word of advice for leaders
From Our Correspondent

NURPUR, Oct 8 — An interesting note was found in a ballot box of the Nurpur Assembly segment of the Kangra parliamentary constituency when counting of the votes was in progress on Wednesday in the local Bachat Bhavan building. The note showed the disenchantment of a voter towards the Indian politicians.

The note was found in a ballot box counting table number 11. It was read by counting agents of the Congress and the BJP. It was written in Hindi and read. "Netao kuchh to sharam karo, desh ke liye kuchh to socho." (Leaders, you should feel ashamed, think something for the nation.)

Sat Mahajan accepts defeat
From Our Correspondent

NURPUR, Oct 8 — The PCC Chief, Mr Sat Mahajan, who was defeated twice in the Lok Sabha elections in the Kangra Parliamentary constituency, in a statement here today has accepted the verdict of the people.

He said the Congress would examine the reasons behind its rout in four Lok Sabha seats in the state. He said the electorate were influenced only by the national issues and not the BJP-HVC government issues.

ADGPs shifted
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 8 — Mr V.K. Malik, Additional Director-General of Police (Vigilance), has been transferred and posted as Additional Director-General of Police (Enforcement).

Mr A.K. Puri, Additional Director-General of Police (CID), will hold the additional charge of ADGP (Vigilance).