P R A D E S H
Wednesday, August 4, 1999
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H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H |
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Wednesday, August 4, 1999 |
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HVC for immediate
decision |
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7 dead as jeep rolls into
khud 1948 martyr's bust to be installed Nalagarh civic head resigns 5 get life term for murder |
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Sukh Ram meets CM on Shimla seat SHIMLA, Aug 3 — Restive over the inordinate delay in the finalisation of the agreement for sharing seats for the Lok Sabha poll, the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) today urged the BJP to take an immediate decision so that the party could launch its campaign. Mr Sukh Ram, President of the HVC, met the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, after the two-day party meeting and apprised him of the sentiments of his party rank and file. He urged Mr Dhumal to take up the matter with the high command and ensure that the decision of leaving the Shimla (reserved) seat for the HVC was taken expeditiously. He impressed upon Mr Dhumal that the apprehension that the HVC was not in a position to field a winning candidate was "misplaced." The party would field a promising candidate for the seat. Although selecting the candidate was the prerogative of the HVC, it would take the BJP into confidence while finalising the candidature as it was entering the electoral arena to wrest the seat from the Congress. The BJP had a base in the constituency but the HVC was in a position to make a dent in the traditional Congress vote bank, which was essential to win the seat. The BJP high command had in principle agreed to leave one seat for the party and he had opted for Shimla, the seat where the BJP was the weakest, not having won it since 1977. Mr Dhumal said the final decision on leaving the seat for the HVC would be taken shortly and he was hopeful that the matter would be settled amicably. The claim of the coalition partner would be given due consideration by the high command. Earlier, the meeting of the HVC, which was attended by all its four ministers, urged Mr Sukh Ram to explore the possibility of forging an electoral alliance with other political parties if the BJP failed to leave the Shimla seat for the party. Mr Sukh Ram, however, maintained that he would not look for other options at present and instead apprise the state leadership of the party's stand. He would take a decision only after meeting the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, on whom he had great faith. He would not take any step which could create political instability in the state and hoped that the BJP, which had higher stakes, would also not do any such thing. It is learnt that the BJP leaders had suggested to Mr Sukh Ram that the HVC should adopt Mr Virender Kashyap, who lost the Shimla seat by about 43,000 votes in 1998 as a BJP candidate, as its nominee. The HVC supremo, however, rejected the suggestion and said it would send a wrong signal to the electorate. The BJP had already
announced its candidate for the other three seats. It has
renominated Mr Shanta Kumar from Kangra, Mr Suresh
Chandel from Hamirpur and Mr Maheshwar from Mandi. |
HAS officers seek 50 p.c.
IAS posts SHIMLA, Aug 3 — The state civil services officers have urged the Centre to reserve 50 per cent senior duty IAS posts for them to provide vertical promotion avenues with the all-India services. The demand was made at a regional meeting of the All-India Federation of the Civil and Administrative Services Association held here recently. Mr H.N. Kashyap, press secretary of the Himachal Administrative Service (HAS) Officers Association told newsmen here today that the demand would be considered at the next convention of the federation at Delhi on October 24. The federation also decided to ask the state government to earmark posts of Deputy Commissioners and Collectors for the state civil service officers as in Orissa, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. Among those who participated in the regional meeting were, Mr B.S. Malik, secretary-general of the federation, Mr B.M. Nanta, vice-president (north), Mr Jaswant Singh, president, Punjab Civil Services Officers Association and Mr Chamel Singh, president, HAS Officers Association. Mr Kashyap said promotee officers at present were in a position to move only up to the post of Additional or Special Secretary. The federation also decided to formally ask the Centre to increase the promotion quota of the state civil services to IAS to 50 per cent from the existing 33 per cent till such time the demand for the parallel cadre was accepted. He said at present many officers with 25 years of service were waiting for induction into the IAS. Even when they finally got into the IAS, they were absorbed at virtually junior most levels in the cadre and were given insignificant postings. The federation also decided to request the Centre to restore the system of preparation of select lists as was the practice till last year, when the IAS. (Recruitment) Rules, 1956, were amended to the detriment of existing state civil service officers. The federation also
decided to move the Centre for altogether scrapping of
the IAS (Appointment by Selection) Regulations, 1956, as
these were not relevant in the present context when
scores of state civil service officers with outstanding
service record were available. |
Nahan martyr given final
farewell NAHAN August 3 — Rifleman Kalyan Singh of 19 J and K Light Infantry ( JKLI), who laid down his life while fighting intruders in the Kargil sector, was cremated today with full state and military honour at his native Halahan village in Shillai tehsil, 150 km from here. He is the second martyr from the district. More than 7,000 persons, including the Deputy Commissioner, the S P and leaders of various political parties attended the cremation. Earlier in the morning,
the body arrived in the village from Jammu. The news of
his sacrifice spread in the area like wild fire and
thousands of residents assembled in this sleepy village
to pay their last respect to the martyr. According to Mr
Sant Ram Sharma, teacher, he was outstanding kabbadi
player. |
7 dead as jeep rolls into khud SHIMLA, Aug 3 (PTI) — Seven persons were killed while seven were injured seriously when a jeep on its way from Banjar to Deotha, rolled into a gorge near Ghutghat, 60 km from here, today. The dead included a women, four men and two children, police sources said. The ill-fated jeep was carrying 14 persons. All seven injured have been admitted to the hospital at Banjar. The victims are yet to be identified. The Deputy Commissioner the SP Kulu, and Primary Education Minister Karan Singh have reached the site, relief and rescue operations are in full swing. Chief Minister, P.K.
Dhumal has expressed deep shock over the accident and
asked the district administration to provide adequate
relief to the victims. |
1948 martyr's bust to be
installed SHIMLA, Aug 3 — It is about 50 years after he sacrificed his life while preventing the vital Srinagar airport from falling into the hands of Pakistani raiders,that the Himachal Pradesh Government has woken up to the need to install a bust of Major Som Nath at Palampur in Kangra district. The issue was discussed at a high-level meeting which was presided over by the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, here today. The Chief Minister ordered that the Major's bust should be installed without delay. Successive governments had virtually forgotten to honour the great hero who thwarted the enemy's plan to capture the Kashmir valley in 1948. Major Som Nath, who belonged to Kangra district, was the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra. It was also decided to install a bust of late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on The Mall here. The Chief Minster asked the HPSEB and the PWD to properly maintain the war memorial at Dharamsala. It was decided that the statue of Maharana Pratap would be installed at a proper place in the Maharana Pratap Sagar area and a statue of former minister Jagdev Chand at Hamirpur by August 15 next year. A bust of Capt Hari
Singh would be installed at Chopal in Shimla district. |
Nalagarh civic head resigns SOLAN, Aug 3 — The district Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a minor setback when Mr Yash Pal Sharma, President of the Municipal Council, Nalagarh, submitted his resignation to the SDM, Mr K.C. Chaman, today. The BJP, in spite of having only three members in the nine-member council, had managed to install Mr Sharma as the president in 1996. The Congress camp regrouped two years later and almost succeeded in toppling Mr Sharma. Congress councillors had
sent a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner R.D. Dhiman on
July 26, accusing Mr Sharma of gross inefficiency and
discrimination in the matter of day-to-day management of
civic affairs. They had demanded that a date be fixed for
moving a no-confidence motion against him. |
5 get life term for murder BILASPUR, Aug 3 — Mr B.S. Chauhan, District and Sessions Judge, here has sentenced Kansiram, of Chhibbar village to life imprisonment under Section 302 of the IPC for murdering Ludriram of the same area in February 1995. In another case the Sessions Judge also sentenced five accused — Sitaram, Jagatpal, Nand Lal, Naresh Kumar and Yograj — to life imprisonment for murdering, Hansraj in June last year. The accused were challenged under Sections 302, 323, 149, 148 and 147 IPC. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Anurag Garg, said here yesterday that a police party conducted a raid on three stills at Majari village, and arrested three persons for extracting illicit liquor. The police party also destroyed 10 quintals of "lahan" which was lying unclaimed in drums beside a khud. Mr Garg said in another
raid at Salanu village near here, the police arrested
Hansraj and seized 30 pouches of countrymade liquor from
his possession. Mohinder Singh was also arrested in
another raid and 25 pouches of liquor were recovered from
him. |
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