P R A D E S H
Sunday, August 22, 1999
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H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H |
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Sunday, August 22, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Mahajan’s efforts to
appease opponents |
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SFI members block
traffic, 30 held Tibetan Govt flays foreigners'
arrest Over 2 lakh visit Naina Devi
shrine Shopkeepers observe bandh Recruitment of outsiders flayed Villagers resent road blockage New department |
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Mahajan’s efforts to appease
opponents SHIMLA, Aug 19 —In a bid to appease his detractors within the party the state Congress Chief, Mr Sat Mahajan, today asked his arch rival Mr Vikram Katoch, to take charge of electioneering in the prestigious Kangra Lok Sabha constituency. Mr Mahajan is contesting from Kangra this time after having lost the previous Lok Sabha elections. As a part of his election strategy, Mr Mahajan is making all out efforts to seek the support of his opponents within the Congress party. According to reports Mr Mahajan has already managed to win over, with help of the CLP leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, not only Mr Katoch, but also Mr Vijay Singh Mankotia and Mr Kewal Singh Pathania with whom he had differences earlier. All this has boosted the confidence of Mr Mahajan. Though it will still be a tough contest between him and Mr Shanta Kumar, the BJP candidate from Kangra. Mr Mahajan has asked Mr Katoch to look after both the Kangra and Chamba districts which constitute the Kangra Lok Sabha constituency. Mr Mahajan had earlier faced severe opposition from these three leaders who had even refused to recognise him as the PCC chief. They had sent representations to the AICC seeking the removal of Mr Mahajan, a nominated party chief, and the installation of a duly elected leader for heading the party in the state. Mr Chander Kumar and Mr G S Bali, both sitting Legislators, who earlier did not have cordial relations with Mr Mahajan, are also supporting him this time. Mr B B Butail, MLA and district Congress president of Kangra, is also a Mahajan loyalist. Mr Mahajan has also improved relations with Mrs Asha Kumari and Mr Harsh Mahajan, Chamba district Legislators. Eversince his
candidature for the Kangra seat became certain, Mr
Mahajan started efforts to mend relations with his
opponents within the party. |
Resident doctor commits suicide SHIMLA, Aug 21 — Dr Harpal Singh, a resident doctor of Indira Gandhi Medical College, committed suicide here today by hanging himself in his hostel room. According to the police, Dr Harpal Singh, who belongs to Karnal in Haryana, was found dead in the morning. It is learnt that he left a 16-page suicide note which has reportedly been recovered by the police. He had tied an electric wire around his neck and hung himself with the frame of a window, the police said. The room was bolted from inside. His parents reached here in the afternoon and the body will be handed over to them after post-mortem. Meanwhile, the Resident Doctors Association has expressed concern over the increasing tendency of suicide among medicos of the IGMC in the recent past. The association has
urged the state government and the Human Rights
Commission to look into the matter so that remedial steps
could be taken to avoid such incidents in future. |
Water supply to Chamba cut CHAMBA, Aug 21 — The Jacera Water Supply Scheme for the town was ravaged by landslides and flood waters following heavy rains in the region day before yesterday. This has led to the suspension of the water supply to the town. According to an official spokesman of the Irrigation-cum-Public Health Department, the flood waters had caused extensive damage to the 13-km-long gravity pipeline at Chameenu village. He said the maintenance work on the water pipeline was being undertaken on a war footing which would continue road-the-clock to provide drinking water to the residents of the town as early as possible. He added that the water was being provided from the water tanks in the town. The town would also get water from the Saretha water supply scheme. Meanwhile, the Chamba-Bairagath highway has been blocked by landslides at different points following heavy rains in Chamba region since yesterday. The work is in progress to clear the debris and to resume traffic. The Sahoo belt of Chamba district has been out off from the district headquarter following a cloudburst. The Chameenu bridge on the Chamba-Sahoo road has also been washed away yesterday. Six residential houses have been washed away in flashfloods — three in Chamba tehsil and three in Bhattiyat tehsil of the district. After visiting the affected areas, a team of revenue officials headed by Mr B.S. Thakur, Additional District Magistrate ADM here said according to preliminary reports the loss due to flashfloods in the district had been put at more than Rs 1 crore. The ADM, said a woman was injured at Dholi village in Bhattiyat tehsil. He further said a relief
of Rs 5000 each to the families affected had been
distributed while the injured had been given Rs 1000. |
SFI members block traffic,
30 held SHIMLA, Aug 21 — At least 30 activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) were taken into custody by the police when they blocked traffic at three places here today. They were demanding elections to the Students Central Association (SCA) and withdrawal of fee hike. A large number of students of the university and various colleges have, on the other hand, urged the authorities to take immediate steps to ensure smooth functioning in the educational institutions where the SFI had started an indefinite strike in support of its demands. The SFI members have disrupted normal functioning in the educational institutions for the last one week. Prof S K Gupta, Vice-Chancellor of HP University, today assured the students that steps were being taken to ensure normal atmosphere on the campus. He took a serious note of the instances of SFI members disrupting classes and threatening the teachers and students. A spokesman of the HPU said students belonging to the ABVP and the NSUI had met the Vice-Chancellor in this connection and demanded that steps should be taken to ensure that no one was allowed to disturb the classes and to threaten the students. Regarding the SCA elections, to be held in the university and colleges in the state, Prof Gupta reiterated that elections could be held only after various students’ organisations unanimously decided about reforms and pattern of elections. A congenial atmosphere was also necessary. He said, however, it would not be possible to hold elections before the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Vice-Chancellor also
appealed to the students to exercise restraint and urged
them to attend their classes without any fear. |
Tibetan Govt flays foreigners'
arrest DHARAMSALA, Aug 21 — The Tibetan Government-in exile, has reacted sharply to the arrest of two foreigners in the Amdo region of Tibet by the Chinese authorities, terming it as a blatant violation of the internationally accepted norms of behaviour. "The detention of Gabriel. Lafitte and his America travelling companion, Daja Meston, is sad unfortunate and wrong," stated Mr T.C. Tethong, the Minister for Information and International Relations in the Central Tibetan Administration. He Urged Chinese Government to immediately release the two of them. Lafitte and his companion were arrested five days ago in the town of Tulan, the site of the controversial World Bank project, under which 60,000 Chinese settlers would be brought into Tulan, and would be made to settle down as farmers. Lafitte, is a Research Associate at the Melbourne University Institute of Asian Languages and Societies. His companion, Daja Meston, works for an educational charity affiliated to the Department of International Development at Harvard University Tibetans, who have been opposing this project have condemned the World-Bank for being an unwitting accomplice to the calculated Chinese policy of mass transfer of Chinese into the Tibetan plateana. The Tibetan minister said that probably Lafitte and his companion were in Tulan taking up the Chinese invitation that reporters and experts were welcome to inspect the project site and that they were free to meet anyone and go wherever they liked. Mr Tethong, said that now it was the duty of the World Bank to see that the two foreigners were released and make the Chinese authorities kept the promise they made when the body was debating the issues involved in the Tulan project. China had promised to executive directors of the financial body that it would allow access to the project site to both journalists and others. In fact, the Chinese Government recently took a group of 20 reporters. Based in Beijing for a guided tour of Tulan, where there was no chance left for the reporters to independently confirm the impact of the project on the people and environment. The Tibetans and their
supporters had alerted the international community of the
potentially dangerous fallout from this project for the
Tibetans. They said that the project would dilute the
Tibetan culture and undermine the ability of the Tibetans
to survive as a distinct race and culture. The World
Bank, later compromised and said that it would constitute
an inspection panel whose recommendations would be
binding on the financial body. |
Over 2 lakh visit Naina Devi
shrine BILASPUR, Aug 21 — More than two lakh pilgrims had visited the Naina Devi shrine up to Thursday evening during the ten-day Sharavan Ashtami fair at Naina Devi, 75 km from here. Mela officer and Additional District Magistrate R.D. Panwar said here today that Rs 35,27,203 in cash and 542 grams of gold and 23.9 kg of silver had offered to the diety. The administration was providing 13 lakh litres of drinking water every day and 32 additional buses had been pressed into service. 56 organisations have been allowed to serve free langar in the mela premises and five additional health centres set up to provide free medical help and medicines. A newly constructed
sarai run by the HP Tourism Corporation on behalf of the
temple trust to provides accommodation and other
facilities to pilgrims. |
Shopkeepers observe bandh SHIMLA, Aug 21 — A bandh was observed here today to protest against the beating up of two employees of a cable operator allegedly by NSUI activists who were protesting against screening of the controversial film "Kohram". The call for the bandh was given by the Beopar Mandal. While most of the shops on The Mall remained closed, the bandh was partial in other areas. Meanwhile, NSUI activists have said that they got provoked as the film played with their sentiments. They have, however, denied that they beat anybody or ransacked the office of the cable operator. They have alleged that
the film aimed at maligning the Congress leader, Mr
Virbhadra Singh, and have sought a ban on its screening. |
Recruitment of outsiders flayed KASUMPATI, Aug 21 — Dr Harmohinder Singh, General Secretary of Himachal Medical Officers Association has criticised the move to recruit staff from outside the state and also some retired doctors on huge contracts for Dr Rajindra Prasad Government Medical College Tanda (RPGMC), by bypassing general duty officers who were working on ad-hoc basis from a very long time at the hospital. In a press statement here today, Dr Singh, showing his solidarity with these doctors said, 66 per cent lecturers and other faculty members were appointed from this cadre of Himachal Pradesh when Indira Gandhi Medical College was started and now, instead of inviting doctors from outside, the same criteria should be followed for the Tanda College, which is now recognised by the medical council following the untiring efforts of these ad-hoc doctors of Himachal. Fearing their ultimate
ouster and unceremonious removal from the college, he has
demanded immediate action for regularising the services
of these doctors. |
Villagers resent road blockage SOLAN, Aug 21 — Kumarhatti-Sultanpur-Oachghat road, which serves nearly a score of villages, besides providing a short cut for the movement of traffic for Shimla and Sirmaur districts, has remained blocked for over one month causing inconvenience to villagers. This road had been taken over by NABARD for the purpose of widening it as per the state highway standards. Certain contractors, who had been entrusted with the excavation work, had dumped debris on the road at several places which had resulted in a virtual blockade. Moreover the bus service of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation had remained suspended since July 25. The villagers had sent a
memorandum to the district administration requesting them
to intervene. |
New department SHIMLA, Aug 21 (PTI) — The Himachal Cabinet today decided to set up a Department of Information and Technology with a view to promoting fast emerging technology in the next millennium. The new
department would encourage the use of computers,
communication and information technology and look after
an awareness campaign. |
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