Dhumal visits Kargil, compliments jawans
SHIMLA, July 5 — The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today visited Kargil to express solidarity of the people of Himachal Pradesh with soldiers who are fighting Pakistani intruders on the frontier.

("Soldiers back PM's stand")

Irate mob burns Tibetan market
MANALI, July 5 — Nearly 140 shops owned by Tibetan refugees were ransacked and set on fire by an irate mob today. The mob was angered over the killing of a plus II student of Government Senior Secondary School, Manali by a Tibetan youth. A famous Tibetan market and a centre of tourist attraction was razed to earth by an infuriated mob consisting of thousands of local residents.

Ban apple import: ex-CM
SHIMLA, July 5 — A former Chief Minister, Thakur Ram Lal, has urged the government to immediately put a ban on the import of apple to save local growers from being economically ruined.

Tension follows clash on campus
SHIMLA, July 5 — Tension gripped the Himachal Pradesh University campus as activists of the National Students Federation of India and the Students Federation of India clashed again today.

DYFI rally to focus on unemployment
SHIMLA, July 5 — The state unit of the Democratic Youth Federation of India has decided to start a campaign to highlight the growing problem of unemployment.

HP varsity bows to students’ pressure
SHIMLA, July 5 — Succumbing to mounting pressure from various students’ organisations, Himachal Pradesh University has decided to hold elections to the Central Students’ Association after a gap of three years.

Insurance co told to pay compensation
DHARAMSALA, July 5 — The Kangra district Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, has directed the New India Assurance Company, to pay a compensation of Rs 51,725, to Mahaveer Shoe Company, Kangra, for the damage caused to the shop in a fire.

Five-year jail for rape
SHIMLA, July 5 — Mr Dharam Chand Chaudhary, Additional District and Sessions Judge, today convicted Mehar Singh, a resident of Mashobra, near here, for raping an inmate of Balika Ashram, located in the same village.

Dhumal visits Kargil, compliments jawans
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, July 5 — The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today visited Kargil to express solidarity of the people of Himachal Pradesh with soldiers who are fighting Pakistani intruders on the frontier.

Addressing jawans at Kargil, Mr Dhumal complimented Indian forces for recapturing Tiger Hill and flushing out intruders from other areas and said the entire country was proud of their sacrifices. He said the day was not far when the entire territory occupied by the intruders would be recaptured by Indian troops.

The Chief Minister expressed the hope that this would be a decisive fight and the enemy would not dare repeat such a mischief again as it had done in the past.

Mr Dhumal distributed tinned eatables and clothes among the soldiers.

Brig. Narindra Jog thanked the Chief Minister for visiting Kargil to boost the morale of the soldiers.

Mr Gulab Singh, speaker, H.P. Vidhan Sabha, Mr Narinder Modi, General Secretary, All India BJP, also accompanied the Chief Minister.

Mr Azad Satru, Information and Sports Minister, Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Quamber Ali, Minister of State for Works, Deputy Commissioner, Kargil, and senior military officers received the Chief Minister on arrival.

Irate mob burns Tibetan market
From Our Correspondent

MANALI, July 5 — Nearly 140 shops owned by Tibetan refugees were ransacked and set on fire by an irate mob today. The mob was angered over the killing of a plus II student of Government Senior Secondary School, Manali by a Tibetan youth. A famous Tibetan market and a centre of tourist attraction was razed to earth by an infuriated mob consisting of thousands of local residents.

The deceased youth has been identified as Nek Ram, a resident of Rampur tehsil in Shimla district. The deceased had been staying with his brother-in-law at Manali.

The two youths, who received injuries have been identified as Lal Chand, a resident of nearby Aleo village and Chander Pal. Lal Chand has been admitted to the local community health centre and is reportedly in a critical condition and Chander Pal has been referred to Zonal Hospital, Kulu.

According to eyewitnesses the three youths had an altercation with the accused, Tashi over the purchase of some readymade garments last night. The accused attacked the three with a sharp-edged weapon.

The Deputy Commissioner, Ashwani Kapoor, District Police Chief Zahoor H. Zaidi, and the DIG, Mr Somesh Goyal rushed to the town and helped in defusing the situation.

The Deputy Commissioner has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the looting of shops. A case under Sections 302 and 307 of the IPC, has been registered at the local police station.

The Deputy Commissioner has asked the state government to send more police force to the town. He said all efforts would be made to rehabilitate and provide protection to the Tibetan refugees. The shopkeepers of the town observed a complete bandh in protest against the killing and the local senior secondary school also remained closed. The Tibetan community, however, was sore over the incident. The situation in the town was tense but under control. The police has started patrolling in the town.

Ban apple import: ex-CM
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, July 5 — A former Chief Minister, Thakur Ram Lal, has urged the government to immediately put a ban on the import of apple to save local growers from being economically ruined.

Thakur Ram Lal, who is sitting Congress MLA, has urged the government to delete apple form the list of Open General Licence (OGL) to safeguard the interest of the apple growers here.

In a statement here today, he expressed serious concern over the import of apple from Australia and New Zealand and which had flooded the main fruit markets of Delhi and Mumbai.

He said there was great resentment among fruit growers because of this sudden development which would adversely hit the economy of the state. The matter was of great economic importance and required the immediate attention of the government and any laxity on the part of the state or the central governments in finding a practical solution could lead to an ugly and unpleasant situation.

Thakur Ram Lal pointed out that the apple growers had brought the matter to the notice of the state government last year and they were assured that only by products like apple juice and concentrate would be covered under the OGL, but the permission to import apple had hit them hard.

He said with the arrival of consignments of apples from abroad, it was certain that the growers would face international competition with apple traders of prosperous countries which had advanced technology and knowhow. On the other hand the apple industry was still in the developing stage in Himachal Pradesh.

He anticipated that middlemen and commission agents were bound to exploit the situation by denying remunerative price to the growers here for their produce. Therefore, it was high time that measures were taken to prevent further damage to the fruit industry in the state which had been generating yearly economy of about Rs 1,000 crore. Other sections of the society dependent on the apple industry would also suffer.

Thakur Ram Lal also expressed displeasure over the apple not being included in the crop insurance scheme announced by the Centre.

The fruit growers of the state had been demanding the introduction of crop insurance for apple and other fruits like mangoes and citrus. The Centre had promised that these fruits would be covered under the scheme in the Ninth Five-Year Plan, but nothing had been done.

He said the apple growers had not been given the necessary relief out of the natural calamity relief fund earmarked for the state. He described this as a "gross discrimination".

Kargil martyrs-III
When fate willed otherwise
From Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA: Seeing 22-year-old Sudershana, one can't believe that this young girl has been bestowed with the status of a "war widow". Only three months back she had come into the family as a bride, but was unable to enjoy marital bliss as her husband, Naik Rakesh Kumar, left for the front 10 days after the wedding which had taken place on March 10.

She has been putting up a brave front, to the extent of shouldering her husband's coffin, but collapses whenever she looks at her wedding photographs kept in a locked trunk. Rakesh and Sudershana, were classmates from class VI to X in Government High School, Chachian, before becoming life partners. But fate willed otherwise. It was while fighting the enemy in the Tiger Hill area on June 13 that he breathed his last.

Twentythree-year-old Rakesh Kumar had joined the 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, the same regiment where his father, Havaldar Roshan Lal, had served till 1980. His elder brother Sibi Chand, is also an ex-serviceman. All three sisters of Rakesh Kumar are married. His father and mother, Chailo Devi, live at Lambapath village, near Gopalpur, on the Dharamsala-Palampur road.

As one approached Lambapath village on June 25, a loud noise of wailing women echoed in the air. Villagers had assembled to observe the kriya ceremony of the brave son of the area. Most of the men could be heard saying that they have never wept, not even wept, not even at the death of close relatives, but seeing young Sudershana they could not hold back their tears. Grappling with the tragedy, Sudershana still has no idea how she will lead the life which lies ahead of her.

Ban on Dalai Lama's birthday
celebration in Tibet
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, July 5 — Observing the birthday of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, by the Tibetans in Tibet, will be a crime, as per the latest order of the Chinese authorities.

According to information received by the Tibetan officials here, the Chinese authorities have banned the celebration in connection with the 65th birthday of the Dalai Lama, tomorrow.

An official circular by the Chinese says that if anyone is found celebrating the birthday, it will be considered a crime.

The place "Trunghla", where the Tibetans had so far been celebrating birthday of the Dalai Lama has been cordoned off and the area bulldozed under the pretext of construction at the site.

For the past few years the Tibetans had been celebrating birthday of the Dalai Lama at the same place, quietly, without attracting the attention of the Chinese authorities. The present ban is part of a rigorous campaign launched by China, to undermine the influence of the Dalai Lama on the Tibetan people.

Tension follows clash on campus
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, July 5 — Tension gripped the Himachal Pradesh University campus as activists of the National Students Federation of India and the Students Federation of India clashed again today.

Trouble started when students of the NSUI, who were taking out a rally in support of their demand, entered into an altercation with activists of the rival SFI. The NSUI workers allegedly attacked the SFI workers and the latter retaliated with a counter attack in which iron rods were used. Certain students were injured in the clash.

It was the second clash within three days. On Saturday, certain NSUI workers attacked an SFI leader with a "khukhri". He, however, escaped unhurt.

The police raided the CD block of the boys hostel to nab the main accused, Mohinder Satan. In the process, it seized rods, swords, "khukhris" and other sharp-edged weapons from the rooms.

Mohinder Satan, a general secretary of the NSUI, was arrested today while he was proceeding to court for securing anticipatory bail. The union alleged that he was beaten up by the police in the lock-up.

It demanded his immediate release besides arrest of SFI leaders who led the attack on its workers.

On the other hand, the SFI alleged most of the NSUI activists were not students of the university and they came to the campus only to create trouble. It urged the authorities to deal with them strictly and bar the entry of such anti-social elements on the campus.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had urged the administration to take effective steps to check the growing violence on the campus.

DYFI rally to focus on unemployment
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, July 5 — The state unit of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) has decided to start a campaign to highlight the growing problem of unemployment.

The two-day conference of the federation which concluded here yesterday urged the government to undertake work on the Swan channelisation project, set up industries based on fruit and agriculture and take up other projects to generate employment opportunities. It also decided to hold a state-level rally on August 13 at Shimla to focus the attention of the government on unemployment.

It also demanded extension of the rail track from Kiratpur Sahib to Rampur, Yamunanagar to Paonta Sahib, Kalka to Ropar via Nalagarh and Joginder Nagar to Mandi.

It also adopted a resolution urging the Centre to declare Himachal a special category state.

It decided to contribute Rs 1 lakh for the Chief Minister's relief fund for Kargil heroes. It would also organise blood donation camps all over the state. Its members would send 10,000 postcards to the soldiers fighting the intruders on the front.

The conference elected Mr Kushal Bhardwaj and Mr Tikender Singh, as president and secretary of the federation, respectively. A 25-member executive committee was also elected.

HP varsity bows to students’ pressure
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, July 5 — Succumbing to mounting pressure from various students’ organisations, Himachal Pradesh University has decided to hold elections to the Central Students’ Association (CSA) after a gap of three years.

The elections, which generate much heat and acrimony among rival students groups were discontinued following the murder of Kuldeep Dhatwalia, an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1995.

Dr S.K. Gupta, Vice-Chancellor, said the university would make every effort to conduct elections by September 15 but before that it would hold consultations with students’ bodies to decide the pattern to be adopted. There had been a demand for holding elections on the Delhi University pattern. The matter would be settled in consultation with principals of degree colleges.

Under the present system complete SAC was constituted only once since the inception of the university and he was in favour of giving a try to a system in which every department of the university and every class in a college would form a constituency to elect representatives who in turn would elect office-bearers and the executive body.

Dr Gupta denied any irregularity in the recent recruitment of teachers in various departments and said the allegations being levelled in this regard were politically motivated. He said due procedure was followed and only eligible candidates were called for interview after screening. The selection committees, which made the final recommendations had two nominees of the Chancellor.

Referring to future plans he said the university would soon launch its website on internet to enable people to get the required information regarding the examination schedule, admission dates, fee structure, results and the profile of the university.

It had decided to introduce postgraduate course in business economics, diplomas in tribal studies, population studies and human resource development on the campus and degree course in law at Dharamsala Regional Centre. A proposal to seek loan from HUDCO for the construction of residential houses for the staff had also been drawn up.

The university also planned to upgrade Journalism Department to start media studies so that courses in electronic media could also be started. It would also set up a studio and start a news letter entitled "Campus Vibes".

The university had made it clear to the management of the engineering institute at Kala Amb that it would not allow fresh admissions till the deficiencies pointed out by its inspection team were removed.

It had also decided to construct a study-cum-examination centre at Delhi for students of distance education.

Dr Gupta said the university had been able to declare all results in time this year and even the mark sheets had been duly despatched to the students.

Insurance co told to pay compensation
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, July 5 — The Kangra district Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, has directed the New India Assurance Company, to pay a compensation of Rs 51,725, to Mahaveer Shoe Company, Kangra, for the damage caused to the shop in a fire.

The complainant, Mrs Raman Kalra, of Kangra, had got the building of the shop insured with the insurance company. The shop was gutted in a fire on December 30,1998 and the complainant had filed a claim against the insurance policy of Rs 1 lakh.

The insurance company, however, delayed the payment of the insured amount on one or the other pretext. Finally on January 22,1999, the complainant was intimated that the file pertaining to the claim had been closed. The insurance company contested that the Himachal Pradesh Government had paid a sum of Rs 1.86 lakh to the complainant as relief due to the damage and the party was not entitled to make profit out of loss by claiming insurance money also.

Mrs Kalra contested that the file of her claim had been closed illegally and arbitrarily, as the financial assistance given by the state government had not been paid against the insurance policy. The money had been paid by the government from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

In its order the court observed that the insurance company was trying to avoid making the payment as per the terms of the policy on very flimsy and untenable grounds. It stated that the financial assistance rendered by the state government to the complainant was separate and independent from the liability of the insurance company. The surveyor of the company had assessed that a damage to the extent of Rs 51,725 had been caused to the building in the fire.

The President of the Consumer Forum, Mr Govind Sharma, along with the two members, Mr S.D. Sharma and Ms S. Banta, directed the company to pay a sum of Rs 51,725.50 to the complainant, with an interest rate of 12 per cent per annum, from the date of filing of the complaint, along with Rs 1,000 as the cost of the proceedings of the case.

Second martyr from Bilaspur
From Our Correspondent

BILASPUR, July 5 — The Himachal Health and Family Welfare Minister, Mr Jagat Parkash Nadda, has expressed sympathies with the family of Naik Mangal Singh of Kothi village who laid down his life in the Kargil sector on July 1. He said Naik Mangal Singh was the second son of the soil from Bilaspur who sacrificed his life in "Operation Vijay". Earlier, Havildar Udham Singh of Chehadi village near Ghumarwin had made this supreme sacrifice on June 16.

The Health Minister assured that these families would be given all help by the state government in attempt to mitigate their sufferings. Meanwhile, the Himachal Minister for Cooperatives, Mr Rikhi Ram Kondal, on Saturday evening visited the parents of Naik Mangal Singh and expressed his sympathies at their village.

Five-year jail for rape
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, July 5 — Mr Dharam Chand Chaudhary, Additional District and Sessions Judge, today convicted Mehar Singh, a resident of Mashobra, near here, for raping an inmate of Balika Ashram, located in the same village.

The court sentenced him to five years rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000, which will go to the victim as compensation. In case of failure to pay the fine, he will have to undergo imprisonment for another two years.

According to the prosecution, the victim, who was a classfellow of the accused's son, used to visit his residence during recess. One day in June 1998 when she went to his house alone the accused had sex with her forcibly and thereafter repeated the act on many occasions by blackmailing her. The matter came to light when she became pregnant.

The prosecution was conducted by Mr Satish Kaushal, deputy district attorney.