P R A D E S H
Tuesday, June 8, 1999
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H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H |
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Tuesday, June 8, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Dhumal meets finance
panel chief BJP "selling" HP’s
interests |
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Majority against fielding
Sultanpuri Himachal's plea on printing press
Monkey menace: a way out Missing cop killed by leopard Compensate HP for preserving
forests: CM Jawan cremated
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Dhumal meets finance panel
chief SHIMLA, June 7 — The Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, today called on the Chairman of the Eleventh Finance Commission, Mr A.M. Khusro, and urged him to restore the practice of the Centre meeting the entire plan expenditure of the special category states. Mr Dhumal flew to Manali to meet Mr Khusro who is staying there these days. Mr Dhumal apprised him about the financial position of the state and the problems being faced by it with regard to the development of the state and urged him to restore the pre-Ninth Finance Commission status to special category states like Himachal Pradesh so that the injustice meted out to these states by the Ninth Finance Commission was undone. He emphasised that the existing pattern of financing the state plan of special category states with the grants and loans in proportion of 90 per cent to 10 per cent, respectively, should be changed to a 100 per cent grant pattern. This would considerably reduce the debt burden on account of the plan assistance, he added. Mr Dhumal further requested that the loans based on small savings be converted into loans in perpetuity. He said 100 per cent of the net collections under small savings be advanced as loans to the states. He urged the chairman
that for obvious reasons the special category states
deserved special attention of the commission regarding
the up gradation of the standard of the administration to
match the growing aspirations of the local people and
other necessities. Poor resources coupled with relatively
higher requirements in terms of infrastructure and
manpower etc, providing adequate level of administration
and due to mountainous terrain and dispersed population
required that much more to be done in these states to
bring them on a par with other states. |
BJP "selling"
HP’s interests SHIMLA, June 7 — The State Congress President, Mr Sat Mahajan, has accused the BJP government of "selling" the interests of Himachal Pradesh regarding the construction of hydroelectric projects and has demanded that the opposition parties should be taken into confidence on such major issues. Mr Mahajan, who was talking to mediapersons after a meeting of PCC office-bearers here today, said there should be transparency on the issue of completion of the power projects. He accused the BJP of completely surrendering the interests of the state while awarding the construction of the 2051 mw Parbati project, the second largest in the world, to the NHPC. He said while the previous Congress government was trying to get the state's share of 5 per cent in the project enhanced to 25 per cent, the BJP government headed by Mr P.K. Dhumal had completely surrendered the share. Mr Dhumal did not even honour the agreement between the five states in which the then Chief Minister and BJP leader, Mr Shanta Kumar, had accepted 5 per cent share of the state in the Parbati project. Mr Mahajan alleged that the BJP government at the Centre was frittering away the hydroelectric potential which was the main resource of the state. The hurry in which these projects were being cleared raised apprehensions that it was merely an exercise to raise political funds, he alleged. Mr Mahajan demanded that the monsoon session of the Assembly should be convened immediately to discuss these sensitive issues and also the financial position of the state as cheques issued to panchayats by the government had bounced. He warned that all agreements on power projects signed by the BJP government would be cancelled when the Congress came into power at the Centre. He alleged that the state government had also bungled in the Chamera (stage II) project by allowing it to be assigned to a private company for construction on a turn-key basis. The project had been assigned to the NHPC although 40,000 workers of the HPSEB were sitting idle. Mr Mahajan alleged that the state government for the first time had not invited the Opposition for meeting the Finance Commission. He said Mr Dhumal was taking care of only his home district of Hamirpur. The PCC office-bearers adopted four resolutions, one of which sought that the state government should give relief of Rs 1 lakh in the shape of Indira Vikas Patra to the families of those Army personnel killed in action in Kargil. One person from their family should be given government job, it added. Another resolution
criticised the incident of the switching off the mike
while a Congress MLA, Kuldeep Kumar, was speaking at a
function in Una. |
HP Govt to launch health
programme DHARAMSALA, June 7 — The Himachal Pradesh government will launch a health programme, School Health, in 1,700 primary schools of Kangra district as a preventive measure against any serious physical disorder, that may develop at an early age. The project which is to be launched shortly, will initially cover Lambagaon and Nagrota Suriyan blocks. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr B.K. Aggarwal, stated that the basic aim of the programme is to diagnose various diseases in schoolchildren, especially the young ones. The main objective is to ensure preventive measures so that any serious physical disorder can be detected at any early stage and be referred for treatment. In the first phase of the programme over 10,000 children in 130 primary schools in Lambagaon and 50 primary schools of Nagrota Suriyan will be benefited. However, this number does not include the children studying in private schools, as they will be covered under the project at a later stage. Under the programme, the check-up of every child will be done twice a year. Each primary school in the two blocks have been attached with the nearest health institution and it will be the responsibility of the in charge to ensure that regular check ups of the children are done. Each child will be issued a health card which will be maintained by the school authorities. In order to make the programme a success, the Block Medical Officer, Block Primary Education Officer and the Mother Teacher Associations have been involved in the programme. To ensure the effective coordination and implementation of the project, the Zila Saksharta Samiti will monitor it regularly. It is expected that the
programme will go a long way in creating awareness among
the parents and the children about the health aspect. |
Majority against fielding
Sultanpuri SHIMLA, June 7 — The option of fielding Mr Virbhadra Singh, former Chief Minister, as the candidate of the Congress in the Mandi constituency in the coming Lok Sabha elections has been kept open by the office-bearers of the PCC. A meeting of the office-bearers and the DCC chiefs was held here today under the chairmanship of Mr Sat Mahajan, PCC chief to hold preliminary discussion on the party candidates for the four Lok Sabha seats. It is learnt that most of the office-bearers were of the view that former Speaker Kaul Singh should be asked to contest the Mandi seat in case Mr Virbhadra Singh did not want to be the candidate. Mr Virbhadra Singh has already said that he was not interested in contesting the Mandi seat. Sources said there was almost a consensus that Mr K.D. Sultanpuri, who has won the Shimla (reserve) Lok Sabha seat seven time, should be replaced this time by Mr Gangu Ram Musaffir, MLA. However, it was also suggested that in case the party high command gave the ticket again to Mr Sultanpuri, extra efforts will have to be made for ensuring his victory. It was demanded that Mr Mahajan and Mr Virbhadra Singh should go to Delhi to meet Mrs Sonia Gandhi at the earliest and get the names of the candidates cleared so that the party had ample time for electioneering. It is learnt that certain members pointed out that as each Lok Sabha seat was valuable this time, only winning candidates should be fielded Mr Mahajan should contest the elections from Kangra, they said. The name of Mr Chander Kumar, MLA, was also mentioned. The names of three
candidates — Mr Ram Lal, Mrs Viplove Thakur and Mrs
Anita Verma — were also discussed for the Hamirpur
Lok Sabha seat. Mr N.C. Prashar's candidature also
figured in the discussion. |
1,000 girls to go trekking SHIMLA, June 7 — As many as 1,000 girls from all over the country will participate in the trekking expedition being organised by the Directorate of National Cadet Corps, northern region, from June 8 to June 29. The cadets will start from the base camp at Sadhupul in Solan district in batches and trek about 150 km passing through Chail, Koti, Kufri, Shimla and Shogi. They will reach the base camp after 14 days of trekking. There will be 125 girls in each batch. The expedition will be formally flagged off by the Governor, Mrs V.S. Rama Devi, from The Ridge, here. According to Col Randheer Singh, trek manager, the main objective of the expedition is to inculcate a spirit of adventure and national integration among youth and acquaint them with the local customs and traditions. Col Randheer, who is in
charge of the Himachal group of the NCC, said there were
24,000 cadets in the state with 12 units. |
Himachal's plea on printing press SHIMLA, June 7 — The Himachal Government has urged the Centre to withdraw its order to close the central government printing press, Shimla, and restore the status quo in this regard. The Minister of State for Horticulture, Mr Narinder Bragta, met the Union Minister for Urban Development, Mr Ram Jethmalani at Delhi today and said the press had achieved 76 per cent production target during the current financial year. He said 697 employees would be adversely affected by the closure of the press. Mr Bragta said workload on the press had increased with the introduction of Hindi printing facility after Independence as a result of which "Morlin lodge" estate was vested with the press. Mr Jethmalani assured
that the central government would consider the demand
sympathetically. |
Monkey menace: a way out SHIMLA, June 7 — In a bid to curb the monkey menace, the veterinary scientists and wildlife experts have been asked to suggest measures for controlling the fast-growing population of the outlaws. Experts of the Veterinary Department of the Palampur university, Wildlife Department, Shimla Municipal Corporation and the police assembled in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Ram Subhag Singh, here this morning to discuss the problem and also the disease of falling hair witnessed among the monkeys here. This was probably due to fungal infection samples will be taken tomorrow to identify the exact cause of falling hair. It was decided that the action report will be prepared within a month on measures to be adopted for controlling the monkey population. Professional monkey catchers will be summoned from Saharanpur for catching a few monkeys on which various methods of sterilisation would be tried by the scientists of the Palampur university. The wildlife experts pointed out that monkeys have started raiding the households in the town as their eating habits have got changed with people offering them cooked food and fruit. The monkey around the town no more go to the jungle in search of wild fruit. Not only here, but reports of monkey menace have also been received from other towns. Farmers are worried as their crops are destroyed by monkeys particularly in the districts of Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Solan and parts of Mandi. The practice of catching monkeys in one place and then carrying them away for being freed at some other places has not been successful. Either such monkeys return to their own habitat or start troubling residents of the area where they are released. People have now started protesting against releasing of monkeys in their areas by men of the Shimla Municipal Corporation. Reports of monkeys
raiding various government offices and destroying
official record have been received. |
Missing cop killed by leopard SHIMLA, June 7 — Police constable Jagdish missing since May 20 from Nanhar village in Chopal, has been killed by a leopard. This has been confirmed by the examination of the severed head found from the village three days ago. Mr O.C. Thakur, Superintendent of Police, who went to the spot along with forensic expert yesterday, said the examination of the skull and recovery of blood stained clothes of the victim from a nearby nullah made it evident that the victim had been devoured by a leopard. Besides, some hair found on the clothes and skull were also found to be that of a leopard. The constable, posted in Kotkhai Thana, had come to his native village on leave. He left his house on May 19 to sell peas and never returned. Family members had no inkling about the mishap as they thought that he might have joined duty at Kotkhai. They came to know about his disappearance only when they tried to contact him telephonically. There after a search was launched which led to the recovery of the severed head. Investigations revealed
that Jagdish had gone to Chambi village to sell peas and
he stayed at a relative's house that day. He returned to
his village the next day and had drinks with his friend
Prakash who lives in the same village. The leopard
reportedly attacked Jagdish while he was returning to his
home and dragged his body to the nullah. A search is on
to recover the remains of the body. |
Compensate HP for preserving
forests: CM MANDI, June 7 — The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today called upon the Centre to adequately compensate Himachal Pradesh for preserving the forest wealth as the environmental degradation by exploitation of the forests would not drain away the perennial water sources of rivers, but also ravage the plains by natural disasters like floods and droughts. Addressing a public meeting at Jawalapur in Sanor valley in the interior of the district, the Chief Minister said the state government had imposed a complete ban on private exploitation of forests and was even prepared to impose a blanket ban on the felling of trees provided the Centre compensated us for the loss of revenue. He said there was huge pressure on forests for providing fuel and demanded that on alternative fuel should be provided to the poor. In this context he thanked the Union Power Minister, Mr R. Kumaramanglam, for this commitment to donate 9 lakh solar cookers to the rural people with a view to ease pressure on forests. He pleaded that cheaper LPG should also be provided to the state and other hilly areas of the country. He said the process of development would be accelerated in the backward areas on priority and added that the areas which had been neglected for some reasons in the past should be given special preference to bring them on a par with other areas. He claimed that equitable development was going on in all regions of the state and no discrimination was being made. He said the work of 126-MW Larji hydel project was going on round-the-clock. The work on the 100 MW Shanan stage III had also been taken up by the HPSEB. The Chief Minister said the government had started the implementation of the ambitious plan to make Himachal Pradesh one of the most prosperous states of the country by harnessing power and tourism potentials by 2010. He said he would take up with the Union Defence Minister regarding the question of giving preference to Himachalis for recruitment in the Army. Mr Maheshwar Singh, a former MP, also spoke on the occasion. Mr Dhumal earlier laid
the foundation stone of Dugli Chala Shikari Dhangsi
lift-drinking water supply scheme and announced
additional funds of Rs 20 lakh for its speedy execution. |
Jawan cremated CHOWARI (Chamba), June 7 — The body of Khem Raj, a jawan of the Third Punjab Regiment who died in Kargil action, was cremated at Gola village in Bhattiyat subdivision in Chamba district with full state honours today. Mr Kishori Lal, Himachal Industries Minister, laid a wreath on the body. Mr K. Sanjaymurthy, Deputy Commissioner of Chamba laid a wreath on behalf of the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal and Capt Rajesh Yadav laid a wreath on behalf of Brig Jagtar Singh . His cremation was largely attended. The Industries Minister
announced a relief of Rs 1 lakh for the family of the
jawan. He said that two rooms of Gola High School would
be constructed in memory of Khem Raj and a road link
constructed. |
Girl tops in middle class
exams DHARAMSALA, June 7 — Parima Dixit, a student of Blue Star Public Senior Secondary School, Hamirpur, has topped in the middle class examinations, results of which were declared by the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education here today. She topped by securing 659 marks out of 700, while Pooja Sharma of Government High School, Upper Hareta, Hamirpur, stood second by securing 640 marks. Ritesh Gautam of Government High School, Plah Brahmna, in Hamirpur stood third by securing 635 marks. The top five positions have gone to students from Hamirpur district. The overall pass percentage has been 58.23 per cent. Out of the total of 97,435 regular students 55,962 were declared pass, while 10,216 got compartments and 29,690 failed. The pass percentage in
the boys was 57.45 per cent and those of girls was 57.42. |
Assault on journalist: scribes
plea to CM BILASPUR, June 7 — The state standing committee of HP State Journalists Federation has strongly condemned assault on Jitender Kaushik and another journalist representing India Today by the police at the instance of a police officer at Shimla during the Summer Festival held a few days ago. The committee has urged the Chief Minister to ensure that this officer and other policemen do not escape deserved punishment only because the police officer concerned is a brother of a BJP leader. A resolution of the
federation, in this regard was released here yesterday by
the President of the Federation, Mr Jaikumar. |
Five houses gutted in fire HAMIRPUR, June 7 — Five houses were gutted in a fire in Didwin village of the district on Saturday. Property worth Rs 15 lakh was destroyed. Senior officers from
Hamirpur supervised three fire fighting engines and local
involved in the fire fighting operation. The SDM,
Hamirpur, Mr Balbir Badalia, visited the spot and gave
immediate assistance to the affected persons. |
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