Gang of robbers busted
NURPUR, March 24 — The local police has achieved a breakthrough in a robbery committed on the national highway in the district. On March 11 when Mr Vishwa Kohli, a commission agent at Damtal grain market, was robbed of Rs 9.5 lakh by a gang of four. According to the information, the police arrested all members of the gang after some raids conducted at a number of hide-outs in Punjab.

HP recognises staff body
HAMIRPUR, March 24 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has given recognition to the employees federation headed by Mr Ganga Singh Thakur. The election to this body was held at Bilaspur on February 26 and 27, in which Mr Ganga Singh was elected the President and Mr Prem Singh Bharmauria the General Secretary.

Strike call withdrawn
KULU, March 24 — The Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank Officers Association and Forum of Regional Rural Banks Union has withdrawn the proposed two-day strike starting on March 31. This was stated by Narender Kumar Sharma, General Secretary of the state unit of the association, here today.

Tibet no hurdle: Advani
From S.P. Sharma and Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, March 24 — The Union Home Minister, Mr Advani, today asserted that the Tibet issue would not come in the way in normalising relations with China.

Mr Advani, who was here to address a rally to mark the completion of the one year of the BJP-HVC combine government, told newsmen that the approach of the government was to skirt contentious issues while making efforts to improve ties with the neighbouring countries like China and Pakistan.

He said the BJP government at the Centre believed that for the speedy improvement of relations the thrust should be on increasing cooperation in the areas of mutual interests which could benefit both countries.

When specifically asked about the government's stand on Tibet, he said it would not like to go for frontal attack on such contentious issues.

Referring to the Kashmir situation, Mr Advani said the two pronged strategy adopted by the government had yielded good results and there had been a marked improvement as reflected by the increase in tourist traffic to the valley. The tourist inflow which was reduced to a trickle had again gone up and last year over 1.5 lakh tourists had visited the valley. The policy to crush terrorism with a firm hand and at the same time making efforts to improve relations with the neighbouring countries had been a great success. Besides, Republic Day was observed in all tehsils of Kashmir for the first time since the outbreak of militancy.

However, he said he would be satisfied with the situation only after the Kashmiri Pandits were able to return to their home.

The Home Minister said the infiltration of terrorists had been far and wide and it would require sustained efforts to wipe them out completely.

Mr Advani, while referring to the situation in Bihar said it would be appropriate if the Congress rectified its stand and indicated by some of its leaders. He said although the BJP would be deprived of a potent issue, but if would be good for the country and Bihar. Otherwise, he said it would go down as a historical mistake like the imposition of Emergency and the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 which eroded the credibility of the Congress. While the anti-Sikh riots showed the contempt of the Congress for communal harmony, its stand in Bihar displayed utter disregard for Dalits and good governance.

Earlier, addressing a well-attended public meeting at The Ridge, Mr Advani assured that the Centre would give all possible help to Himachal Pradesh in combating militancy in areas of the state bordering Jammu and Kashmir.

He announced that the Centre would sanction raising of another India Reserve Battalion in the state. This would be in addition to the one already sanctioned. The case for the second battalion has been sent to the Finance Ministry for clearance.

Despite the pulls and pressures of the coalition, the government had made remarkable achievements which the previous government had failed to attain. Citing the example of nuclear tests at Pokhran, he said making the country an atomic power was always on the agenda of the BJP and it implemented it on the first available opportunity. Similarly, the amicable settlement of the long-standing Kaveri issue was no mean achievement.

More importantly it had been a riot-free and a scam-free year after the BJP came to power at the Centre. In previous years hundreds of people were killed in communal riots and the issue was hotly debated in parliament.

Mr Advani said the polity was in a state of flux as the Congress, which had ruled the country for more than 40 years had lost the support but the BJP had not been able to gain support in the same proportion. Consequently a number of other parties had filled the vacuum.

He said it was an era of coalition calling for consensus and cooperation which the BJP had successfully achieved.

Appreciating the state's performance on the literacy front, he said in the 21st century the definition of literacy would change and only those who had the knowledge of computers would be considered literate. The government must keep this fact in mind while planning for the growth of education.

Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, urged the Home Minister to reimburse the entire expenditure on fighting militancy in Chamba as it had spilled over to the state from Jammu and Kashmir and it was a national problem.

He said more recruitments in para-military forces should be done from Himachal to provide jobs to youth as there were hardly any other avenues of employment in the state.

Mr Dhumal also urged him to pursue the Generation Tax Bill which was to be introduced in Parliament during the Budget session.

Mr Narendera Modi, general secretary of the BJP, said while the BJP was pursuing politics of consensus, the Congress was at its destructive best. The most glaring example of its negative approach was its stand on the Bihar issue.

Mr Sukh Ram, president of the Himachal Vikas Congress, said that the restoration of democracy in Himachal Pradesh was the biggest achievement of the coalition government.

He said the government would last full term.

Mr Suresh Chandel, MP and president of the state BJP, sought liberal funds from the Centre to bail out the state government from perennial financial crisis.

Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, a Punjab minister, Mr Ram Bilas Sharma, Minister from Haryana, also spoke at the rally.

Earlier, on his arrival Mr Advani was received at the Annandale helipad by Mr Dhumal his Cabinet colleagues, Mr Suresh Chandel and senior officials.

Villagers threaten agitation
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, March 24 — Villagers living in and around Kashmirpur area of Nalagarh subdivision of the district have threatened to launch an agitation in case illegal extraction and smuggling of stones from the Kundlu rivulet, which runs along their villages, was not stopped within 15 days.

In a memorandum sent to the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, they said this illegal activity, which had assumed alarming proportions, posed a danger to them and their cattle. This could lead to the erosion of thousands of bighas of their pasture lands in the coming rainy season, they added.

The memorandum which was signed by 90 persons, said the smugglers had dug up the river bed up to a depth of 30 feet as against a maximum of 3 feet, which was officially permitted. The magnitude of this illegal activity could be had from the fact that at any given time of the day as many as 300 tractor trailers could be seen removing river-bed stones from Kundlu rivulet.

Three buffaloes had died after falling in these pits recently. Local villagers, unsure of the location of the new pits, did not pass through the area after dusk for fear of meeting a similar fate.

Smugglers there had employed musclemen who scared away any local person who dared to protest against their illegal activities. A villager, Yash Pal, who objected to digging of deep pits near his village common lands was beaten up mercilessly. A petition by the villagers to district administration had not drawn the desired response.

Seeking an immediate end to the smuggling and arrest of Yash Pal's assailants, threatened a stir if no action was taken.

Yamuna turns land-eater
By Sarbjit Singh
Tribune News Service

PAONTA SAHIB: The tale of woe of farmers of nearby villages located along the either side of the Yamuna is unending. They have knocked all doors but none has come to their rescue so far.

For the past several years the Yamuna river is a source of their misery. Almost every year during the monsoon season most of the farmers become victims of the river's fury.

Narrating his tale Surja Ram, a farmer belonging to Batta Mandi, near here, said that a large chunk of his farm land had been washed away by the gushing waters of the Yamuna during the rainy season. He said he had been left with a few acres of land and it was shrinking with the passing of every monsoon due to the river.

More or less the same story was narrated by Mohammad Najim of Gutanpur village. He said even the tubewells which were installed by government officials to provide water for irrigation by lifting it from the Yamuna river were washed away by the very river last year. There were two tubewells, one for the farmers of Batta Mandi and other for the farmers of Gutanpur.

Mr Surja Ram told TNS that a large chunk of agriculture land belonging to Pandit Verma Nand, Inder, Kashi Ram, Kartar Singh, Bahadur Singh, Sita Ram and others had been eaten away by the Yamuna. He said the river was proving a demon for farmers in this belt.

Not only farmers of Gutanpur and Batta Mandi have suffered but also of many other villages in the down stream from Paonta Sahib have also been affected by the river's fury, Mr Surja Ram said.

Immediately after the rainy season, the district administration and officers concerned visited the area. Even the local MLA, Mr Rattan Singh, belonging to the Congress party, and Mr Sukh Ram, who was defeated in the last Vidhan Sabha poll in HP, had visited eroded portions of agriculture land but nothing was done to boost the morale of the affected farmers. Mr Sukh Ram belonged to the HVC, the ruling partner in HP BJP.

"We have not been given a single penny by the government so far to compensate the loss suffered due to the fury of the Yamuna river", farmers said. When the Yamuna overflowed during the last rainy season, paddy crop and sugarcane was standing in the fields eroded by its waters.

Members of panchayats of the villages have met the authorities concerned and also sent their representations to the state government but the matter ended there. Farmers were told by the authorities concerned that as the taming of the Yamuna in this region was a huge task only the Central Government could perform the task. They were also told that a proposal had been sent to the Central Government in this regard for taking necessary steps.

Immediately after Paonta Sahib, there was a sharp curve in the down stream course of the Yamuna. Due to the curve the waters of Yamuna when in spate started eroding agriculture land from its curved portion and then there is no end once the erosion starts, farmers say.

First, farmers want that at least the state government should give them compensation for the losses they had suffered so far due to the Yamuna fury. Second, they want that by building spurs or bandhs, the government should make some sort of arrangement to stop further erosion of the land until the proposal submitted to the Central Government is approved.

They also say that the monsoon season is not very far. The government should take the necessary steps for stopping the erosion before the start of rains. Most of them are small and marginal farmers who could not stand to the fury of the Yamuna in whatever form it may be.

Gang of robbers busted
From Our Correspondent

NURPUR, March 24 — The local police has achieved a breakthrough in a robbery committed on the national highway in the district.

On March 11 when Mr Vishwa Kohli, a commission agent at Damtal grain market, was robbed of Rs 9.5 lakh by a gang of four. According to the information, the police arrested all members of the gang after some raids conducted at a number of hide-outs in Punjab.

They have been identified as Angrez Singh, the leader of the gang, Raj Kumar, Dharampal and Rajesh, all residents of villages under the jurisdiction of Pathankot and Sujanpur.

The accused had got tip-off from Sat Pal, driver of the car of Mr Kohli, that he was coming after making collection from Palampur areas in Kangra district. The car driver was also involved in the robbery.

The police has so far recovered Rs 6,73,914 from them. According to the police, the jeep used in committing the crime was also stolen from Hamirpur in April, 1995.

The robbers have been remanded in police custody till March 26.

HP recognises staff body
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, March 24 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has given recognition to the employees federation headed by Mr Ganga Singh Thakur. The election to this body was held at Bilaspur on February 26 and 27, in which Mr Ganga Singh was elected the President and Mr Prem Singh Bharmauria the General Secretary.

The Secretary (Personnel) to the HP Government has asked the Secretary (SAD) to initiate steps for providing government-owned telephone facilities at the office of the federation and residences of the new President and the General Secretary.

A letter has also been sent to the Deputy Commissioner as Mr Bharmauria is working at the local office of the Public Works Department.

Strike call withdrawn
From Our Correspondent

KULU, March 24 — The Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank Officers Association and Forum of Regional Rural Banks Union has withdrawn the proposed two-day strike starting on March 31. This was stated by Narender Kumar Sharma, General Secretary of the state unit of the association, here today.

He said the Union Finance Minister had assured their delegation, led by Mr Somrath Chatterji, MP, that the demands regarding the implementation of the Sixth and Seventh Bipartite Settlement in regional rural banks would be implemented within a fortnight.