Wives seek probe into deaths
KANGRA, May 28 — Two persons of Kalidhar village of the district have died under mysterious circumstances in Arunachal Pradesh and their wives have approached the district administration here and demanded a judicial inquiry into their deaths.

Musical start to summer fest
SHIMLA, May 28 — The five-day summer festival got off to a lively start with Amit Kumar, well known play back singer, enthralled a packed house with the all time hits of his father, Kishore Kumar, here last night.

School enrolment drive
DHARAMSALA, May 28 — A Special drive has been launched in Kangra district to achieve cent per cent enrolment of eligible children in primary schools.

Plea to regularise part-time workers
BILASPUR, May 28 — The Himachal Pradesh State Ayurvedic Department Part-time Employees Union has urged the Chief Minister and the Ayurveda Minister to regularise all those part-time employees who have been working with the department for the past 15 years.

Steps for executing Uhl-III
SHIMLA, May 28 — The state electricity board has set up a division and three subdivisions for executing the UHL-III hydel project in Mandi district.

Leh-Manali road to open on June 1
From S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, May 28 — Hundreds of men have been deployed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to reopen the strategic Manali-Leh road so as to enable the Army to carry its supplies to the strife-torn Kargil as the Srinagar-Leh road is under constant artillery fire by Pakistan.

While under project Deepak hurdles on the 222-km-long stretch of the road between Manali and Sarchu are being removed the high-altitude road beyond is being cleared under project Himank for uninterrupted movement of Army vehicles.

The Leh-Manali road will officially be thrown open after three days on June 1, although a trial run of an Army convoy has already been conducted. The Manali-Leh road has been constructed as an alternate route for reaching the strategic Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir.

Supplies of the Army are not being carried from the Srinagar-Leh road as the road is being heavily shelled by Pakistani forces at Dras, Kargil and near Batalik where the enemy has occupied advantageous positions on high hills.

The Chief Engineer of the project Deepak, Brig B.M. Bakshi, conducted an aerial survey of the Manali-Leh road and found it fit for reopening. He told the TNS that the first convoy of the Army, which will start from Pathankot on May 30, will cross over to Leh via this road. He is personally leaving for the 4,892 metres high Baralachala to see the convoy crossing the high pass on June 1. Besides the Baralachala pass, the road crosses the Rohtang pass (3980 metres). Men on the project Deepak have cleared the road of snow on both passes between Manali and Sarchu.

Efforts are being made to stabilise the landslides at Zing Zing Bar and near Rohtang. Brig Bakshi said the landslides have almost been "tamed".

The road has been made fit for vehicular traffic in the month of May.Last year the road was reopened on June 18. Less snow this time has helped in early reopening of the road. Brig Bakshi said the state PWD authorities have been asked to immediately repair the Kulu-Manali stretch of the highway near Patlikuhl which was damaged during the floods last year.

He said the two civil trucks buried under snow at the Baralachala pass had been taken out to clear the road for free movement of the Army convoy. The timing for movement of tourist vehicles and civil traffic could be restricted so that there was no obstruction for the army vehicles. Army vehicles alone would be allowed to move beyond Palchan in the early hours. The civil vehicles coming to Manali from Leh and Lahaul-Spiti would be stopped at Koksar so as to ensure free movement of the Army convoy towards Leh and Kargil.

He said the Rohtang pass had been reopened this time on April 26, much before the normal time.

Centre urged to meet HP liability
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, May 28 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has urged the Centre to meet the financial liability of Rs 400 crore per annum which has been put on the state due to the revision of pay scales on the recommendation of the Fifth Pay Commission.

Talking to mediapersons here yesterday the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, said that the implementation of the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission had shattered the financial position particularly of the special category states.

He said the recommendations were implemented by the previous government at the Centre without prior consultations with the states which had been burdened financially.

He said the Centre should also compensate for the arrears of salary which had been paid to the employees on the basis of the report of the pay panel.

The Chief Minister said the demand would also be put before the Eleventh Finance Commission which was scheduled to visit here shortly.

He said the Centre should restore the practice of filling the gap between the Plan and non-Plan expenditure of the special category states.

He said that Himachal Pradesh was burdened with a liability of Rs 400 crore per annum due to the implementation of the pay panel report. The liability would continue to increase with the payment of dearness allowance at enhanced rates.

Mr Dhumal said the financial problem had been created due to the discontinuation of the special central grants by the Ninth Finance Commission.

He said the Centre should also accept the recommendations made by the Seventh Finance Commission to grant non-returnable loans to the state governments.

Mr Dhumal said he would put these demands before the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is expected to camp at Kulu for about a week.

He warned the Nathpa Jhakri Power Corporation (NJPC) to mend its style of working failing which the Rampur Hydroelectric Project might be given to some other agency for execution.

He said the experience with the NJPC for the power project had not been very good as it had been delayed for a long time resulting in the huge price escalation.

The Chief Minister said the contract for the Rampur project would be like the 2051 MW Parbati Project and not on lines with the Nathpa-Jhakri project.

He said the state government was releasing Rs 5 crore as its share in the Nathpa-Jhakri project to the NJPC. Mr Yashwant Sinha, Finance Minister, had assured him of more grants from the Centre for the purpose.

Mr Dhumal said negotiations had reached an advanced stage with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for the construction of 800 MW Kol Dam Hydel Project.

He said that during his stay at Kulu, the Prime Minister would lay the foundation stone of the 2051 MW Parbati Project near Kulu on June 5 and the 300 MW Chamera (Stage II) near Chamba on June 6.

Deputy Rangers in dock
From Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, May 28 — The government has finally decided to take steps to end "jungle raj" in the Jubbal Forest Division which has of late earned notoriety for large-scale encroachments on forest land, illicit felling of trees and abuse of the timber distribution facility to rights holders and other irregularities.

But for the sharp differences which cropped up between Mr M.B. Srivastav, Divisional Forest Officer and the field staff, the mess created by corrupt officials would not have come to light. Mr Srivastav decided to take on the errant staff and carried out field inspections to uncover glaring irregularities which indicated involvement of officials in encroachments and wrong marking and allotment of trees under the T.D. rights.

An inquiry conducted by Mr A.L. Sharma, Chief Conservator of Forests, confirmed most of the irregularities pointed out by Mr Srivastav.

The Secretary, Forests, has on the basis of the inquiry directed a special drive to detect and check encroachments and take appropriate remedial action. The department has been asked to check trees sanctioned to rights holders under the timber distribution rules over the past two years and take action against the erring officials responsible.

Besides, departmental action is to be initiated against Deputy Rangers guilty of "oversize" marking. The officials of the department who had themselves encroached forest land will also be proceeded against. Recovery is to be effected from officials responsible for the construction of a forest hut at Jhalta, besides departmental action for not completing the work fully.

The trees, which have dried due to frequent tapping, are to be handed over to the corporation. Government instructions regarding posting of the local staff are to be adhered to strictly and remedial action taken wherever these have been violated.

Mr Sharma has in his inquiry report recommended a special drive to detect encroachments not only in the Jubbal Division, but also in adjoining Rohru, Theog, Chopal and Kotgarh so that there is no resentment among the people of Jubbal. He has said the Conservator of Forest, Shimla Circle, should personally monitor the cases of encroachments pending with courts and ensure eviction from encroached land.

The inquiry report has underlined the need for a detailed investigation and scrutiny of applications for grant of trees and T.D. registers for sanctioned trees besides field inspection to confirm "oversize" marking.

The government had earlier shifted the D.F.O. who was indicted by the inquiry for harassing the staff by ordering frequent transfers.

Lack of facilities puts off tourists
From Bijender Sharma

JWALAMUKHI: Nestling in the lap of the towering snow-clad Dhauladhar ranges, the Kangra valley beckons tourists with the bounty nature has bestowed — antique miniature paintings, ancient temples and sprawling green tea gardens. There is a mini-Tibet at McLeodganj which attracts both Indian and Foreign visitors keen on getting a glimpse of the lifestyle of the Tibetans and wanting to seek the blessings of the Dalai Lama, revered as the "living Buddha".

All important towns in the valley, including Dharamsala, Palampur, Kangra, Mcleodganj and Jwalamukhi, have reasonable accommodation and most of the hotels there have STD facility. Guest houses in the residential areas are few and far between. There is, however, no arrangement for medical aid to tourists. They like locals have to depend on small hospitals private clinics and whatever little these are equipped with. Dharamsala, McLeodganj, Palampur, Kangra and Jwalamukhi lack adequate parking facilities. The traffic goes haywire during the summer with vehicles parked haphazardly by drivers.

A survey of the important towns dotting the tourist map of the valley reveals that not much is being done or arranged by the Tourism Department to make the tourists visit and stay comfortable and memorable. Bad roads, unhygienic conditions, erratic water supply, exorbitant rents in private guest houses, non-availability of standard food items and the level at which these are priced, put tourists off.

This coupled with inadequate publicity of the natural and traditional assets of the valley, makes a large number of tourists pack up earlier than scheduled. Non-availability of guides, lack of proper transport facilities and conducted tours within the Kangra valley are other factors which acts as a damper.

McLeodganj, attracts most foreign tourists all through the year but precious little has been done to tap its tourism potential.

Hotels, especially small ones, are ill-maintained and unhygienic; the food is costly and below standard and the transport costly. "The taxi owners loot us because of tourist are not aware of local conditions" says an American tourist, Chris, adding that even the tourist information centre does not help foreigners. Dal Lake, located at a height in Mcleodganj, has lost the pious touch due to the disposal of refuse and filth into it by the institutions around. Residents of Dharamsala have undertaken cleaning-up operations but the plight of the lake is yet to catch the attention of the Tourism Department.

The plan of setting up a ropeway between Dharamkot and Triund and the key towns in the valley is still hanging fire. The area has good scope for adventure tourism. Place like Jwalamukhi, Kangra, Chintpurni, which have popular temples, fail to sustain the interest of visitors due to lack of adequate accommodation.

Another important factor coming in the way of promoting tourism in the valley is the non-functional Gaggal airport which is otherwise equipped to operate 10 flights. "My friends from Britain, Bombay and Madras planned to see the beauty of the Kangra valley but have cancelled the programme this year also as they do not want to waste time travelling in buses or trains", says a medical officer.

Most foreign tourists keen on visiting the Dalai Lama's enclave at McLeodganj also develop cold feet in the absence of flights from Delhi. But as of now, there is no evidence to suggest that the authorities have any plans to address themselves to these problems.

Wives seek probe into deaths
From Our Correspondent

KANGRA, May 28 — Two persons of Kalidhar village of the district have died under mysterious circumstances in Arunachal Pradesh and their wives have approached the district administration here and demanded a judicial inquiry into their deaths.

According to reports Mrs Sunita and Mrs Vidiya Devi approached the Deputy Commissioner, Mr B.K. Agrawal and alleged that their husbands were taken by Mr Sansar Chand and Mr Kamal Kumar of the village on April 24 for working with a contractor in Arunachal Pradesh, with whom Mr Sansar Chand was working as a munshi. The two women were later informed about their husbands deaths in Arunachal Pradesh.

They alleged that their husbands had been murdered and demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter.

They further alleged that they had reported the matter to the Jawalamukhi police on May 21 but no action had been taken. Yesterday the women also approached the district police chief at Dharamshala.

Mr K.C. Sadiyal, district police chief, however, said there was no provision in law through which, "we can act from here for a crime which has been committed in Arunachal Pradesh". He said Mr Sansar Chand had been called to Dharamshala to get a true picture from him. He said the SP concerned in Arunachal Pradesh would be asked to help the two women.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner of Kangra, Mr B.K. Agrawal, said today that he was trying to get in touch with the Deputy Commissioner concerned in Arunachal Pradesh to know about the details of the case which would be followed by a legal action. He said the only connecting thread in the case was Mr Sansar Chand, who was being sought by the authorities.

Musical start to summer fest
Tribune News Service and UNI

SHIMLA, May 28 — The five-day summer festival got off to a lively start with Amit Kumar, well known play back singer, enthralled a packed house with the all time hits of his father, Kishore Kumar, here last night.

He struck an instant rapport with the audience and even called some young girls and boys on stage to dance with him. It was a nite dedicated to the legendary Kishore Kumar.

The show started with Amit's debut song "Bade achhe lagate hain" from the film "Balika Badhu" and was followed by a number of hit songs of his father, including "Pal pal dil ke pas" "Yeh dil na hota bechara", "Ye jawani hai diwani", "Roop tera mastana", "Mere mehboob kayamat hogi".

The programme concluded with a medley of hits like "Mana janab ne pukara nahin", "Khwab ho tum ya," "Om shanti om" and "Tirchi topi wale. Reema Misra chipped in with popular song like "Churi jo chhanki haath mein", and "Dil le gayi le gayi". Amit and Reema also rendered a some duets.

Earlier, local artistes presented folk dances of Himachal Pradesh.

The festival was inaugurated by Mrs V.S. Rama Devi, Governor. She also released a souvenir brought out on the occasion. She viewed the programmes.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Ram Sughag Singh, chairman of Shimla Summer Festival Committee, honoured the Governor by presenting her with a shawl.

The Minister of State for Horticulture, Mr Narinder Bragta was also present on the occasion.

School enrolment drive

DHARAMSALA, May 28 (UNI) — A Special drive has been launched in Kangra district to achieve cent per cent enrolment of eligible children in primary schools.

The enrolment will formally start from May 31 and continue till June 10.

The entire administrative machinery has been geared up to motivate people to send their wards to schools. Headteachers, panchayat pradhans, mahila mandals, sakhsharta samities and gram sewaks have been directed to launch an awareness campaign in their respective areas.

Kangra Deputy Commissioner B.K. Aggarwal said special attention would be given to enrolling girls, children of nomads and migrant labourers whose dropout rate was comparatively higher than other students in the district.

A survey of disabled children would be conducted in the district so that they could get proper education.

Plea to regularise part-time workers
From Our Correspondent

BILASPUR, May 28 — The Himachal Pradesh State Ayurvedic Department Part-time Employees Union has urged the Chief Minister and the Ayurveda Minister to regularise all those part-time employees who have been working with the department for the past 15 years.

At a meeting presided over by the president, Mr Ramlal, here yesterday, the union said that though the department had repeatedly declared that their seniority lists for regularisation were ready no orders had been passed and about 600 part-time workers had been suffering.

Steps for executing Uhl-III
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, May 28 — The state electricity board has set up a division and three subdivisions for executing the UHL-III hydel project in Mandi district.

According to Mr Gulab Singh, who represents the Jogindernagar constituency, the division and two subdivisions, will be located in Jogindenagar and the headquarters of the third subdivision will be at Baijnath.

He said the government had reposed faith in the engineers of the state by entrusting the project to the board.