Ex-servicemen sore at shifting of office
PALAMPUR, Oct 14 —The recent decision of the Army authorities to shift the Defence Pensioners Disbursing Office (DPDO) to Thakurdwara village, 6 km away from here has caused resentment among ex-servicemen who had been drawing pension from this office.

Road plan in cold storage CHAMBA: Owing to the apathy of the state government, the proposed short cut from Chamba to Killar, subdivisional headquarters of the tribal Pangi valley in the district, has been neglected for a long time. It appears that the plan for the construction of the road from Tandi has had to be shelved due to dearth of funds or lack of political will.

Move to sterilise monkeys draws flak
SHIMLA, Oct 14 — The proposal of the government to control the menace of monkeys by sterilising them has run into rough weather following objections by a top dignitary who has described the monkey as "avtar" of Lord Hanuman.

Juvenile suspects lock warden, flee
UNA, Oct 14 — Four inmates of the Juvenile Home, Una, escaped yesterday after locking the lone woman warden in a room.

• Man gets life term for killing kid

Ex-servicemen sore at shifting of office
From Ravinder Sood

PALAMPUR, Oct 14 —The recent decision of the Army authorities to shift the Defence Pensioners Disbursing Office (DPDO) to Thakurdwara village, 6 km away from here has caused resentment among ex-servicemen who had been drawing pension from this office.

The DPDO was opened about 20 years ago keeping in view the demands of the ex-servicemen who had to go to collect their pensions to the Yol Camp and other places. There are over 1 lakh ex-servicemen in this region, between the 50-95 age group who visit the DPDO in the first week of every month to collect their dues.

Inquiries by this correspondent reveal that neither ex-servicemen nor welfare organisations were taken into confidence before the shifting of the office. A "self-styled" committee was constituted consisting of some officers just to fulfil certain formalities required under rules, it is alleged.

At present, Thakurdwara has no bank facilities, as a result pensioners have to come back to the town for bank work. Also there are no proper bus facilities at the village. The aged are the worse hit as it is difficult for them to travel by bus.

The defence authorities were paying a rent of Rs 2,500 per month for the old office and the owner was stressing on the enhancement of rent. Later a decision was taken to shift the office. Now the authorities are reportedly paying a rent of Rs 8,000 per month for the new office, that too at a village. According to the CPWD schedule, the tariff for rent in Palampur is Rs 4.36 per square feet. It is surprising that the new premises have been hired at Rs 5.75 per square feet.

The pensioners also complain that the office poses health hazards as a workshop and a tyre retreating plant was located in the same premises.

However Col. A.K Punj, SSO, when contacted, refused to comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, Mr H.R Sharma, SDO (Civil) has said the civil authorities were not consulted before taking the decision.

Move to sterilise monkeys draws flak
From S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Oct 14 — The proposal of the government to control the menace of monkeys by sterilising them has run into rough weather following objections by a top dignitary who has described the monkey as "avtar" of Lord Hanuman.

It is learnt that the dignitary has suggested that the authorities should install donation boxes at Jakhu and other places in the town for making offerings for feeding the monkeys.

There was pressure on the authorities from various social groups demanding the withdrawal of the proposal.

Meanwhile scientists of Palampur University are trying to find a safe method to sterilise monkeys for a specified period. The authorities have suggested that some medicine be developed which could be fed to the monkeys by mixing it with food as injecting them may be impossible.

Residents of the town are facing difficulties as the monkeys take away their clothes which are kept for drying. Garbage bins installed by the municipal corporation also attract them.

Instances of monkeys biting passers-by have also been reported.

There have also been instances of monkeys "raiding" government offices and destroying files and records. Guards had been deployed sometime ago in the Secretariat to chase away the monkeys.

Tourists are scared of getting down from vehicles to take a view from the Shimla-Kalka highway as the monkeys surround them as soon as any vehicle stops.

Villagers say their crops are frequently destroyed by the monkeys. It has become a costly affair for fund-starved municipalities to hire professional monkey-catches from Saharanpur who demand around Rs 100 for trapping a monkey, besides boarding and lodging arrangements. Moreover, the residents of villages do not allow the monkeys to be released in their areas.

The monkey menace has spread in many areas of the state and the issue is raised in almost every session of the Assembly.

Recently the sate government had sought permission from the Centre to declare the monkeys as vermin. However, the permission was denied. However wildlife officers have been given the powers to give permission for the killing of monkeys. No one has approached the Wildlife Department during the past two years for seeking permission to shoot the monkeys.

Under the Wildlife Protection Act, the monkey is a scheduled animal and its hunting is prohibited. On religious grounds also, people do not cause any harm to them.

Juvenile suspects lock warden, flee
From Our Correspondent

UNA, Oct 14 — Four inmates of the Juvenile Home, Una, escaped yesterday after locking the lone woman warden in a room.

According to report lodged with police, an inmate of the home, Surinder Kumar, who is facing trial at the children court, Una under Sections 376, 377 and 506 (rape) told Asha Kumari, the warden, that he had forgotten his pen in a classroom situated in the same building.

When the warden took Surinder Kumar to the room he pushed her inside and bolted the door from the outside.

Following this he and the remaining three inmates of the home, Vinod Kumar, facing trial in theft case, Des Raj and Dhelu, both facing trial in a murder case escaped.

The Una police which learnt of the incident at 6 p.m. searched throughout the night for the juvenile delinquents, without success.

As per the directions of the High Court, juvenile accused cannot be locked in a room or jail. They must also be provided education while on trial.

In Una the juvenile home is situated in a residential area in a rented house and has a lone female warden to serve in all its roles. At night the outer gate of the home is locked while the rooms are not.

Until recently the home and children court served the entire state, but a few months ago another court was opened in Shimla. On two earlier occasions two inmates of the juvenile home had escaped.

Road plan in cold storage
From Balkrishan Prashar

CHAMBA: Owing to the apathy of the state government, the proposed short cut from Chamba to Killar, subdivisional headquarters of the tribal Pangi valley in the district, has been neglected for a long time. It appears that the plan for the construction of the road from Tandi has had to be shelved due to dearth of funds or lack of political will.

From the details available, it can be gathered that the total length of this road from Pathankot to Tandi via Chamba and Bharmour would be 268 km which passes through a high mountain range. The distance from Panthankot to Hadsar (195 km) is motorable and is operation. The work beyond Hadsar to Kugti is making head way.

The stretch of the road from Kugti to Tandi (60 km) has not yet been taken up for construction. The road from Tandi to Leh via Keylong is motorable and being maintained by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

About 72 km of the highway is yet to be constructed and made motorable. It addition, a 50-metre-long bridge will have to be constructed at Tandi so as to join the proposed road with the existing motorable road of the BRO.

A preliminary survey and assessment shows that an outlay of about Rs 22.60 crore shall be required for the construction of this portion of the highway which also includes the construction of the motorable bridge at Tandi across the Chandra Bhaga river which when travelling through the Kashmir valley is called the Chenab river.

The Chamba-Killar road, when constructed, will cut nearly half the distance to Killar. At the moment one has to go via Pathankot, Kangra, Palampur, Mandi, Kulu, Manali, Rohtang Pass and Tandi to reach Killar which totals about 700 km journey.

Residents of Sudli, Mornu, Mail, Draman and Chuhan panchayats of Dalhousie tehsil in Chamba district are still fighting for the basic amenities as their area is the most backward and neglected. They have expressed resentment over the way the state government is giving the shaft.

Having a population of about 18,000, these panchayats are located on the barren hillslopes on the left side of the Ravi and have escaped the attention of the state government with regard to development activities. Adjacent to it, on the right side and across the Ravi, are unkempt border villages of Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.

There is no government senior school in the area. Students of plus one and two have to go to Banikhet and Kakira senior secondary schools about 20 to 25 km away to get education.

There is no primary health centre (PHC). The two high schools and ayurvedic and veterinary dispensaries at Mail and Churah are already understaffed. The condition of primary and middle schools is even worse.

The woes of inhabitants of these areas do not end with this. There is hardly any sign of development in the field of agriculture and horticulture. The only link road is unmetalled and remains blocked due to landslips during rains.

* * *

The Himachal Pradesh Exservicemen League has demanded 15 per cent reservation for their wards in government jobs.

According to Col Kripal Singh, president of the district unit, the league has demanded that the government provide loans on nominal rates of interest to the exservicemen for their rehabilitation and uplift.

There is a need for amendment in the manual with respect to the facilities being given to the exservicemen in the light of present straits and circumstances. The exservicemen have also demanded exemption from sales tax on certain special commodities being availed by them through the Canteen Store Department (CSD).

Their other demands include the setting up of an exservicemen's truck union, holding of recruitment rallies thrice a year in the district and filling up of a vacant post of Deputy Director of the Sainik Welfare Board at Chamba etc.

* * *

The development of the district has been seriously impeded because of dearth of staff in various government departments for the past some time. As a consequence, people of the district have to suffer. Several primary health centres and schools are understaffed and primary schools are being run by a single teacher.

Lately, during the visit of the Himachal Chief Secretary, Mr A.K. Goswami, local residents brought these problems to his notice. He assured them that the state government would tackle their difficulties step by step.

Man gets life term for killing kid
From Our Correspondent

SUNDERNAGAR, Oct 14 — Mr Samsher Singh, Additional Sessions Judge, Mandi division, has sentenced Saran Dass of Silah village of Gohar subdivision for life term and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on him for killing a child last year.