Dhumal urges voters to reject Cong
HAMIRPUR, Sept 23 — Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, today rounded off the election campaign in his home district of Hamirpur with a call to the people to outrightly reject the Congress for a stable and clean government led by Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee at the Centre.

BJP, Cong men trade charges on mishap
DHARAMSALA, Sept 23 — BJP and Congress leaders are making allegations and counter-allegations in connection with the death of a person in an accident near here last night.

Shanta's charge against Sonia
PALAMPUR, Sept 23 — Former Himachal Chief Minister Shanta Kumar has said that the slip of the tongue by a person aspiring to be the Prime Minister of India could land the country in trouble.

Ekta sammelan organised
SUBATHU, Sept 23 — A Manav Ekta Sammelan was organised by the Sant Nirankari Mission at the Lower Camp Ground here yesterday.

Moth menace in Shimla
SHIMLA, Sept 23 — The Municipal Corporation authorities here are trying to deal with the menace of moths by spraying insecticides in the town.

Dhumal urges voters to reject Cong
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Sept 23 — Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, today rounded off the election campaign in his home district of Hamirpur with a call to the people to outrightly reject the Congress for a stable and clean government led by Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee at the Centre.

Addressing election meetings at Mahare and Lambloo today he said every vote of the BJP would be a vote for the prosperity and development of the area that had been neglected by the successive Congress governments. He cited a number of examples, including the allotment of money under the Nabard scheme stating that gross injustice had been meted out to most of the parts of the state by the previous Congress government led by Mr Virbhadra Singh. He said most of the funds were diverted to Rampur and Rohrro areas at the cost of rest of the state as a result the development in other areas remained neglected.

He said the government would accord priority in development of such areas that would give maximum lead to the party in the elections. He further said this election was also a trial of strength for the party for its performance during the past 15 monts. He claimed that balanced development was made in all parts of the state during this period by his government.

The Chief Minister lashed out at the Congress leaders, especially, Mr Virbhadra Singh and Mr Ram Lal Thakur, for their utterances against him and his government.

Prof Dhumal repeatedly attacked Mr Virbhadra Singh for his statements made during the election campaign that the Himachal Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Board would be disbanded once the Congress was voted to power. He said it was a case of regionalism shown by Mr Virbhadra Singh. He said this office was opened to help the youth to get employments in various sectors and there was no question of disabanding it as a sum of Rs 1 crore was being spent for the construction of the board office at Matahni in Hamirpur town. He, however expressed his regret to those candidates inconvenience to whom was because of caused during recently held examinations at Hamirpur.

He dubbed Mrs Sonia Gandhi foreigner. He said she had no experience of running a government and moreover she was not conversant with any Indian language.

Mr Urmila Thakur, Himachal Pradesh Parliamentary Secretary and the other local BJP leaders also addressed the rally. A number of Congressmen of the Bamsan area joined the BJP on the occasion.

BJP, Cong men trade charges on mishap
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Sept 23 — BJP and Congress leaders are making allegations and counter-allegations in connection with the death of a person in an accident near here last night.

According to the police, Sunder Ram, a 70-year-old resident of Katera village, near Sadwa Gurchal who was hit by a jeep last night succumbed to his injuries in Nurpur Hospital. On the basis of statements of eyewitnesses, the police has arrested the owner of the vehicle, Bachittar Singh, and his son, Tilak Raj, who was driving the vehicle.

BJP leaders have alleged that it was one of the vehicles in the convoy of Mr Virbhadra Singh and Mr Sat Mahajan who were returning from Chuari, in Chamba, which hit the man. The BJP legislator from Nurpur, Mr Rakesh Pathania, alleged that after hitting the man, none of the Congress leaders bothered to take him to hospital. He threatened that if the police did not immediately arrest the culprits he would be forced to stage a dharna.

However, the police after recording the statements of the eyewitnesses, said that the vehicle that hit the man had passed before the convoy of the former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh and the PCC chief Mr Sat Mahajan, passed. It ruled out the possibility of a vehicle in the convoy causing the accident. The police also said the vehicle after hitting the man also hit a telephone pole. Later, a vehicle carrying Congress workers was stopped by the villagers and the injured was taken to the hospital where he died.

Reacting to the BJP allegation, Mr Ajay Mahajan, son of Mr Sat Mahajan, said the accident had taken place before the convoy of Mr Virbhadra Singh arrived and it was in a Congress vehicle that he was taken to hospital. "Levelling of such wild allegations by the BJP reflects its frustration and sensing its defeat of the party is not missing any opportunity to derive mileage out of an individual's death," he regretted.

He added that even at the time of the death of the woman from Sukoh who had been hit by a vehicle in the Congress convoy on the day of the filing of nominations, the BJP had made all possible efforts to make it a political issue.

Meanwhile, electioneering for the September 25 poll coming to an end today, parties are starting a door-to-door campaign.

Shanta's charge against Sonia
From Our Correspondent

PALAMPUR, Sept 23 — Former Himachal Chief Minister Shanta Kumar has said that the slip of the tongue by a person aspiring to be the Prime Minister of India could land the country in trouble.

He was referring to Mrs Sonia Gandhi's speeches in Himachal Pradesh where she called state Congress President Sat Mahajan, as Satpal Maharaj and Shimla candidate Gangu Ram as Ganga Ram.

In a statement here, Mr Shanta Kumar said that if Mrs Sonia Gandhi could not remember the names of state Congress presidents and candidates of her party, how would she remember the nation's problems and the need to solve them.

Mr Shanta Kumar said Sonia Gandhi had not cleared her position on many things. Her deliberate silence on these points had only confirmed people's suspicious, he added.

Meanwhile, state Minister for Technical Education,Mr Ravinder Singh Ravi, Tourism Corporation vice-chairman and MLA Rakesh Pathania, and Mr Harbans Rana, Mr Jagmel Katoch and Mr B.S. Sipehia have condemned the attempt of certain disgruntled elements to spread the venom of casteism in the present elections.

Ekta sammelan organised
Tribune News Service

SUBATHU, Sept 23 — A Manav Ekta Sammelan was organised by the Sant Nirankari Mission at the Lower Camp Ground here yesterday.

Addressing a largely-attended gathering at the sammelan, Satguru Baba Hardev Singhji compared the role of saints to sunshine which gives respite after inclement weather.

There was enough in the world for everybody's need but not for man's greed, Baba said.

Terming selfishness as the root cause of all evils, he suggested that to overcome this evil one must unite with God.

Moth menace in Shimla
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 23 — The Municipal Corporation authorities here are trying to deal with the menace of moths by spraying insecticides in the town.

With a heavy rain early this morning, the problem is likely to be solved to some extent.

The Municipal Corporation authorities sprayed insecticides around The Ridge yesterday where the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, addressed an election rally.

Tourists as well as residents have been facing the problem particularly in an around The Ridge area.

The moth menace is more prevalent in the areas which have been illuminated with mercury lights.

The walls of the Christ Church, the Municipal Corporation office and the police reporting room on the Mall are also full of insects.

A dale not tapped for tourism
From Balkrishan Prashar

CHAMBA: The residents of Bhattiyat sub-division in Chamba district have pressed the state government to open a sub-judge's court at Chowari, the subdivisional headquarters of Bhattiyat, so that they may be able to get justice at their doorstep.

During a recent visit to the subdivision, the residents narrating their woes to this reporter said they had to go to Dalhousie as the nearest court (sub-judge) was there and had to spend a lot of money as it was far away.

They also demanded the creation of a sub-depot of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) at Chowari. Since Chowari had the biggest bus terminus in Chamba district, it needed to be tarred and beautified. The condition of the roads in Bhattiyat was not satisfactory. The main roads from Chowari to Pathankot and Sinhuta were often blocked by landslides at some points even during a spell of rain. Funds were needed for their widening.

Located in a dale under the mighty Dhauladhars, Chowari township is a beautiful spot amidst woody hills and quite near to the plains and the railhead at Pathankot. But the state government has not harnessed its potential and developed this site to attract tourists. The township has a number of nearby beauty spots at an altitude of 2200 metres, but there is no sign of the development of tourism.

The residents have also urged the government to post specialised physicians in different departments of the referral hospital at Chowari and requested early completion of the building of local Government College so that classes could be shifted there. They say that the office of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) is also functioning from another building as its own building complex has been under construction for the past two years.

* * *

The heavy monsoon rains in the mountainous Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh have caused a loss of more than Rs 6 crore to public and private property.

According to an official spokesman, the road network in Chamba region has been badly damaged due to landslides at different places following cloudbursts and flash floods. The damage to roads alone has been put at more than Rs 4 crore.

Thirteen families of Kareri village in Chamba district have been evacuated to safer places following the cloudburst on August 19 which washed away their houses in Sikridhar hills located in the interior of Chamba district. A woman injured in the Bhattiyat area has been hospitalised.

According to other official reports, the cloudbursts and flash floods have washed away 22 houses, nine bridges and six watermills.

The district authorities have so far distributed relief amounting to Rs 33,000 to affected families, besides blankets. However, the state government has directed revenue officials to provide all possible assistance to those shifted and other affected families.

* * *

The inhabitants of Nainikhud, Tunnuhatti and Gudana gram panchayats falling in Bhattiyat tehsil of Chamba district are seeking a merger of their areas with Dalhousie tehsil, which was created two years ago.

In a forceful representation to the state government, Mr Madan Lal Mahajan, pradhan of Nainikhud panchayat, stated that these three panchayats were hardly about 20 km away from Dalhousie town.

He said Dalhousie tehsil had been created bifurcating a segment of Bhattiyat tehsil without giving proper thought to the merger of certain areas. Consequently, the residents of these panchayats were facing difficulty as it was troublesome for them to go to Chowari, the headquarters of Bhattiyat tehsil.

He pointed out that the separation of their panchayat from Bhattiyat tehsil and merger with Dalhousie tehsil would be convenient for the people of these areas.

* * *

To bring awareness among the masses about the sincere implementation of the provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act, the Forest Department has taken the initiative so that the development projects drawn up by various government departments could be cleared by adopting a procedural approach without delay.

A joint meeting was held at Dalhousie in August under the chairmanship of Chamba's Conservator of Forests, Mr Mohinder Paul, in which officers of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board, the Public works and Revenue Departments participated.

During the meeting, the Conservator of Forests elucidated the provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, and the procedure laid down therein for clearing the developmental projects and diversion of forest land.

The objective of this meeting was to educate everyone about the coordinated approach of the Forest Department and user agencies so as to help in the execution of various developmental activities in accordance with the law in a time-bound manner.