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Tuesday,
December 11, 2001, Chandigarh, India
  
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3,000 sheep killed to propitiate ‘devta’ 6,000 trees damaged in fire CM dedicates power project to people McLeodganj to be promoted for tourism An insult to a war hero |
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Cong rallies over power tariff hike Course
for insurance surveyors Cantt Board ward reservation delayed DAV students boycott classes HVC leader
dies in mishap Jawan murdered
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3,000 sheep killed to propitiate ‘devta’ Shimla, December 10 The yajna concluding tomorrow is being held after a gap of 28 years as it is beyond the reach of poor families living in the 35 surrounding villages which were supposed to offer at least one sheep for sacrifice. The more prosperous families offered three to four sheep each. The sheep were slaughtered in all four directions on the “Shikhar” of the temple of Mahashu Devta. The sacrifice was held in the presence of the deities of the surrounding areas. These deities were earlier taken around the Khashdhar village to purify the area before sacrificing the sheep. The local temple offered 50 sheep for the sacrifice. The other sheep estimated to be more than 2600 were brought by residents of the villages including Rohru, Dhamwari. Rohal, Jangla, Pujarli, Jabal and Dughali. The deities will be presented their share of sacrifice tomorrow when they return to their own temples after the conclusion of the Yajna. A nine-km road was laid up to the temple from Chirgaon to enable people reach there for the rare ceremony. Reports said that nearly 15,000 people participated in the “Shand”. Mr Dhumal, who was present along with his ministerial colleagues Mr Narendera Bragta and Mr Roop Dass Kashyap, announced Rs 21,000 grant for the development of the Mahasu Devta temple and Rs 5000 each for various other temples deities which were participating in the “Shand”. Mr Khushi Ram Balnatah, vice-chairman of the HRTC, was also present. CLP leader, Virbhadra Singh, who represents the area in the Assembly, had to cancel his visit at the last moment as he had to rush to Delhi from here to participate in a meeting of the election committee for Punjab. Addressing the gathering, Mr Dhumal said that the government had decided to link every village with a population of 250, with road. As many as 77 roads will be constructed in the Rohru area. He said that the Sandasu-Khashdhar road had been included in the Prime Minister's Gram Sadak yojna for which Rs 1.24 crore would be spent. He cautioned people against the designs of those levelling charges of discrimination in the matter of development. |
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6,000 trees damaged in fire Solan, December 10 He told mediapersons that a maximum of 25 per cent of the affected trees had an outside chance of survival and that, too, was “subject to rain in the next seven days”. He said a final figure of the exact loss caused by the fire would be available after the detailed survey, currently under way, was completed. A team of revenue officials had also been detailed to assess the loss to grasslands in the affected villages of Kotla, Sainj, Jhekri Biran, Tehal, Kanjeri and Bisha and some other adjoining villages. Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Police, Mr S.Z.H. Zaidi, said investigations conducted by his staff had established that the fire was caused by sparks flying out of the spout of the steam locomotive. He said a case under Section 285 of the IPC had been registered against the locomotive driver for causing damage to public property through negligence. He said the pilot of the helicopter whose rotors fanned the fire was also being summoned for interrogation. The local MLA, Dr Rajiv Bindal, said he had approached the government for emergency distribution of fodder free of cost to the farmers whose grasslands had been reduced to ashes by the fire. |
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CM dedicates power project to people Shimla, December 10 The project has been constructed at a cost of Rs 27.40 crore. The power generated from the project will feed for the local Rohru region through the existing load centres. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Dhumal said work on the 70-MW Dhamwari-Sunda Hydel Project would begin within three months. He said the hydel power generation had been accorded added priority and work on projects having a generation capacity of more than 7000 MW had been started during the past three-and-a-half years. He said this was being done with a view to generating resources to the state and would also go a long way in creating employment opportunities to the local people and also in meeting the energy requirements of the country to a great extent. The Chief Minister said the scheme of a special package of incentives for projects which would be completed before schedule had yielded good results and the 86-MW Malana Hydel Project had been completed in a record time of less than three years. |
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McLeodganj to be promoted for tourism Dharamsala, December 10 Mr Sharma, was speaking at the inauguration of the Seventh Himalayan International Festival celebrated every year to commemorate the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on the Tibetan
spiritual leader, Dalai Lama. Cultural troupes from Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu and
Kashmir, Chamba and Shimla will perform during the three-day festival. The minister said efforts must be made to prevent further environmental degradation in Mcleodganj as the place would lose its charm. He said the government was committed promoting it as an international tourist destination and was spending a total of Rs 4 crore on its sewerage, drainage, parking site and other facilities. Mr Sharma said even the Nobel Committee had recognised the non-violent approach of the Dalai Lama to resolve the issue of Tibet as he continued to work relentlessly for world peace and harmony. “I hope and pray that the Tibetans succeed in their mission so that the Dalai Lama can return to a free Tibet with his people soon,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, the Tibetan Prime Minister, Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, said though the Dalai Lama had been honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize, millions of people inside Tibet suffered serious violation of human rights and its religion, culture and tradition were on the verge of extinction. He said the White Paper issued by China was an attempt to mislead the world to assimilate Tibet into mainland China through its hardline political and economic policies. He regretted that there had been no positive response to the Dalai Lama’s repeated overtures to China for finding an amicable solution to the problem of Tibet. The Himalayan International Festival this year does not have teams from Nepal, Mizoram and Nagaland. Few foreign tourists have turned up for the festival. Addressing
a press conference, Prof Ripoche said the passing away of the Tibetan spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, could pose a bigger problem for China as it was because of him that the Tibetans have not resorted to violence in their freedom struggle. “Sticking to the non-violent approach is not the popular sentiment among the Tibetan people and it is solely due to their devotion for the Dalai Lama that they are holding back,” he stated. Prof Rinpoche, who is the first directly elected Tibetan Prime Minister, said he would soon approach the Chinese to work out a solution to the Tibetan problem.” The main reason for the Chinese unwillingness to respond to our offers is the lack of political will and sincerity in tackling the Tibetan problem,” he opined. Prof Rinpoche released a report called “Height of Darkness: Chinese Colonialism on the World’s Roof”, which exposes the claims made by the Chinese White Paper issued by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, on November, 8, 2001.” |
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An insult to a war hero Kasauli This soldier who laid down his life fighting in Congo as part of the UN operations was awarded the PVC posthumously. He exhibited exemplary courage when he along with just 19 soldiers, armed with khukris and bayonets, attacked 90 enemy soldiers and killed 40 of them. This heavy loss forced the enemy to flee. Captain Salaria, who was severely wounded, succumbed to his injuries later. A park was built at Subathu in 1961 which is being looked after by the Cantonment Board. The poor condition of the park speaks volumes for the callous attitude adopted by the authorities towards preserving this monument. Its plight can be gauged from the fact that not even a regular gardener has been employed to look after the park, since the previous one retired about 15 years ago. Two gardeners visit the place for just five to 10 days in a month but in the absence of any funds they are unable to buy any manure or saplings from nurseries to beautify the place. Worst still the park becomes a pool of slush during the rains when rain water from the road above flows inside. The place remains inundated and with the stench emanating from the slush it becomes impossible for anyone to enter the place. It took the gardeners two months after the rains to rid the park of stench and wild grass which had grown there. The broken wall allows access to animals, who are the only “regular visitors” here. They feed on whatever little grass or flowers that grows. Instead of children playing in the park, it is the chickens that are seen strolling in the park. A non-functional fountain, coarse grass and empty flower-beds are the other features of this memorial park deserted by the people. Old-timers recall that once the flowers of this garden were put on sale but now only weeds and empty flower-beds remain. In addition, garbage can be seen dumped callously on one side of the park. With neither funds nor water supply the gardeners are idle. They narrated the tale of this forgotten park when this correspondent visited it. A former executive officer of the cantonment wanted to organise quarterly band displays in the park after sprucing up the place. But it remained only an idea. The incumbent, while admitting that the park was in a deplorable condition, lamented that paucity of funds was hampering development. He has, however, demanded funds for sprucing up the place. In the absence of proper care the park is losing its attraction, say locals. |
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Cong rallies over power tariff hike Shimla, December 10 Talking to newsmen here today, the HPCC spokesman, Mr Kuldeep He alleged that the government was adopting “anti-people” policies and said the increase in electricity tariff and imposition of user charges has badly hit the poor and the middle class. He said the HPCC President, Ms Vidya Stokes, visited Theog block and participated in the demonstration. The Congress party would hold such demonstrations in the state until the electricity tariff was not withdrawn, he said. He also criticised the private security in the IGMC and said home guards in the state should have been employed for the purpose. He said Congress President Sonia Gandhi would shortly be coming to Kangra to address a public meeting. |
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Course for insurance
surveyors Parwanoo, December 10 The course was organised by the institute under the guidance of the National Academy of Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors. Mr I.J. Jain, the General Manager (Technical) of Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., was the chief guest and inaugurated the course on Friday. As many as 90 delegates from different parts of the country like Assam, Rajasthan, Uttranchal, UP, Haryana, J&K and Himachal Pradesh attended the course. Mr Jain while addressing the delegates, emphasised on the duties, responsibilities and code of conduct for surveyors. Mr Jain said the institute had been conducting such training courses regularly on All-India level so as to upgrade the knowledge of its members. While giving the details of the course, Mr M.M. Gupta said the institute had 103 branches now with the addition of five branches which had been opened in Haryana on this occasion. The five new branches have been opened at Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat, Ambala and Yamunanagar in the state. Mr Gupta said the course broadly covered all aspect of insurance, type of motor policies and their conditions professional ethics and code of conduct for the surveyors, reporting latest developments in automobile industries, painting technology and legal aspects. |
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Cantt Board ward reservation delayed Kumarhatti, December 10 The government asked us to give the break-up of 2001 census which we could not make available as the department concerned had not yet prepared the record, said Mr Yogesh Kumar, Subathu Cantonment Executive Officer. The government has decided to make base of the 1991 census to decide finally reservation of ward according to which 29.82 per cent was reserve population of the Subathu Cantonment comprises Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes, he informed. |
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DAV students boycott classes Kangra, December 10 The strike call was given jointly by the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the Azad Chattar Sanghathan. The protesting students were asking for 10-day holiday before house tests and two-day holiday in between two papers. They also demanded a free medical centre in the college. They alleged that the students were charged annually for the college magazine. But it was not published. Mr Sunil Sharma and Mr Kapil Choudhary, presidents of the ABVP and the Azad Chattar Sanghathan, respectively, also opposed the charging of Rs 500 from each student as college building fee. |
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HVC leader
dies in mishap Bilaspur, December 10 According to reports the mishap occurred when he got down from a bus for purchasing a newspaper at the bus stand. A Shimla-bound bus started reversing and he was knocked down and crushed under it. He was cremated in the evening here at Luhanu Ghat. His funeral was attended among others, by several leaders of the HVC, the BJP and the Congress. The SDM Mr Rakesh Dhiman was also present. The Himachal Health and Family Welfare Minister, Mr Jagat Prakash Nadda, and the Himachal Vikas Congress supremo Sukh Ram expressed grief over his death. |
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Jawan murdered Kangra, December 10 Bir Singh, a resident of Kertaki village, near Sunni in this subdivision, was accompanying a barat” when after dinner he had an altercation with some youths from the girl’s side. He was beaten up and hit on the head, which resulted in his death, DSP U. Jamwal said. He said the police arrested three youths — Rakesh Kumar, Gulshan and Vinod Kumar — under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC and they were remanded to police custody till December 13, by the SDM, Kangra. |
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Mild snowfall
in Shimla Shimla, December 10 |
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